SwimminginCollegeInformation

1. NeedtogetClearinghouseinfofromyourschoolcounselor

-www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

-877-262-1492

-cost$50

2. SwimminginCollegeDirectory

-GivesalistofalltheUniversitiesthatofferSwimming

-800-356-2722

-954-563-4930

-www.swimmingcoach.org

-Cost$30

3. Letter

-Introwhoyouare–testscores–classrank–APclasses,etc–Extracurricularactivities–besttimesin3-5eventsinbothSCandLC–contactinfo

Example letter:

Dear Coach ______,

Hello, my name is Emily Pickett. I hope your 2014-2015 season was a success. I am very interested in the athletic and academic opportunities offered at (_________), and what it will take for me to become apart of your program.

I am a senior at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, Arizona. The past three years I have been enrolled in Honors, IB, and AP programs. My current GPA is 3.9 and I am 15th out of 489 students in my class, making me in the top three percentile. I am also an active member of the National Honor Society (NHS), recipient of the Principal’s List and Honor Roll, three time MVP of Willow Canyon’s Swim and Dive team, and Senior Class treasurer on Student Council.

I have been competitively swimming for six years for the YMCA Westside Silver Fins. In my time as a swimmer I have been privileged to compete at the Western Zone Championships, Far Westerns, the Mesa Grand Prix, Sectionals, YMCA Nationals, three Arizona High School State Championships, and other meets. My times earned at said meets are listed below.

EVENT FRESHMAN TIME CURRENT TIME

100 FREE 58.25 54.01

200 FREE 2:02.89 1:55.72

500 FREE 5:33.96 5:10.02

1000 FREE NA 10:37.64

100 FLY 1:05.39 1:00.72

200 BREAST 2:50.70 2:27.95

200 IM 2:23.79 2:12.80

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Emily Pickett

Exampleletter:

DearCoach(lastname),

Hello,mynameisSamanthaSeiber.Ihopeyour2015/2016seasonwasasuccess.Iamveryinterestedintheathleticandacademicopportunitiesofferedat(schoolname),andwhatitwilltakeformetobecomepartofyourprogram.

ThisfallIwillbeginmysenioryearatLibertyHighSchoolinPeoriaArizona.ThepastthreeyearsIhavebeenenrolledintheHonorsprogram.MycurrentGPAis3.783andIam115thoutof563studentsinmyclass.IamalsoanactivememberoftheNationalHonorSociety(NHS),twotimeMVPofLiberty'sSwimandDiveteam,aleaderinmyschool'sFCA(FellowshipofChristianAthletes)huddle,andSecretaryoftheSpecialOlympicsprogramatLiberty.

Ihavebeencompetitivelyswimmingforfouryears,thelasttwoyearsbeingwiththeYMCAWestsideSilverFins.InmytimeasaswimmerIhavebeenprivilegedtocompeteattheWesternZonesChampionships,threeArizonaHighSchoolStateChampionships,Sectionals,andothermeets.Mytimesearnedatsaidmeetsarelistedbelow.

EVENTFRESHMANTIMECURRENTTIME

50Free26.3825.03

100Free57.8855.14

100Breast1:13.171:06.17

200Breast2:41.332:29.16

200IM2:36.352:13.64

Thankyoufortakingthetimetoreadmyletter.Ilookforwardtohearingfromyou.

Sincerely,

SamanthaSeiber

4.HowmanylettersdoIsendout?

-Plus/minus50

-Biggernet,moreoptions

4. Berealisticonwhereyouwanttoswim

-Ifyoudon’thaveagreatGPA,thendon’tapplytoanyIVYLeagueSchools

-BerealisticabouttheDivisionyouwanttoswimin.Don’tapplyto“powerhouse”swimUniversitiesunlessyoureallyseeyourselfbeingrecruitedbythem.

5. Questionstoaskyourselftohelpnarrowdownyourschoolchoices:

-Bigschool?

-Smallschool?

-Whatsportsdotheyoffer?

-Citycampus?

-Collegetowncampus?

