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Rowers at US colleges

Three Scotch rowers have used their talent and skill developed in the Scotch College rowing programme to help gain entry to prestigious US colleges.

WORDS: MR TOM WOODRUFF – DIRECTOR OF ROWING

Young Old Boys Matthew Douglas, Stuart Sim and James Croxford – all members of the Class of 2011 and of the winning Head of the River 1st VIII last year – have gained admission to prestigious US colleges.

Matthew has been admitted to Brown University, Stuart to the University of Washington and James to Harvard University. What is exciting for the Scotch rowing fraternity is that each of these individuals used the abilities developed through Scotch’s rowing programme to open the door to admission. Each institution typically has 30,000 applications, with around 2,000 applicants accepted.

While there are academic and character hurdles that must be cleared, without the US colleges identifying the Scotch students as desirable for their rowing programmes, the Old Boys would not have been accepted.

Another product of the Scotch rowing programme, Andrew Emmett (’10) has completed a demanding and rewarding first year of study at Harvard. Over the course of this year, Andrew rowed in the highly successful freshman eight which won the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Regatta, and competed at Henley Royal Regatta, where the senior/Varsity Harvard eight won their division by a margin of one foot (30cm).

Given the time and effort that all these young men have invested in their rowing, it is very rewarding for everyone involved in the Boat Club (and Scotch College in general) to see where their talent and effort has led them. It is interesting to note their progression through the rowing programme and some information about how they applied.

Matthew Douglas (Brown University) stroked the 6th quad in Year 9 before rowing in the six seat of the 10B crew the following year. Next year he rowed in the three seat of the 2nd VIII, before changing to bow side to row in the seven seat of the 2011 1st VIII, which won the Head of the River.

This year, 30,000 people applied to Brown University, which is part of the Ivy League. Of these applicants 1,500 were accepted. As Matt puts it, the beauty of the system at Brown is that he does not have to commit to the curriculum for three months, and can therefore decide later the areas he wishes to focus on academically. Part of the process involved Matt writing essays in response to challenging questions about character and influence.

Matt was part of the ‘early decision’ group, meaning that he was accepted at Brown early and was therefore part of the top 25 per cent of applicants. This was made possible after the Brown rowing programme identified Matt as someone they wanted in their college rowing system. Head coach Paul Cooke made the trip to Melbourne and met with me six months prior to Matt’s application, which certainly helped make things easier. Matt took up residence at Brown on 29 August. This year Brown’s Varsity eight won the senior heavyweight championship at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Regatta, 0.3 of a second ahead of Harvard.

James Croxford (Harvard University) rowed in the 3rd quad in Year 9. The following year he was in the six seat of the 10A crew, and the five seat of the 2nd VIII the year after. In his final year James was selected in the six seat of the 1st VIII, which won the Head of the River.

James applied for Harvard along with 34,000 other applicants, and was one of 1,650 successful applicants for places at this Ivy League college. The Harvard coaching team regularly makes contact with the Scotch College Boat Club, the most recent visit by coaching staff being in December 2011. James was flown over and hosted at Harvard for a visit in November, before being admitted in December as part of the ‘early admission’ group. He is studying for a Liberal Arts degree, and took up residence on 23 August this year. Graduates of Harvard include US president Barack Obama and actor Matt Damon.

Stuart Sim ('11), James Croxford ('11) and Matthew Douglas ('11)

Stuart Sim (Washington University) began coxing in the Year 9A quad in 2007, before coxing the 2nd VIII in 2008 and 2009. He then coxed the 1st VIII in 2010 and 2011, winning the Head of the River in both years, and the national title in 2010.

The Washington rowing programme is currently ranked number one in the US, and in 2011 the men’s crew had a grade point average of 3.30/4, reflecting the requirement that rowers maintain good grades while involved with rowing. In 2011, 25,540 students applied to the University of Washington, with 5,693 being admitted.

Stuart took up residence on 24 September this year, and is studying for a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) degree. Stuart took the SAT exams in Melbourne, a standardised test for college admissions in the United States, and scored highly enough to earn a place in his course of choice. As Washington is not an Ivy League college, a SAT of less than 1,800 may still qualify a student for admission, although Stuart scored above this on his tests.

The Scotch College Boat Club wishes Matt, James and Stuart all the very best as they embark on what will be an exciting adventure and life-changing experience.

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013