Attached are the basic quidlines for those swimmers thinking about swimming in college. High school and Jr High school swimmers should review and understand that they must meet basic requirements, in order to participate in collegiate sports. This includes, certification from the clearing house before the beginning of the senior year. If you have any questions, please give me a call. It is never to early to start educating yourself about the college application and recruit process.
Scouts do not come looking for you or offering scholarships freely. You must market yourself to the schools you are interested in. You must take the initiative and be willing to do the work. I would be more than willing to share my experience with you. When all is said and done, the basic leg work in the college application and decision process must be done by the swimmer/student and parent. I can point you in the right direction. I can coach you and develop your swimming abilities, write you reference letters ,and talk to college coaches after you have taken care of the basics. I will help at the request of a swimmer, not a parent. Often I have gone out on a major limb to meet a parents desires, only to find out it was not what the swimmer/student wants.
Grades (GPA), volunteer work, SAT scores, Act scores, and swimming are all important. For those of you who struggle with grades, hard work and improvement speak volumes in the process.
Please do not make the mistakes that many students make in preparation for college. Soe of them are as follows:
1. Too many start the process much too late. Start the process early. Start thinking about schools and educational choices now. Set goals to work towards meeting the basic requirements of an academic program.
2. Have more than one choice or option.
3. Do not sacrafice academic and swim performance for "stupid" social choices. (ie. drinking, parties, drugs) Any one can make poor choices. These choices are also against the law. It takes someone special to make healthy choices. It takes someone special to make choices that set up a successful path. It may be fun or exhilirating to make poor choices at the moment. However,it is not fun struggling later on, or missing out on opportunities because you have made poor choices. My heart has been wrenched many times as a coach/educator by those who have hurt themselves making poor choices.
4. Ask questions...... Ask your coach for advice or information.. Ask your school counselor for help. Talk to your teachers about college and ask them questions about their experience. Put yourself out there and be noticed for your enthusiasm. You don't have to be a 4.0 to be appreciated and accepted into a college (it does help). You need to be engaged and do your best to be appreciated. Those classes that you most struggle with, are the ones to enlitist your teachers help.These will be the classes(teachers) that get you the reference letter that get you in to college.
5. Parents- Advise your kids, help steer them,but have them take charge of the process with you checking in on them of what has been done. College coaches and admissions officers like to see the kids making the choices and are very leery of overbearing parents. After all, your child will be 18 and an adult when they go to school. The best gift you can give your child is a toolbox of "independence skills".
Some independence skills are:
how to do laundry
use a plunger
cook nutitous meals
balance a check book
fill out an application
write a letter and address an envelope
speak with an instructor when they need help (them, not you)
know their social security # and other vital information
Understand the dangers of the internet
Learn how to handle money, save, spend, use an ATM, understand dangers of credit card debt, basic accounting etc..
A place to start educating yourself about the NCAA process is www.ncaaclearinghouse.net .
Coach Dia
NCAA FRESHMAN-ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS
QUICK REFERENCE SHEET
KNOW THE RULES:
Core Courses
? Starting August 1, 2008, 16 core courses will be required for NCAA Division I only. This rule applies to any
student first entering any Division I college or university on or after August 1, 2008. See the chart below for the
breakdown of this 16 core-course requirement.
? 14 core courses are required in NCAA Division II. See the breakdown of core-course requirements below.
Test Scores
? Division I has a sliding scale for test score and grade-point average. The sliding scale for those requirements
is shown on page two of this sheet.
? Division II has a minimum SAT score requirement of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.
? The SAT score used for NCAA purposes includes only the critical reading and math sections. The writing
section of the SAT is not used.
? The ACT score used for NCAA purposes is a sum of the four sections on the ACT: English, math, reading and
science.
? All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse by the
testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will no longer be used. When registering for the
SAT or ACT, use the clearinghouse code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported to the
clearinghouse.
Grade-Point Average
? Only core courses are used in the calculation of the grade-point average.
? Be sure to look at your high school?s list of NCAA-approved core courses on the clearinghouse Web site to
make certain that the courses being taken have been approved as core courses. The Web site is
www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.
? Division I grade-point-average requirements are listed on page two of this sheet.
? The Division II grade-point-average requirement is a minimum 2.000.
PLEASE NOTE: For students first entering any NCAA college or university on or after August 1, 2005, computer
science courses may only be used for initial-eligibility purposes if the course receives graduation credit in
mathematics or natural/physical science and is listed as such on the high school?s list of NCAA-approved core
courses.
DIVISION I
16 Core-Course Rule
16 Core Courses:
4 years of English.
3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher).
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab
if offered by high school).
1 year of additional English, mathematics or
natural/physical science.
2 years of social science.
4 years of additional courses (from any area
above, foreign language or nondoctrinal
religion/philosophy).
DIVISION II
14 Core-Course Rule
14 Core Courses:
3 years of English.
2 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher).
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab
if offered by high school).
2 years of additional English, mathematics or
natural/physical science.
2 years of social science.
3 years of additional courses (from any area
above, foreign language or nondoctrinal
religion/philosophy).
