Tag: transfer

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

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First of all, I just wanted to say that your blog is amazing and I’ve learned a lot from reading your posts. I’m going into my freshman year of college at a university that wasn’t my first choice. I was recruited as a coxswain for the men’s team at UW but unfortunately couldn’t afford to go there. I’m still crushed about it, but I’m trying to eventually transfer if I can find ways to deal with the money situation. Do you think it would be best to transfer before spring season or in the fall?

I think from a rowing standpoint it’d be best to transfer in the fall because then you’ll have a couple months to get acquainted with the coaches, the rowers, the team culture, the equipment, etc. before the craziness of the spring season sets in. The winter training trip will be way more fun and way less awkward for you if you’ve already established some friendships with the guys vs. coming straight from your other school, not knowing anyone, and being expected to jump right in and take charge.

From a school standpoint I don’t think it makes much of a difference if you go in the spring or fall. It might push your graduation back to August instead of May or June if you transfer before the spring semester but if that’s not an issue for you I wouldn’t worry about it. Some classes are only offered at certain times so that could get tricky initially with scheduling if you have to take classes with pre-reqs but all in all, spring vs. fall doesn’t really matter.

Related: Hi, I’m a freshman in college. I rowed all throughout high school, and I thought that I could handle not rowing in college but I don’t think I can. It’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. I’ve asked my parents if I could transfer home and row for a local club but they told me that I need to buck up and put my education first over my love for rowing. I don’t know what to do. They won’t listen to me at all. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t want to give this up.

From a “social” standpoint, transfer before the fall. You’ll get to come in at the same time as all the new freshmen and it’s right at the beginning of the year so there will be a ton of stuff happening. Going in the fall also has the potential to make it easier to meet people too since most people will be starting off not knowing anyone or wanting to make new friends, whereas in the spring everyone’s already spent four months together in classes, extra-curriculars, etc. This can help you out with crew too. If you come in at the same time as the new freshman recruits instead of four months after them you won’t have to deal with any drama later on with them having attitudes or whatever because “they were there first”. I was talking to someone about that a few months ago and it was the most ridiculous situation ever but it makes sense why it happened.

Talk to the coaches at UW, particularly whoever is in charge of recruiting. Let them know (like, now-ish) that you are hoping to transfer to UW and give them a timeline of when you’d like to do that. I’m sure they already know why you turned them down but reiterate that to them and ask if they have any suggestions for discussing financial aid with the university. I have to assume they’d be able to give you some good advice in that area. Get as MUCH information as possible on grants, scholarships, etc. from the registrar’s office and find out what you’re eligible for. Start working on those applications sooner rather than later. You’ll have to reapply to the university too, even though you were already accepted, so don’t wait too long to get started on that. During your fall semester at the school you’re currently at try to form some relationships with your professors who might be able to write you a letter of recommendation to include with your transfer app. Obviously don’t suck up to them just to get a LOR but you know what I mean. Go to office hours, show up to class, participate, etc.

If you’re coxing at your current school, I’d keep the fact that you want to transfer on the DL. I wouldn’t hide it, per se, but I wouldn’t make it blatantly obvious that this team/school wasn’t your first choice. It’s kind of like looking for a new job when you’ve already got a job – don’t say anything until you’ve got something secured lest your attitude, dedication, commitment, loyalty, etc. be questioned. At that point have the conversation with your coach and go from there. Having it be known right off the bat that you turned UW down (legitimate reasons aside), are at your second choice school, and want to transfer as soon as you can’t probably won’t do you any favors in building any sort of camaraderie with your teammates.

College Q&A

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Thanks for answering that last question! I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult since men’s rowing isn’t an NCAA sport, but I thought you would know more about this than me. Do you have any advice for making the best out of the situation when you’re on a team that you don’t necessarily want to be on for an extended period of time, knowing that you want to transfer?

No problem! I can’t imagine you’ll encounter any issues but better to find out ahead of time and be able to deal with it rather than when you get to your new school and it be too late.

As far as being on a team you don’t want to be a part of…do you have to/even want to be on the team for the rest of the time you’re at your current school? Obviously I never want to tell anyone to straight up quit but there comes a time when you’ve gotta ask yourself if it’s worth it. The commitment to your team as a whole is one thing but the commitment to your teammates as individuals is another. If you’re saying you’re going to go back in the fall and be a part of the team you’re committing yourself to the four or eight other women in your boat. As the coxswain, it’s your responsibility to … not be happy-go-lucky about everything because that’s annoying and unrealistic but to be that person who always shows up, regardless of whatever else is going on, simply because you’re the leader of the crew. If it’s obvious you don’t want to be there for whatever reason, how do you think that would make the other people in your boat feel? I don’t mean to say that to make you feel bad or guilty because you shouldn’t, but think about it from their perspective.

