I have friends that are in Crew at those Universities and they aren't your stereotypical "athletic scholar," these kids are scholars before athletes. Not to be racist or prejudice anyone, but think about it...what kind of children usually row? What kind of families do they come from? Where did they probably grow up? With those factors in mind, consider the high schools they probably went to. Last time I checked, rowing wasnt exactly an inner-city sport... Again, I'm not trying to be discriminatory in any fashion, but to throw a member of Crew in with a group of stereotypical athletes that do not perform well in school is unfair.
Rowing is like Swimming, they work their butt off 3-4 hours 6 days a week. Very tough sport and those water sports usually have some of the highest athletic team GPA's along with athletes having higher GPA's than average student body. Unless you are going a VERY technical path or graduate studies straight out of school, employers would rather see someone that can maintain a 3.5 GPA while rowing 20+ hours a week than someone that just gets a 4.0 and does nothing else. The real world is about multiple priorities, multi-tasking, and being successful across the board.
It's okay, one of my friends who really is not the brightest guy in the world (lacks common sense) got a full ride to USC just for being half black. He's not disadvantaged at all, quite the opposite, his father has an SL500 and a Bentley! Meanwhile I was rejected from my state school because my HS filled it's quota for smart kids. My friend with a 4.0, unweighted, lots of APs, 1st generation citizen, etc etc, rejected from UVA. In-state. So many flaws in the system it's mind boggling.
Though I have never worked with undergraduate admissions, I have had the pleasure (?) of interviewing, recommending, and selecting graduate students for admission to a highly selective program, and, of course I have recommended more than a few undergraduates. What I will say may not please you all, but it might make you feel better. In the end, admissions is a crap shoot. After the first few (depending on the size of the pool) cuts, you're left with a pool of candidates all of whom would be acceptable as students in the program. At that point, the criteria for admissions vary: some prize athletics (for what it brings the school, but also for what it says about the candidate's ability to juggle a demanding schedule), others geographic distribution, "unique" activities and extracurriculars, or the student's 'stated goals and desires.'. Basically, it becomes a question of whether the person fits what the university/faculty/admissions committee is looking for. And that, of course, leaves a large number of very good, very qualified students out.
You are 100% correct. I shouldnt have come at rowers like that. I know they work their asses off and basically have to dedicate their lives to rowing. Its just that its such a big sport in my school and the guys are such ******s that it gets me upset. Everyone that doesnt do crew, hates the crew team. Just how it is. PS Its an all boys school.
I row at the University of Chicago. I wake up every morning at 4am, get driven half an hour north to Skokie (same place as Northwestern rows), practice for 2 hours on the water, come back to the dorm, shower, nap, go to class, study, and repeat. Weekends are usually spent at double practices or at regattas. Crew becomes your life. Lucky for me, UChicago Crew isn't an elite program like at the Ivies or even UMich, or else I wouldn't be able to row in a top boat (i'm 5'10"). The big problem with athletes at my school is that they think they are special even though they play for a Div III program that is absolutely terrible at all sports except soccer. The football players think they own this place.
That used to be the case at UF, until April 3rd, 2006. Athletes are always going to be the "big men" on campus. Every local bar in town, restaurant, or small time merchant is going to cater to them; its an invaluable marketing mechanism. A local bar at UF gives athletes unlimited access to the VIP sections for free because they're going to draw huge crowds knowing Joakim Noah or Chris Leak is at the bar. Then those athletes pick any girl in the club they want, and they're theirs. Its a fact of life. You have to ask yourself, though, would really want those girls knowing how easy they are (and where they've undoubtedly been)? Its a temporary lifestyle for 98% of those athletes. But then, ask yourself another question: who are the primary customers of Ferrari dealers? Athletes or business men?
