Rowing Scholarships
Men’s US college rowing scholarships aren’t as widely available as women’s college rowing scholarships. A small number of American colleges and universities do offer men’s rowing scholarships. The actual total of men’s rowing scholarships nationwide would not match the total number of women’s rowing scholarships within some major college conferences. Stanford University, Boston University, Northeastern University and the University of California are some of the major DI universities which offer men’s rowing scholarships. Ivy League schools such as Princeton and Harvard do not offer men’s rowing scholarships, but there are financial assistance grants available if you qualify for these.
Did you know 85 percent of collegiate rowers were members of either a high school or club rowing team? The remaining participants come from varied high school athletic backgrounds. It’s also important to realize the time commitment necessary to participate as a collegiate rower. It’s almost like a full-time job while attending college. Rowers can look to spend 28 hours per week in training and team-related activities in addition to an average 46 hours per week earmarked for academics.
Academic and Sporting Preparation
Targeting University Programmes
Connecting with College Coaches
Ongoing Pastoral Care
To date, we've sent over 35,000 young men and women to the US. Securing over $400 million in scholarship awards and finding a place for every single qualifying applicant.
Every year, thousands of student-athletes and their families come face-to-face with the difficult challenge of securing a scholarship to an American university. What they often discover is that navigating university options is stressful enough, and adding sports into the mix brings it to a whole new level.
Even for those who do a little recruiting homework, they are often left with more questions, very few simple answers and an uneasy feeling they are somehow falling behind.
At FirstPoint, we understand what you’re going through. Many of us have experienced first-hand what the scholarship recruiting experience is like—as players and as coaches. And that experience, combined with our advanced online technology, expansive college coach network and proven recruiting methods, helps thousands of student-athletes and their families take control of their recruiting experience.
Whether you are a first-year high school student or a national ranked athlete, FirstPoint helps take the stress of uncertainty out of your scholarship journey by putting a plan in place to help you find your best university options in the USA.
HOW TO GET A SPORTS Scholarship
Testimonials
I am so grateful for the life changing experience and opportunities that have been available to me as an NCAA DI student athlete. None of which would have been possible without the expertise and knowledge of the staff at FirstPoint USA.
Josh Hendry
A huge thank you to the team at FirstPoint USA for the diligence and attention to detail throughout the whole process. They left no stone unturned gaining interest from a large amount of prestigious universities in USA through their network. Thank you!
John Patton
My son has started his USA rugby scholarship journey. In a very short space of time he’s had his first offer of interest. FirstPoint USA have been excellent - no waffle, straight talking about the reality of what happens and quick to respond to our queries.
Hilary Bolton
Frequently Asked Questions
While the erg is not the only measure of a rower, it is used by many coaches to get an idea of an athlete’s capabilities. Many coaches recruit based on academic history combined with the athletic potential of the applicant. Rowers need to have stamina, good balance and timing, and lots of strength. Unlike other college sports, you don’t need any experience to join a rowing team in college. As long as you are willing to put in the hard work and the time, you can be part of a team as a novice.
This is the top level of college football. These programs have 85 scholarships and all scholarships are full-rides; there are no partial scholarships at this level. Every year a coach can hand out up to 25 new scholarships, not including the scholarships they might take from a current player and give to another. When most people think of college football, they think of the FBS level. However, even with more scholarships than any other division level, 80% of the opportunities to play college football fall outside of the FBS level. It’s always good to pursue the dream of playing for an FBS program but your recruiting efforts should include other division levels as well.
Men’s rowing isn’t a sanctioned sport by the NCAA. Instead, collegiate men’s rowing competitions are governed by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. If the college men’s rowing program is a club sport, it is governed by the American Collegiate Rowing Association. The ACRA was formed after the IRA eliminated club rowing teams from competing for the IRA Championship.
The bulk of the universities and colleges which fund rowing programs are NCAA D1 institutions, with D3 schools more than doubling D2 rowing programs. Of the 88 D1 colleges, only 35 of them support a men’s rowing team. All 88 schools have women’s rowing programs. Similarly, only six of the D2 and 27 of the D3 colleges have men’s rowing programs.
Opportunities to earn college rowing scholarships are available for you. If you’re looking at a men’s college rowing scholarship, there are less opportunities than those for women, but include west coast schools such as the University of Washington, Stanford University and the University of California. Boston University and Northeastern University lead the east coast educational institutions offering men’s college rowing scholarships. As a male rower, you must also recognize many collegiate rowing programs will assist you in gaining admissions into the school itself. This can lead to being eligible for academic-related financial opportunities.
- NCAA Division I has 35 teams
- NCAA Division II has 6 teams
- NCAA Division III has 27 teams
- NAIA has 2 teams
- Heavyweight men: 6:30 noticed, 6:10 - very good
- Lightweight Men: 6:40 and under you’ll be noticed, best recruits are in the 6:30s and 6:20s.
Live, study and play with top US Institutions
