COLLEGE SWIMMING 

There's something out there for everyone! 

 

NCAA Division I - This is the highest level of college athletics and, thus, the most competitive. DI schools typically have large budgets, expensive facilities, and the student-athletes are expected to train and travel extensively.

NCAA Division II - While still a competitive division, DII athletes are provided more balance in their lives, as training and competition aren’t as intense. Scholarships are also offered at this level.

NCAA Division III - No athletic scholarships are offered for DIII student-athletes, but there are many other forms of financial aid. The competition levels are still very high, but practice seasons are shorter, and there’s more of an academic focus.

NAIA - A much smaller community than the NCAA—with a little over 250 schools—the NAIA is a great option for student-athletes who love their sport but are looking for a smaller or private college, or a specific major.

NJCAA - Junior college (JUCO) is a good option for the student-athlete looking to get a sense of what college athletics are like at a two-year institution before transferring to a four-year college. Many student-athletes compete at the JUCO level because they are working on their NCAA eligibility or are trying to save money before transferring to a four-year college.

Keep an open mind when looking at programs. There are excellents schools and excellent swim programs at every level. 

GOOD ADVICE

Expect to do some homework and expect to send a lot of emails. Get some help, but college coaches want to hear from and about you. Your parents have a part in this, but it is up to you to compete for a spot in a college swim program. 

• Take your ego out of the process as much as possible (athlete and family). The goal is to find the right place for you, with the correct mix of academics and athletics. Find that place...and then work out the details.
• While in high school, you are not a member of the NCAA, or bound by any of its’ rules. The colleges and coaches are bound by rules, and will let you know what they can and cannot do as they go.
• Find schools that have the major you want. Your college diploma will be more important than your swimming times after graduation!
• Clean up your media presence NOW.  Be attentive to what people will find when they Google you or enter your name into IG, FaceBook, Twitter, etc. 

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FRESHMAN YEAR

• Work hard in swim practice, focusing on strong work ethic and character.
• Open a swimcloud.com account, the Varsity account is a small one-time fee of $29 and is recommended. This is all you need, you do not need a recruiting service. 
• Remember; there are excellent schools at all levels of swimming, from D1 thru Junior college. If you want to swim in college there is a school for you. 
• Focus on your academics
• Meet with your HS counselor to make sure your course load is both on track and appropriately challenging for college admissions and the NCAA requirements

 

SOPHOMORE YEAR

• Continue to work hard in swim practice and be a leader both in and outside of the pool
• Your profile and ranking will now appear on swimcloud.com 
• Begin accumulating information about various colleges and programs and create your own filing system for each school. 
• Research college team and conference results to get a feel as to what level of collegiate swimming would be a good athletic “fit”. 
• Swimcloud.com provides historical conference results, team rosters, current times and is a good starting point for research. You can use the filter section to find schools specific to major, area, cost, size, collegiate level, etc…..
• If your times are close to fitting into the conference championship results, you may want to look at several teams within that conference 
• Look at all levels, don’t limit yourself to one division, there are DIII schools that are faster than some DI schools.
• Clean up your Facebook/IG/Social media sites. Make sure the email address you will use for college applications and communications with coaches  is “professional”
• Continue to focus on your academics
• Consider registering and taking a practice PSAT exam (October each year)
• Many colleges and universities are now ‘test optional’ for the SAT/ACT and the NCAA no longer requires a SAT/ACT test. But a good SAT/ACT will be beneficial in qualifying for merit aid at many schools. Note; all the Service Academy still require SAT/ACT. 
• Meet with your college counselor. Select appreciate courses, remember colleges prefer students who challenge themselves. Double check you are still on track for college and NCAA requirements.

 

JUNE 15th (AFTER YOUR SOPHOMORE YEAR)

• The first day a college coach can contact you by phone, email, text or in person is June 15th after your Sophomore year. Most schools use the Swimcloud.com site for contact information.
• Roster spots for your graduating class will typically fill in your Junior year, and the fall of your senior year.
• Be prepared to reply to all emails from colleges, even if you are not interested. College swimming is a very small community, always be polite and never ignore an email.
• Develop your Sports Resume and Cover Letter. You should start contacting schools that you have an interest in the spring of your sophomore year. Remember, they can not contact you until after June 15th. 
• Don't be shy, getting on the coaches radar early is a good thing.
• Always CC the Assistant Coach on correspondence, they are often in charge of recruiting
• Begin filling out school recruiting questionnaires on the schools websites
• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Start with the free NCAA account, you can upgrade later if you have an interest in visiting a DI or DII school. You can not go on any official visit without an NCAA account.

