Ever think about swimming in college, but not sure what you need to do to make it happen? Becoming eligible to swim in college includes building a “swimming resume,” meeting academic requirements as set for by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and achieving amateur certification by the NCAA. Ideally, swimmers should start thinking about this process in middle school, but even if you are a high school senior it’s not too late to get started.
College swimming occurs at many levels, and is divided into three divisions based on academic and athletic scholarship opportunities for student athletes. As USA Swimming says in their college preparation information (see the USA Swimming website for more information), opportunities to swim in college are available to virtually every swimmer and any ability level.
So, where to start? Your first stop should be with your club and high school coaches and guidance counselors. Your coaches can direct you to websites and information such as this one, and your guidance counselors can help you choose courses that will meet the NCAA eligibility requirements. The NCAA requires 16 core courses (which are listed on the NCAA eligibility portion of the website—go to the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse website for a list of courses and to start the eligibility process at www.ncaa.com) during your high school career. Please note that these core courses are the minimum requirement for eligibility—you will be far better prepared for college if you take more than the minimum.
While you are checking on the core course requirements, take a few extra minutes and download the online edition of the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete. It is full of information you will need to plan your courses and start the recruiting process. You will also want to take a few minutes and download a copy of the eligibility clearinghouse form to start the process of certifying that you are an amateur athlete and academically eligible to compete in college. The latest you want to start this process is the beginning of your junior year if you want to be able to compete as a freshman.
So, you have started the ball rolling with the NCAA clearinghouse, you are taking courses to meet or exceed the eligibility requirements, but the big questions in your head are “What do college coaches want?” and “How do I get colleges to notice me?”
Fortunately, college coaches are looking for the same things that have already made you a successful age group and high school student athlete. Most coaches will tell you that while swimming success will get you noticed, they would far rather recruit a swimmer who is just beginning to grow into his or her potential and will continue to develop throughout college. College coaches are also looking for versatility—they want athletes that can swim a variety of strokes and distances and score points for the team where needed. Character, in the form of leadership and work ethic are also important—swimmers who set the example for hard work and inspire their teammates to become better improve the whole team and make the coach’s job easier. The final piece of the recruiting puzzle is academics—college coaches will tell you that the last thing they want is for an athlete to become academically ineligible. After all, it’s tough to win meets if your swimmers can’t compete! College is a whole new environment for most student athletes—no parents reminding you about your schoolwork at college after all—and coaches want students who are responsible and motivated to meet their academic obligations as well as their athletic ones.