Anyways, back to your question. How do you make the best of the situation? Show up, put the work in, keep off-the-water stuff off the water, have a positive attitude (even if you have to fake it sometimes), try not to make it super evident that you’d rather be anywhere but there, and find something to dedicate yourself to in order to make your time there worth it. If you’re going to be getting up early to go to practice you better have a damn good reason for doing so otherwise you will encounter new levels of disdain and misery that you didn’t know were possible. Been there, did that, can confirm, it sucks. There’s a certain level of selflessness that’s required in rowing, especially as a coxswain, but beyond that, do what you’ve gotta do to make sure you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time.

The summer is a good time to evaluate all of that and gauge how you’re feeling ahead of time so that if you do decide to walk away, you can give your coach(es) plenty of heads up. Regardless of what you ultimately end up doing, your teammates deserve your very best when you’re there and if there’s any question about whether or not you can give that, you’ve gotta ask yourself if it’s worth staying on the team knowing that you’re just going to be transferring to a new school in a few months.

College Q&A Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

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Do you know anything about NCAA rules and talking to coaches when you’re already on a team but trying to transfer? Specifically from a women’s program to a men’s program…

Your best bet is to get in touch with the athletic department of the university you’re looking to transfer to, specifically the compliance department, and ask them any questions you have. They’ll be able to tell you specifically what rules do and don’t apply to you and what you should do going forward. There’s also plenty of information on the “want to transfer” part of the NCAA’s website.

I did some research and found the NCAA’s Transfer Guide, which I recommend you read because there’s a lot of good information in there that might end up being helpful, regardless if you go with the men or stick with women. Here’s what it says about talking to coaches (at the bottom of page 9).

“Generally, if you are enrolled as a full-time student at an NCAA or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) four-year school and you want to transfer to a different NCAA school to play, your current school’s athletics director must give written permission-to-contact to the new coach or member of the athletics staff before you or your parents can talk with one of them. That is called having a permission-to-contact letter.

You may write to any NCAA school saying that you are interested in transferring, but the new coach must not discuss transfer opportunities with you unless he or she has received written permission-to-contact from your current school.

If your current school does not give you written permission-to-contact, another school cannot contact you and encourage you to transfer. This does not preclude you from transferring; however, if the new school is in Division I or II, you cannot receive an athletics scholarship until you have attended the new school for one academic year.

Also, if your current school officials deny your request to permit another institution to contact you about transferring, they must tell you in writing that you have a right to appeal the decision. In that instance, a panel of individuals from your current school who are not involved in athletics will conduct a hearing to decide the issue.”

I would start doing all of this as early as possible. Now would probably be a good time to call the compliance department and talk to them since the summer is, for the most part, relatively chaos-free.

College Q&A Rowing

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Hi, I’m a freshman in college. I rowed all throughout high school, and I thought that I could handle not rowing in college but I don’t think I can. It’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. I’ve asked my parents if I could transfer home and row for a local club but they told me that I need to buck up and put my education first over my love for rowing. I don’t know what to do. They won’t listen to me at all. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t want to give this up.

I hate to side with your parents but they’re right. Transferring JUST to row isn’t a legitimate reason to switch schools, especially if you’re at a good school right now. You have to think long term – rowing’s not like football or basketball where you can transfer to a better school in hopes of getting more playing time and improving your stock in the draft so that you’ll hopefully land a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract. If you wanted to transfer schools because you didn’t think you were getting a good education or you realized that the school you’re at just isn’t for you, those would be legit. If you were transferring to an equally good or better university than the one you’re at, with an equally good academic program as the one you’re currently in, then you might be able to convince them but if they know the reason you’re doing it is ultimately because you want to row, it’s going to be a very, VERY tough sell.

I would investigate opportunities in your current city and at your school. During the summer you can row at your local club at home but during the school year, like your parents said, school does come first. It sucks but it’s just how it is. If you still ultimately decide you want to transfer make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, whatever those might be. Sit down and have a mature, adult conversation with your parents. Gather all the facts (including financial costs of transferring) and present it to them. The more mature and rational you are about the situation, the more your parents will respect where you’re coming from and be willing to listen to you (even if they still say no in the end).