How do you know if you’re being recruited/going to be recruited if you’re a junior at the moment?
I’ve received some letters/emails such as from kenyon, Amherst, and Stevens but I read online that those don’t mean much. I’ve also began emailing and conversing with some coaches, but how will I know if a school D1 or D3 school actually wants me to swim for them?
Some of my times include a 21.9 50 free, 52 100 fly, 54 100 back, and a 1:46-1:47 200 free
AT a D1 school, you’ll know. There are very specific requirements the coaches must follow, about contact with you (as a junior you must initiate, or they can contact a coach). At a D3 school it is a little tougher. If you are interested, follow the instructions on the contact emails and letters. Do they want you to call, visit, have your coach call, submit a recruit questionnaire? Do it.
Were the letters/emails that you received clearly related to swimming?
@AsleepAtTheWheel yeah, mentioning how they would like me to swim so and so as well as pushing me to do the online questionnaire.
@twoinanddone what if the colleges that are emailing me don’t interest me? Should I wait for one that I do want to go to to begin following their instructions or reach out to those schools as well?
If I am to be recruited by a d3 school, will that increase my chance of admission into the school, given my grades are where they should be?
@TheNICKNAME – Are you on the east coast or the west coast? Put another way, are you done with your high school season (east coast) or in the midst of it (west coast)?
Right now is the time when most folks experienced in this process would recommend that you start contacting coaches of D3 schools in which you’re interested by filling out the online recruiting forms. I asked the question above because one reason to wait (which not all would agree with) is if you’re going to have another peak meet or two at the end of the high school season (conference, regional championships) where you expect to drop your times you MIGHT want to wait to get those times recorded before you fill out the forms. But either way (you can always update the forms or email the coaches if your times drop after you fill out the forms) you should be doing this either now or by mid-May.
If these schools you mentioned above are reaching out to you there is certainly a strong chance that they’re going to ‘recruit’ you, but if you don’t respond they very well may move on to other swimmers who are fast in your best events.
Most importantly if you’ve identified schools that you’re interested in and at which you’re fast enough to swim you should be ‘reaching out’, and not waiting for them to contact you (which may never happen).
Good luck.
P.S. It varies, but many (not all) club coaches can be helpful in terms of guiding you through the process.
@AsleepAtTheWheel I’m swimming in the east coast so my season just ended and long course is just starting. College coaches are interested in long course as well right?
If I can qualify to swim for teams of a d3 caliber, will that help my admissions into the school? Say for even highly ranked d3 schools academically, including U Chicago or JHU.
Since you have asked that question quite a few times and no one has answered directly yet, I will. Yes, getting recruited can help you get into highly ranked D3 schools. You may look promising to the few schools you mentioned, but no one knows for sure except the coaches. It is entirely appropriate to let them know of your interest and see if you can start a dialog.
If you are willing to slide down the ranks a little bit, other schools will definitely be interested. I suggest trying not to get too hung up on rankings and find schools that will be a good fit for you. Contact the coaches as @AsleepAtTheWheel suggested and gauge interest. Good luck to you.
@GrudeMonk Thank you! When will college coaches begin to finalize who they recruit and who they don’t, considering they can only accept so many students–will they directly email you and tell you that they want you to swim for them? Are my chances lower if the school hasn’t reached out to me yet, and I have begun to reach out to them instead?
Now is a good time for you to start reaching out to coaches of schools that you are interested in. Fill out their online recruitment forms and send an email along telling them what makes you interested in their school and something about why they should be interested in you. Yes even if a school has not reached out to you yet you can make contact with them. Your chances are not any lower if you made the first contact. Start the dialogue, build the relationship and see where it takes you. (just as the above posters suggest)
I would presume that different coaches finalize their lists at different times depending on the quality of the recruits they receive. There is probably not one answer to that question. They finalize their lists once they have enough recruits that meet the characteristics they want.
From the middle to end of summer and early fall, coaches of D3 schools will ask you to visit for an overnight and stay with the team. Usually the visits occur on a weekend in the fall when school is back in session and the team is having regular practices. If you are invited it is pretty clear the coach is seriously considering you. If you do not hear from a coach with an invitation, it is okay to ask if they plan on inviting you.
The process is not all that mysterious. You can even ask the coaches who are recruiting you more about the process and what to expect. They are the people best able to help you get recruited and they know what sorts of questions and concerns a student athlete might have.
I wish you success in your process and achievements.
If you aren’t interested in a school don’t respond, but don’t expect that opportunity to still be waiting for you. Coaches are trying to build a team so send a lot of general letters. My daughter got a ton of phone calls (after July 1 of senior year) by coaches who had seen her in a tournament or seen film. She usually didn’t respond and they went away. For those she was interested in, she followed the instructions - call, email, fill out recruiting questionnaire.
Sounds like you have a few schools you are interested in. Start with those. Review the NCAA recruiting rules. If you are interested in D1 or D2 schools, fill out the NCAA clearinghouse forms and get that started. Talk to your club/high school coaches. Once July 1 hits, things will move fast so you need to be prepared.
