There are more than 2000 athletic scholarships available to female rowers among the D1, D2, D3 universities in the U.S.  The scholarship opportunities available to women have exploded due to Title IX.  For example, each of the Big Ten universities have the equivalent of 20 full-ride scholarships in rowing.  Many of these universities fill their varsity women's eights with foreign-born rowers due to a tight supply of US born experienced rowers.  Westerville Crew helps to fill that void with solid candidates with the training and strokework to compete at the college varsity level.  For example, Jessica Leidecker, a WCrew graduate, went on to stroke the varsity eight at Clemson as a freshmen, and subsequently rowed for the US Under-23 National Team, medaling at the World Championships in two consecutive years.

Can rowing aid a student in applying to an elite college?

​While there is less money available for men to row in college, many of our elite universities have well-funded rowing teams.  That is no surprise considering that the first intercollegiate competition between two US universities was a challenge between Yale and Harvard's crews in 1852.  To this day, rowing races remain the prime intercollegiate competition among the Ivies.  Men from the Westerville Crew have been accepted to Ivies and other elite schools. Many Westerville Crew alumni have been enrolled at schools such as Cornell, Harvard, Cal and Princeton, as well as women attending Stanford and the US Naval Academy. Each was recruited for their rowing and scholastic achievements.

• Register with college recruiting sites. 

• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center – all potential college athletes must register here. You will receive an NCAA Clearinghouse ID number, which all college coaches ask for during the recruiting process

• Communicate with college coaches: College coaches can officially begin contacting you at the end of your junior year. Coaches want to see that you are eager to row in college, and serious about meeting your goals. Keep track of all the emails you receive and respond via email in a timely manner. If you do not hear from a particular coach, you can take the first step and contact him or her – introduce yourself, the team, your rowing record, your academic record, and any other extracurricular activities. Many coaches will ask for unofficial high school transcripts and ACT scores at this time, so have those materials ready to fax. Keep a running list of the coaches you are in contact with and make sure to keep the lines of communication open; for example, let coaches know when your erg scores improve, or when the team wins races.

• Schedule “officials” – Under NCAA guidelines you are allowed five official visits to schools. These visits typically take place during the fall of your Senior year. The college coaches will arrange to fly you to the school, and they will make arrangements for accommodations and in general supervise the visit. Go on all five visits, or as many as possible, as this is an excellent way to get acquainted with different schools and rowing programs.

• Communicate with your Coaches – For each of the online registration sites, you will include your Varsity Coach’s name, email address and phone number. It is important to tell your coach that you are registered online. As college coaches begin to email and call you, keep your coach apprised. Coaches can be invaluable assets in the recruiting processes, particularly in letting college coaches know about your abilities and potential.