Swimming in college

A Splash magazine article once pointed out that serious swimmers usually have two dreams: to swim in the Olympics and to swim in college. The first dream will come true for two out of every 10,000 members of USA Swimming. The second can be true for 100% of all members of USA Swimming. The key is finding a program that’s right for you, no matter what your ability. Not everyone will be able to swim for an NCAA Division I powerhouse like Stanford or Texas, but there’s no shame in swimming for a smaller Division I, II, III, or NAIA school. If you find one where your teammates share similar values and goals — one that will foster your growth as a student-athlete — your experience will be a rewarding one.


There is often a misconception in the college search process that if you are not recruited or have not been offered a scholarship you must not be very good. That view is false. The fact is that most colleges just do not have the finances available to offer every good swimmer a scholarship. Another fact is that most colleges do not know a student-athlete is interested in their program until that student has made "first contact."


Many families assume that colleges are going to call them first. The reality is that most collegiate swimming programs do not have the manpower to search for athletes. Most coaches rely on meet results from large meets such as sectionals or high school state, prospective student questionnaires, and professional recruiters (not sports agents) who student-athletes pay to send information about them to schools.


With the scholarship limits that are imposed by the NCAA, most college coaches look at a student’s academic ability. Most swimming student-athletes receive financial aid through academic-related scholarships, grants, and student loans — not through athletic scholarships.

Athletic scholarship

CIA partners with American College Connection (ACC), an organization that has helped swimmers meet their goal of swimming in college. Central Iowa Aquatics does not endorse ACC but does encourage swimmers and parents to consider their options for successfully connecting with the best possible swim opportunities at the college level. CIA does receive a monetary referral incentive for swimmers referred to ACC. 

An athletic scholarship is a one-year contract between you and a Division I or Division II institution. A school can reduce or cancel a scholarship if you become ineligible for competition, fraudulently misrepresent yourself, quit the team, or engage in serious misconduct. During the contract year, a coach cannot reduce or cancel your scholarship based on your athletic ability, performance, or injury. An institution may choose to not renew a scholarship at the end of the academic term provided they notify you in writing and provide you an opportunity for a hearing.

Remember a coach cannot offer you a "four-year full-ride scholarship." They do not exist. Each student-athlete award is reviewed annually. It is important to ask current collegiate swimmers if they are still on scholarship. Parents, it is not uncommon for a college program to offer and renew an athletic scholarship for the first two or three years of college and then ask the student to pay full tuition for the remainder of their college career.

What does college swimming look like?

  • Varsity Team

    • Team requirements (20 hours a week).
    • Class requirements (passing 12 credit hours).
    • Social life and family life balance.
    • Four-year commitment.
    • Student-athlete resources (tutors, early class registration).
    • Vacation and breaks (may differ from other students).

  • Club Team

    • A way to continue swimming while in college.
    • Different levels of commitment and competition.
    • Collegiate Club Swimming Championships

Picking a school

CIA wants every swimmer on the team to swim in college because we understand the benefits of being part of a team. As you look at schools and find teams to join, start to show interest in the programs. At the same time, take the time to look at some other considerations, like:
  • Getting accepted: It is very important to review the acceptance standards of all schools that you are interested in attending. If you are unable to meet these standards, it can make your desire to swim on that school's swim team a tougher road.
  • Academic offerings: If you know your intended major, or even if you don't, it is important to review each school’s academic offerings. If you are undecided, will you have plenty of options to explore at the school or will your options be limited?
  • On-campus involvement: Consider your desire to be involved around campus and in other activities outside of swimming. Will the team commitments allow you time to be involved in things like Greek life or student government?
  • Public vs. private: Public schools are funded heavily by state and government monies while private institutions are funded by tuition, endowments, and donations.
    • Public institutions normally have an "in-state" cost for those students who are residents of the state and an "out-of-state" cost for those who attend from a different state. These price differences can make schools become more reasonably priced for your budget or put them out of reach.
    • Private schools most often have the same pricing for all students, both in-state and out-of-state.
  • Expense: Review the different options at each school for scholarships and financial aid. While some schools do not offer athletic scholarships, they could have more academic offerings than others. Schools have academic-based, need-based, and private scholarships that students must apply for.
  • Location: School location can have a big impact on your life, from the local weather to the distance from your hometown. Are you prepared to live in the place where you’re looking at schools?
  • Team trips: Does the location of this school require long travel trips for team activities? When making team trips, do you travel by bus or plane? How much time will you spend making these trips?
  • Size: For some people, attending a large college is just what they are looking for. Classes with 300 people and a campus with tens of thousands. For others, a small intimate campus is ideal.
  • Conference competition: A good way to check your ability to swim at a given school is to check your times against the times posted at the school’s conference championship. Would you be able to swim and score points for your school? 
Before starting your search for potential colleges create a list of the most important aspects to YOU. Your college experience is what you make of it.