-Bigfish,littlepond?

-Smallfish,bigpond?

-Whatdoyouwanttostudy?

-Signearlyorsignlate?

-Pickforteamandacademicsandnotcoach

-Location?

6. Rules

-CoachescannotcontactyoutillJuly1stofthesummerbeforeyoursenioryear

-Youget5officialrecruitingtrips(schoolpaysforpartoryourentiretrip)

-Yougetasmanyunofficialtripsasyouwant(paidsolelybyyou)

-Youcanonlybeoncampusfor48hours

-MilitaryacademiescancallbeforeJuly1st

-Schoolsonlygetonephonecallperweek

7. D3=noathleticaid(scholarships)

-D3schooldohoweverofferacademicaid

8. Applications

-Askschoolsiftheycanwaiveapplicationfee

-Onlysendinapplicationtothoseschoolsyouareinterestedin

Collegerecruiting:The5mostimportantareasofconsideration

1. Academics–Doesthisschoolhavetheacademiccurriculumthatyouareinterestedin?

2. Athletics–Isthistheappropriatelevelforyourabilities?Wouldyoubehappywiththisteam?

3. Geographicallocation–canyouspend4yearsofyourlifethere?Wouldyouchoosethisschoolifyouwerenotswimming?

4. Financial–canyouaffordthisschool?Thearea?Willyoureceiveacademicorathleticaid?Isthisschoolfinanciallysecureenoughtocontinueitscurrentlevelofcommitmenttoswimming?

5. Institutionsize–Areyougoingtobecomfortableinabigschoolorwouldyoupreferasmallschool?

Academicconsiderations

-Doesthisschoolhaveasolidacademicreputation?

-Dotheyhaveagraduateprogramthatfitsyourinterests?

-Upongraduation,what%ofthestudentsgetjobsinyourfieldofstudy?

-Inordertogainexperience,aresummerinternshipsoremploymentavailableinyourfieldofstudy?

-Askformerstudentsaboutprogram

-What%ofstudent-athletesgraduate?What%ofswimmersgraduate?

-Istutoringavailable?Cost?

-Isthereacademiccounselingavailable?

Institutionsize

-Whatsizeschoolareyoulookingfor?

-Whichtypeofschoolwillyouthrivein?

Consider:NCAADivision1,NCAADivision2,NCAADivision3,NAIA,JuniorCollege,CommunityCollege,orServiceAcademy.

Collegerecruitingtimeline

Freshman/sophomoreyear:

-StartsearchingUniversitiesonthewww.ncaa.orgwebpage

-Findschoolsthathavethemajoryouwant(yourdiplomawillbemoreimportantthanyourswimmingaftergraduation)

-Findouttheacademicreputationoftheschool

-Checkouttheteamrecords,coach’shistorywiththeprogram

Sendthecoachesoftheprogramsanemailthatyouareinterestedintheirprogram(sendthisannually).Includeacoverletterwithanathleticresumeincluding:

-Yourname,birthdate,address,phonenumber,email

-GPAandtestscores

-Trainingbackground–howmanyworkoutsperweek,yardage,hoursperworkout,ifyou’vedoneweights,running,dryland,howmanyyearsyouhavebeenswimming

-Competitionbackground–sendthemarecordofyourtimeprogression

-Any/allactivitiesyou’reinvolvedin

Duringyourfreshman/sophomoreyears,thecollegecoachescansendyouaquestionnaireinresponse,andgeneralteaminfo,butnorecruitingmaterials.

Checkinitial-eligibilityrequirement.TherearecurtaincoursesyouwillneedtotaketobeeligibletoswimasaFreshmaninCollege.

JuniorYear

Afteryouhavebegunyourjunioryear,thecollegecoachescanbeginsendingyouofficialrecruitingmaterial.

Youshouldbesendingupdatedinformationtothem,andnarrowingyourlistofUniversitiestoselectfrom.

SignupatNCAAInitial-eligibilityClearinghouse.YoucandoIonlineat:www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.Thereisasignupfee.

