SWIMMING IN COLLEGE - Interested in possibly swimming in college? There are a lot of resources out there that can guide you toward that goal!
Remember too that you do NOT have to be a national-level swimmer in order to compete in college. There are around 400 four-year schools that offer men's swimming and around 500 4-year schools that have women's teams, so even if you don't think you would qualify for a D1 scholarship, there are still LOTS of options available to keep swimming after high school!
But where to start?
1. Check out the Active.com website for a general overview of college divisions.
2. USA Swimming website: Some of the best general resources are available on the “Swimming into College” section of USA Swimming’s website. These include (but are not limited to):
- College recruiting steps – from evaluating your goals and priorities through making a final decision
- College recruiting timeline – outline of general steps to take from Freshman through Senior year in high school
- College questions – questions you might ask coaches, swimmers on college teams, academic depts., etc. as part of your search
- Collegiate club sports – options beyond NCAA teams
- CollegeSwimming.com – online site where you can set up your own account and profile, research schools, and compare your times to the swimmers on those teams. A good number of schools use this site for recruiting.
- NCAA Eligibility Center – to be eligible to swim at a Div. I or Div. II school, all athletes must register at the NCAA Eligibility Center. Typically done at start of Junior year.
See the full page on the USA Swimming website for more details and links to other documents.
3. A swim coach's advice:
4. YourSwimLog.com: This website offers more specific advice than USA Swimming's references, on their page "All You Need to Know About Being Recruited for College Swimming". Articles include, among others:
