Understanding
Swimming Scholarships
Swimming at the college level is a lot like swimming at the professional level.
You train daily in fantastic facilities, and you’ll have fitness coaches, athletic trainers, and nutrition experts at your disposal; making sure you perform to the best of your ability. Many college teams fly to events, where you live at a hotel, and you get to compete against the best young swimmers in the world.
To be considered for a college swim team and for a swimming scholarship, you don’t need to be a national champion or qualifying for Olympic trials—though there is undoubtedly a strong interest from US coaches in top international athletes. There are hundreds of colleges that will look for strong regional/club level swimmers as well.
If you’re considering a swimming scholarship at a specific college, one of the best ways to see if they have the right coaching staff and facilities is to look at their team website and see what times their swimmers are posting at meets.
OUR
SCHOLARSHIP
SERVICE
Athlete+ Scholarship Consulting is a service tailored for international Student-athletes who are seeking the best possible academic and athletic opportunities in the USA.
SWIMMING LEVELS
HIGH SCHOOLS
If you’re looking for a way to fund your education, a high school swimming scholarship might be the answer. There are several different types of athletic scholarships, and they come from different sources. Athletic scholarships are typically awarded to players who have a strong record of achievement on the court and also have good grades. If you’re interested in pursuing a college degree and swimming in college, then it’s important that you consider all of your options carefully before making any decisions about what kind of scholarship is right for you.
JUNIOR COLLEGE
Junior college is not as simple when it comes to swimming scholarships. First, there are three divisions within the NJCAA and only Division 1 and 2 can offer athletic scholarships to track players while only Division 1 is allowed to offer a full ride. NJCAA Division 2 is allowed to cover tuition, fees, books and housing but not transportation costs. In addition to an athletic scholarship, both divisions will often pay for an athlete’s transportation costs by direct route once per year.
COLLEGE SWIMMING
COMPETING AT 5 LEVELS
Swimming scholarships are widely available for international athletes, but coaches will consider a number of factors before offering a scholarship. These factors include your personal best times and the competitions you have participated in as well as how much potential you have for improvement. Scholarships may be awarded in several divisions, including NCAA division 1, division 2, NAIA, or NJCAA. NCAA Division 3 programs can’t offer athletic scholarships but college coaches tend to work with the admissions department to create appealing financial aid packages made up of merit-based scholarships, need-based aid and grants. It’s important for student-athletes to understand the financial aid opportunities at each division level and be proactive in their recruiting so they can get evaluated early on.
YOU CAN GET TO YOUR DESTINATIONBY FOLLOWING THESE 10 STEPS
6
Student-athlete
promotion
7
Gathering &
presenting offers
8
Making a
decision
9
Admission process &
Visa procedures
10
Flying out to
your Dream School
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
WOMEN’S SWIMMING
NCAA
Division 1
199 Teams
NCAA
Division 2
106 Teams
NCAA
Division 3
259 Teams
NAIA
36 Teams
NJCAA
65 Teams
MEN’S SWIMMING
NCAA
Division 1
136 Teams
NCAA
Division 2
77 Teams
NCAA
Division 3
227 Teams
NAIA
31 Teams
NJCAA
60 Teams
ACADEMIC
REQUIREMENTS
If you are a student-athlete and are interested in attending a 4 year college, you will need to meet the same academic requirements as any other admitted student. The following information is provided to help guide you through the process of applying for admission as a student athlete.
HIGH SCHOOL GPA
When you are applying for college admission, your GPA is one of the most important factors that admissions officers consider. But if you’re a student athlete, there are lots of other factors that matter too. Different schools require different GPAs. In addition to having a good GPA, some schools may also ask you to write an essay about your athletic experience and why it’s important for you.
SAT / TOEFL
As an international athlete, you’ll want to make sure that you take the right standardized tests. 4 year institutions require certain SAT or ACT scores while your TOEFL requirements will depend on a school and your US high school / prep / junior college experience. Before you take the test, check out the minimum score needed for the universities you’re hoping to be recruited to. If your score isn’t quite there yet, don’t worry! It’s never too late to take another test and improve your score.
ELIGIBILITY CENTER
As part of the academic certification process for both NCAA and NAIA, all prospective student-athletes must submit their academic information to organzation’s eligibility center. Academic records include documents such as transcripts, yearly grade reports, mark sheets or official exam results. If English is not the primary language of instruction at the school you attended, you must submit complete, line-by-line certified English translations for all your documents in the same format as the native language documents.
NCAA PROOF
OF AMATEURISM
Initial-eligibility standards help ensure you are prepared to succeed in college. The eligibility process also protects the fairness and integrity of college sports by ensuring student-athletes are amateurs.
If you want to practice, compete and receive an athletics scholarship during your first year at a Division I or II school, the NCAA Eligibility Center must certify you as eligible. International college-bound student-athletes planning to enroll at a Division III school must also receive an amateurism-only certification from the Eligibility Center. Throughout the process, Eligibility Center staff members partner with students and their families, as well as high school administrators and coaches, to guide you on your journey.