July1betweenyourJuniorandSeniorYears

Collegecoachescanofficiallybegincallingyouonthisdate.Theymayonlyspeakwithyouonceperweek,butmaysendunlimitedmailingsandemail.

SeniorYear

Onceyourseniorschoolyearhasbegun,youmaytake5officialvisitstocollege campuses. These 5 visitsmust be to different campuses. Youmaygotoanycampusunofficiallyasmanytimesasyoulike,andatanypointintheselectionprocessduringanyschoolyear.

Besuretotakeacopyofthelistofquestionswithyou,tocoverallyourbases.

It’s very romantic to be recruited…. having college coaches paying allthisattentiontoyou.Besuretogetyourquestionsanswered,andkeepyoureyesandearsopentowhatisbestforyou.Ifyoudecidethatyouarereallynotinterestedinaparticularschoolandthecoachcontinuestocallyou,pleasetellhim/heryou’renotinterested.It’sadifficultthingtodo,butitwillsavebothofyoutimeinthelongrun.Ifthecoachgetsmad or says mean things to you for not wanting to join his/herprogram, then it probably confirms that you didn’twant to swim forthispersonanyway.

Thereare2signingperiodsforscholarshipsifyouareofferedone.Early(November) and late (April). There are pros and cons to both. If youtakeyourvisitsearlyandaresureofyourdecision, thenbyallmeanssignearly! It takesa loadofpressureoff your shoulders in the springsemester. Some coaches may say to wait; they may have morescholarshipmoney available in the spring semester to offer. This is agamble…maybe they will, maybe they won’t… it’s not always aguarantee. Some coaches may offer a full scholarship(room/board/tuition/fee/books…) others may offer a partialscholarship,whichcanincludeanyofthosesegments.Division1and2schools offer athletic scholarships; Division 3 only has academicscholarships.Ifyouarenotsure,thenwaittillthespring.Giveyourselfmoretimetothinkoverthedecision,andmaketheonethat’srightforyou.

Yourhighschoolguidancecounselorcanhelpyouthroughthisprocess.Theycanhelpyouwithfinancialaidinformation,gettingyourtest

scores,etctoplacesforofficialvisitsandmayhavetheresourcestotellyouabouttheacademicreputationoftheschoolsyou’relookingat.Don’tbeafraidtoaskquestionsandgethelp.Themoreinformedyouare,themoreeasilyyou’regoingtomakethebestdecisionforyourself.

Goodluck!!!

Makingthedecision

1. Choose6-10schoolsthatfityourcriteria2. Makeafolder/notebookforeachofthoseschools3. Developalistofcoachesaddressesforeachofthoseschools4. Draftalettertothosecoaches/schoolsandincludethefollowing:

-ACTand/orSATscores-HighschoolGPAandclassrank-Whatyoumajormightbeincollege-Highschoolandclubcoach’sname,address,emailandphonenumber-Besteventsandtimesforbothshortandlongcourse-Financialneeds-Futuregoalsandambitions-Briefhistoryofyourtraining-Birthdate,heightandweight-Askifyoucanvisitthecampus.Thecoachwillletyouknowifyourvisitwillbeanofficialorunofficialvisit.-Askforabrochureandinformationontheteamandschool-Askforadmissionsstandardsandasktohaveanapplicationsent-Askforacollegecatalogue

Planningyourcollegevisit

1. Plantovisitearlytoallowyoutimetothinkovertheinformationyouhavelearnedfromthevisitsoyoudonotfeelrushed

2. Haveagoaldateinmindbywhichtimeyouwouldliketohavefinishedyourcampusvisits

3. NCAArulesallowonly5officialvisits.Thevisitstoeachschoolmaynotexceed48hours.Therearenolimitsonunofficialvisits.

Thecollegevisit

-Takenotesandrecordinyournotebooktheprosandconsoftheprogram,school,etc

-Talktotheacademicadvisorsandotherstudents

-NCAArulesdonotpermitprospectiveathletestotrainwiththecollegeteamduringvisits

-Gettoknowtheteamandcoaches