What is the best way to get a scholarship for Stanford?

How can I get an rowing scholarship to Stanford?

• I am a female in 10th grade with good grades. I row, and my coaches think I am promising. Right now my best 2K time is 7:54. I have been in two singles races, and have won both. I am usually stroke in races, win gold 11 of my 14 races, but have placed in all. My team and I won first place in our Women's Novice 8 at South West Regions (I was stroke). What do I need to do to get a scholarship, and what would be a good 2K time?

• Answer:

  Stanford is the best. Period. You need to know this and really consider what you want of yourself. Getting in the best boat at Stanford will be quite hard. You might be reverted to only the B boat and watch other people get gold if you even get into school in the first place. Every 2k you do in college, every seat race, all 4 years, will mean if you're rowing in the A boat or the "other" boat. You won't be going against other novices. You'll be going against people who want it just as much as you do and may be better than you. Ask yourself if you want that. Ask yourself if you're willing to do that. Because there are people at Stanford that will go on to the Olympics. There are people at Stanford who are the best in the world. You're young so you must keep that in mind. That said, you have promise. Breaking 8:00 is a very good start. And being stroke is amazing. Congratulations on your amazing season. But you cannot judge from your novice year. Try working through your JV season. You may notice that you level off somewhere. You might be digging into the 7:20's or you may level off in the high 7:30's. Who knows? You must get beyond the learning bracket. To get into Stanford, you must be strong. You need to go above and beyond what the other people on your team are doing. You must weight lift and be active every season (fall, spring, summer) and erg in the off season. I know a lot of novices who have shown excessive promise but have taken off the rest of the seasons, gotten out of shape, slacked off, and their promise vanishes and people who work harder surpass them. Don't be that person. My thoughts are, to get into Stanford, you'll need to be in the low 7:30's by junior year and into the 7:20's senior year. Try to attend as many Concept2 erg challenges and Crash-B's as you can. That will put you out there and show Stanford's coaches who you are. Winning races is fun. It's a blast and it keeps one and all in the sport. But, really, colleges don't look at it as much. You could go to scrub regattas and win first or go to a national event and win third and it really wouldn't matter. Colleges look at your height, your weight, and your erg score for the most part. Sometimes they come to a practice and see how you measure up in the boat but there are no promises. I'd suggest really seeing if you have the energy and determination to get into the college that is the best of the best of the best. Don't contact the Stanford coach until your junior year (NCAA rules). And good luck.