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JUNIOR YEAR

• Target at least 15-20 schools that are both an academic and an athletic fit.
• Continue to evaluate and research swim teams and conference results. If your times fit well into the conference championship results, this is the time to reach out to coaches and teams within that conference.
• Let your MBSC coach know which schools you are corresponding with. It is not unusual for college coaches to contact club coaches without telling you.
• Email college coaches with updates. If you are interested in going on a recruit trip to a specific school, let the coach know that their school is one of your top choices. Continue to reconfirm your interest in their program and your interest in a recruiting trip. 
• Visit college campuses, take admissions tours and schedule on-campus ‘un-official’ meetings with coaches. Weekends, Winter Break and Spring Break are good times to do this (depending on your peak meets) but discuss with your coaches beforehand. 
• Plan out your ‘official visits’. There is no limit to the number of ‘official visits’ you can go on - but keep in mind your school and swim schedule when planning visits.  Official trips can be no longer than 48 hrs, and are typically Friday & Saturday but there is travel time to consider when looking at out-of-state schools.
• Develop your own criteria for choosing your right academic “fit”. Talk to people!
• Develop your own criteria for choosing the right athletic “fit”. Talk to MBSC graduates, they are happy to help, your coach can put you in contact with recent grads.
• Focus on your academics! Courses get harder! Junior year academic performance is especially important. Study hard for your final exams! Seriously consider which courses and academic areas are of future interest to you and make sure your courses and course load satisfy college and NCAA  entrance requirements. 
• Register and take the PSAT at your high school if they offer it. Rest well the night before. This exam is typically the first standardized test result the coaches receive and they will use it to preliminarily “qualify” applicants. Junior Year PSAT test results are what determine who qualifies for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Results are distributed at school during December. Review the PSAT results to help prepare you for the SAT which you may take as early as January. 
• November: If you are prepared, consider registering for the January SAT. Request the Question and Answer Service as it provides important feedback as to your strengths and weaknesses on the exam. Note: Make sure to register early as test sites fill quickly. There are very few Monterey and Salinas test dates. If these are filled you will need to travel out of the area.  Santa Cruz also fills very quickly.
• Take the SAT and/or ACT exam
• Obtain a copy of your Unofficial Transcript. You may  be able to download this from your school's website, if not, get a copy from your school before summer break.  ​

 

SUMMER BETWEEN JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR 

• Continue making “unofficial” visits to colleges and coaches.
• Continue to email coaches with updates. If you are interested in going on a recruit trip to a specific school, let the coach know that their school is one of your top choices. Continue to reconfirm your interest in their program and your interest in a recruiting trip. 
• Immediately respond to any correspondence from college coaches. If you do not receive initial responses to calls or resumes or submissions of on-line questionnaires, you may want to call or email the coach to make sure it was received, always cc the assistant coach.
• Use your summer wisely: volunteer, work, take a class, and always - attend swim practice and go to meets. Colleges are interested in how you spend your time. 
• Fine tune your list of colleges that are a good fit for you athletically and academically.
• If you are not satisfied with your SAT/ACT test results, consider prepping for the Fall tests. 

SENIOR YEAR

• Follow-up with coaches immediately! Update times immediately. Reconfirm your interest in their program.
• Check emails frequently for correspondence from each college.
• Make a decision, committee verbally.
• The NLI (National Letter of Intent) day is November 1st. DIII & non-athletic scholarship spots do not require this but most schools will send you a ceremonial letter once you make a formal commitment to swim with them. 
• Some schools may still have roster spots open after November 1st. It is possible to secure a roster spot in the spring, but keep in mind you will need to have applied to that school by the school's admissions date (and then be admitted).  
• Set up a signing day ceremony with your HS school and MBSC coach. Each HS handles this differently, check with your HS coach and/or the AD at your school on how to proceed.
• OCTOBER-DECEMBER: File the Free Application for Federal Student (FAFSA) as soon as possible. You may need help from your parents with this. Even if you don’t think you will qualify for Financial Aid - fill this out. You might be surprised.
• Continue to work hard in school. Fall grades are very important to colleges/coaches.
• Follow up/double check to make sure that letters of recommendation, transcripts and applications are received in a timely manner (financial aid information too). You’ll be relying on the Common App for most schools but many require additional applications and essays. Yes, recruited swimmers MUST STILL APPLY TO THE SCHOOL by the deadline.