I am not experienced in this area, but have been reading a lot on cc about swim recruiting. I have learned that you want to cast a wide net, so I would respond to every school that has even the slightest possibility you could attend. I wouldn’t throw away interest just because it is a lower ranked school than you are seeking.
It is important to remember a coach’s job is to recruit the fastest swimmer for each open position he/she has on their team. You can be their #1 recruit…until a faster swimmer shows interest and bumps you from the top spot. And they might not get their top recruit signed, and you can move up to the top spot. So nothing is guaranteed. You can enjoy the praise of coaches, but don’t limit your options.
Coaches get fired or move to another school, a swim program can get cut due to budget constraints, you can realize on an official visit that you just don’t click with the coach’s style or with other team mates or the campus, etc. So look for a number of possibilities to explore.
Your goal is to find a school that fits your academic needs, even if you had to quit the swim team for some reason.
@twoinanddone what do you mean by how everything will be moving a lot faster after July 1? Is this for D1,2,3 schools or just D1/D2?
@madamecrabster for D3 schools, will there be a time period in which I’ll get more letters/emails at once? Right now I get them periodically, probably 1/2 every week/other week.
And I would presume there’s a min gpa/grade requirement too, but for big schools like UChicago, would it require a much higher one?
@powercropper you mentioned how I should be looking for schools academically, but do you know whether IVY’s help with your admission? I’ve heard multiple times that they don’t.
Nickname I am not sure whether there will be a specific time period when you will be receiving the most emails or letters. However, as I think you are hearing from various posters, if a coach from a school that you may have interest in academically and for swimming makes contact with you, then you should respond and start talking to that coach. If you are contacted by a school that you are not interested in, then do not bother to respond. It does not matter how many emails or letters you receive but that they are the schools you think would be good fits for you, that you would consider attending.
As a general rule, your GPA and other scores should be aligned with the standards for each school. So, yes, UChicago will have higher requirements than many other (but not all) schools. Make a list of schools that you like, run it by your parents, your coach, your guidance counselor and maybe a trusted friend or fellow swimmer, take suggestions, and do some research on your own.
I know nothing about IVYs. It is not of interest to my children. We were on the hunt for merit aid at private LACs with my first child. This second child coming up will be hunting for merit aid and a good fit for swimming. Not expecting much (if any) athletic scholarship for a male swimmer, but would be delighted if he got a small bit to add to the merit.
Our strategy was to look for the lesser ranked schools that offered better merit aid. My D enjoys being a big fish in a smaller pond. We will use that same strategy for my second child, but will have the added task of finding a good fit for swim team.
Hopefully someone with IVY experience will post some suggestions for you.
@TheNICKNAME: Most coaches will finalize their list of recruits during or right after the overnight recruiting trips they hold early in the fall. You should try to get some invitations to a few. How do you do that? You start a dialog with a coach and tell him or her that you are very interested in the school. If the coach returns any interest at all, you can directly ask if it’s possible you will be invited on an overnight recruiting trip. Do not be afraid to be direct with the coach, because that is how you move things forward.
Perhaps you can be invited to one of the UChicago recruiting trips. Just ask.
You also ask if IVY’s help with your admissions. If you mean, do coaches at Ivy schools recruit swimmers? Then, yes, of course they do. Your best times may be a little lacking to be recruited by an Ivy, but you will never know unless you talk with the coach. If you are direct, then in most cases the coach will tell you where you stand.
While you try to get some interest from the Ivy coaches or schools like UChicago and JHU, you will develop a lot of interest in NESCAC schools like Tufts, Wesleyan, etc.
@TheNICKNAME – You’ve gotten a lot of good advice here.
One rule of thumb (not the only one, by any means) is as follows: Coaches want to recruit swimmers who will score for them in their conference championship meet. For the Ivy’s that would mean (for the events you listed) <20.6 sec for the 50 free, < 49 sec for the 100 fly, < 52 sec for the 100 back, and < 1:41 for the 200 free.
So your times aren’t there at this point. Maybe you can convince a coach that you can get there, but the Ivy’s are not going to start emailing you. As was written above, they most certainly do recruit for swimming, but unfortunately right now you’re not fast enough.
@AsleepAtTheWheel yes, I understand how the IVY league is a much faster league given and my times are atm, sub par. However, if I can manage to drop one of my times or a couple before applications of next year, do you think it’s good to email them now, or email them now anyways and let them know of my interest? Perhaps I have a stellar long course season?
@GrudeMonk recruiting trips would be taking place this upcoming summer if I’m not mistaken? So you are suggesting that I start dialogues with various coaches that interest me and if interest back, my goal is to be able to go on the recruiting trip?
That is correct. The recruiting trips happen early in the fall semester. For Div 3 schools in nearly all cases it would be up to you and your family to get you to the school on your own dime. The official recruiting trips happen after school has started so you can attend classes and meet and stay with possible future teammates. If you can finagle your way to receiving an invitation for one of the Ivy’s you covet, then that school would cover the cost. If you can, visit a few schools on an unofficial basis during and set up meetings with the coaches beforehand. That’s a great way to start a dialog with the coach and begin to determine fit early on.