NCAA and general eligibility

College-bound student-athletes are encouraged to register at the beginning of their junior year of high school. Academic eligibility requirements per NCAA include:
  • Graduate from high school.
  • Complete a minimum of 16 core courses for Division I or 14 core courses for Division II. After August 1, 2013, student-athletes who wish to compete at Division II institutions must complete 16 core courses.
  • Earn a minimum required grade-point average in core courses.
  • Earn a qualifying test score on either the ACT or SAT.
  • Request final amateurism certification from the NCAA Eligibility Center.
  • For Division I student-athletes, the requirements must also meet the following standards:
    • Earn at least a 2.3 grade-point average in core courses.
    • Meet an increased sliding-scale standard (for example, an SAT score of 1,000 requires a 2.5 high school core-course GPA).
    • Successfully complete 10 of the 16 total required core courses before the start of their senior year in high school. Seven of the 10 courses must be successfully completed in English, math, and science.
    • Prospects that earn between a 2.0 and 2.3 GPA and meet the current sliding scale standard (for example, an SAT score of 1,000 requires a 2.025 high school core-course GPA) will be eligible for practice and athletically related financial aid but not competition.
  • Division III college and universities set their own admission standards. The NCAA does not set initial eligibility requirements in Division III.

College recruitment information

NCAA member schools have adopted rules to create an equitable recruiting environment that promotes student-athlete well-being. The rules define who may be involved in the recruiting process, when recruiting may occur, and the conditions under which recruiting may be conducted. Recruiting rules seek, as much as possible, to control intrusions into the lives of student-athletes.
 
The NCAA defines recruiting as “any solicitation of prospective student-athletes or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletics interests for the purpose of securing a prospective student-athlete’s enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program.” Below is specific recruiting information.

Recruitment trips

What is the difference between an official visit and an unofficial visit? Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents paid for by the college is an official visit. Visits paid for by college-bound student-athletes or their parents are unofficial visits.
 
During an official visit, the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the prospect, lodging, and three meals per day for both the prospect and the parent or guardian, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event.
 
The only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event.
 
It is important to remember your visit to a college and meeting with the team and coach can be your one and only chance to make a good impression in person. It is also important to consider:
  • What are you wearing? Do you look like you are truly interested in the school and are dressed to impress the coach, or do you look like an unorganized, unmotivated student?
  • Are you organized with any materials you are presenting to the coach/school? If you sent a resume or document with your information, make sure you bring an updated hard copy.
  • Is the student-athlete driving the conversation with the coach or are the parents? Who is more interested in learning about the program? Remember to get YOUR questions answered. Don’t be passive in the experience.
Remember on a recruiting trip, coaches, and teammates are doing their best to get you to their school and team. Try to remain objective about the experience. This one weekend with a coach and team may not be the best representation of what your college career will look like at that school. Think about your next four to five years there, not just a single weekend.
 
As much as you are judging a team, coach, and campus they are doing the same to you. They want to know if you will fit in with them. Put your best foot forward and enjoy your time getting to know the team but know how to balance having a good time and being a responsible recruit.

Verbal commitment

Verbal commitment is the phrase used to describe a college-bound student-athlete’s commitment to a school before he or she can sign a National Letter of Intent (“NLI”). A college-bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at any time. While verbal commitments have become popular, they are NOT binding on either the college-bound student-athlete or the school. Only the signing of the NLI accompanied by a financial aid agreement is binding on both parties.

Committing to a school

A National Letter of Intent is signed by a college-bound student-athlete when the student-athlete agrees to attend a Division I or II college or university for one academic year. Participating institutions agree to provide financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete if the student-athlete is admitted to the school and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. Other forms of financial aid do not guarantee the student-athlete financial aid.

The National Letter of Intent is voluntary and not required for a student-athlete to receive financial aid or participate in sports. Signing a National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process since participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools.

A student-athlete who has signed a National Letter of Intent may request a release from his or her contract with the school. If a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with one school but attends a different school, he or she will lose one full year of eligibility and must complete a full academic year at their new school before being eligible to compete.

Walk-on/Non-scholarship athletes

Any athlete who does not receive athletic monies is considered a "walk-on" athlete. These non-athletic scholarship athletes may receive academic monies or other grant/aid from the school or private donors.

Financial aid

There are many options out there to help students pay for college. It is important for students to look at all possibilities. Visiting your high school college counselor or guidance counselor may help in the search for different types of scholarships available to you.

Each college and university has a financial aid office or financial service office. Take time to investigate the options each school has to offer and see if you can apply for additional funds from the school. A quick internet search of "financial aid" can turn up many different websites and pages. Take time to review each site before registering to use them as some are money-making sites and may not be as useful as others.

Additional scholarship information

Individual colleges or universities award athletics grants-in-aid (often described as scholarships) on a one-year, renewable basis. They may be renewed for a maximum of five years within a six-year period of continuous college attendance. Aid can be renewed, canceled, or reduced at the end of each year for many reasons. If a student-athlete’s aid will be reduced or canceled, the college or university must provide the student-athlete with an opportunity to appeal.

Financial aid is awarded in various amounts, ranging from full scholarships (including tuition, fees, room, board, and books) to small awards that might provide only course-required books. Such partial awards are known as “equivalencies.” Some Division I sports (including Football Bowl Subdivision football and basketball) do not permit equivalencies.

All scholarships from any source in any amount must be reported to the college financial aid office. The total amount of financial aid a student-athlete can receive and the total amount of athletics aid a team can award may be limited. These limits can affect whether a student-athlete can accept aid from other sources.

Athletics financial aid can be a tremendous benefit to most families, but some costs are not covered (for example, travel between home and school). Also, although the benefits of athletically related financial aid are substantial, the likelihood of participating is relatively small. Any young person contemplating college attendance should use high school for legitimate academic preparation.