Congratulations - get ready for college!

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COLLEGE RECRUITING MYTHS

 

Coaches will beat down your door

• Unless you are ranked in the top 100 nationally this is probably not going to be the case. Coaches have 100’s of emails from other recruits to sort through, mountains of administrative duties, and coaching their team. Some coaches also coach the school’s club team or teach a class. In short they have their plate full. At the end of the day it’s up to you to market yourself in the best manner possible to colleges and universities! YOU need to get the coach’s attention. 

 

Your swimming will over-shadow any academic shortcoming

• This is the most dangerous of the college swimming recruiting myths. Unless you are the next Michael Phelps, a high GPA is critical to getting into the school of your dreams, if only for the fact that a less than stellar GPA can make you ineligible for some scholarships.
• If your grades are continually faltering you’ll soon find that interest from college programs will fade quickly. Think of it from their point-of-view – nobody wants to have to try and motivate or babysit a student that is not interested in maintaining academic eligibility.
• College programs want a student that will graduate from their school – not flunk out spectacularly after one semester.
• Another key point is that there is much more money available in terms of academic scholarship than for strictly athletics.
• Academic eligibility is one of the most important aspects of the recruiting process and can be overlooked by families who aren’t sure how to get recruited. There are different eligibility requirements for NCAA, NAIA and JUCO schools—and each school will also have its own entrance requirements—so it’s crucial to actively work to maintain your grades. A great GPA can be the difference-maker between you and another recruit. A college coach wants to fill their roster with athletes who will work hard. If you can prove you have the academic chops, they have less to worry about.

 

 

You should only have ‘dream’ schools on your list

• Visiting with numerous programs is not only a good personal experience, but you will get a better idea of what you want in a college atmosphere. Whether it is an official or an unofficial visit, get out there and see what the various programs have to offer. It can be easy to dismiss a school on paper, but you will never really know how good of a fit it can be for you until you get there and see it for yourself.

 

You need to produce a 45 minute highlight video

• Relieve yourself of the need of showing the same race at different speeds, of showing slo-mo sequences, and of over-producing the video. If the video is posted up on YouTube or on your Swimcloud account, the coach can rewind, slo-mo and freeze-frame as much as they like. Keep it short and succinct and edit out any critique from the person filming (parents, coaches, etc…). Sound off is the best. The only information needed is your lane number and color of cap.

 

 

You can wait until your senior year to start looking 

• NO - times have changed from when your parents may have played sports in college.
• The recruitment process usually takes over a year, so it’s in your best interest to start looking around and showing intent long before your senior year gets started. The NCAA recruiting timeline has moved up in recent years. Putting together a list of prospective schools in your freshman and sophomore years is recommended, and having a sizable list allows for options in the event coaches and/or programs drastically change.
• It’s best to start reaching out to coaches the summer after your Sophomore year.
• It’s possible to do it all in your senior year but it will take considerably more work. Some schools and coaches are notorious for filling their roster sports early and others take a slower approach, you’ll just need to find those schools.
• Swimcloud will show you the commitments in your class as they roll in.

 

 

An athletic scholarship will cover everything

• BIG no-no here!! Outside of the major funded sports (football and basketball in particular) there is a very finite amount of scholarship dollars available. Many coaches will try to stretch that money out across as many athletes as possible, meaning that there will be out-of-pocket costs at some point. And even if you are fast enough to get a full ride to the institution of your dreams, there will inevitably be costs and expenses that you’ll incur, not limited to extra travel, spending money, and leisure time expenses.
• Some schools will allow ‘stacking' of scholarships (athletic plus merit aid or a school specific scholarship) others will not. 
• Some conferences/schools do not offer athletic money. For example the Ivy League does not offer athletic scholarships, nor do they offer merit aid.