Want to Swim in College?
The resources available to high school swimmers who are looking to swim in college has grown significantly in the half-dozen years since our daughter began her search for the school, academic program and swim team program that was “the right fit”. If we were doing that same search today, we might very well get “buried” by information. For that reason, we have put this page together to hopefully help you “swim through” the process of finding the information you need about college swimming. The process will be different and exciting for every swimmer-Good Luck!
Find out the team’s top times and/or current year top times for your events.
Go to NCAA online directory to find direct links to lists of all DI, DII and DIII college sport teams…use the drop down menu to select the Division and the sport. Harvard University website also provides links to most of the major college swim teams. Click on the links to go to the colleges you are interested in and then go to Top Times and Conference results for the most recent year. Both can help you determine where you would fit in their swim program. Remember, most conferences have limits on the number of swimmers and divers that a team can take to the conference meet so if swimming in a Collegiate Conference Championship meet is important to you, which it probably is, you might want to find out about the conference limits.
Begin narrowing down your possibilities by answering questions such as: Do I mind swimming with snow flakes falling? Does the college offer the academics I think I want to study? Do I want to be on a city campus or a more rural campus? Do I want to be a few hours from home or is a different time zone OK? Do I need to stay in my home state?
If you have already determined the locale(s) that you believe are best suited for you, it might be easier to check out swim programs by state at Global Computing’s Directory of American Colleges and Universities. Click on a State and then visit all the colleges from that state. At each college, look around for Athletics and see if they have a swim program.
Compile a list of schools that best meet your criteria above, in each of 3 categories:
- Long Shots (It’s a long shot but I want to try) 1-2 schools
- Best Bets (I’d be happy to attend this school and hopefully will be accepted) 2-3 schools
- Just in Case or Safety Schools (Confidant that I will be accepted) 1-2 schools
Have your SAT and ACT test scores sent to the colleges on your list.
Write a personal letter to the Swim Coaches at the schools on your list in May or June of your junior year in high school. Tell them about yourself, your swimming, your practices, (drylands and yardage), your improving times (be specific with your times), your academic pursuits, and what you believe you can offer the swim team. Follow up with the Recruiting Questionnaire that is available online on most college swim team websites. You will not hear from the coach until after July 1 (NCAA rules).
Apply for admission to the schools on your list.
When coaches call, typically one of the first questions they ask is “Have you applied for admission?” Being able to tell the coach “Yes, I have applied” signals that you’re sincerely interested in attending the school, and being a part of the school’s swim program.
Recruiting Trips
It’s challenging and nerve-wracking and fun….but you will discover that college swim team “where you best fit.”
OTHER GREAT RESOURCES:
www.missourivalleyswimming.com
A Little Bit about Swimming and Diving Scholarships
Not all athletic scholarships are full ride like football and basketball, so called “head count” sports; most are classed as “equivalency” sports, like college swimming. Put simply this means that coaches can “share” their allocation between a larger number of swimmers.
There are 134 division I and 54 division II colleges that offer swimming scholarships to Men. There are 192 division I and 73 division II colleges that offer scholarships to women. That’s a total of 1,764 swimming and diving scholarships for men in the NCAA alone. For women the total number in the NCAA is 3,279.3. (Source: www.athleticscholarships.net)
And don’t forget about D-III and NAIA colleges and universities. Look for the schools’s top times and see how they compare to your own. Coaches are always looking for swimmers who will get break school records and get their name on the school’s record board. Fast swimming makes for faster swimming!
