<p>What year in school are you? Are you male or female? The strength of D3 programs vary a lot. I am not familiar with these two schools times but if you can score in their conference then the coaches will want to talk to you. I think your test scores are probably high enough if you can score in conference meet. Take a look at last years results. </p>
<p>Don’t know much about Hamilton, but as to Amherst the coach basically can’t help any recruit without a minimum of 2100+ on the SATs (with no indv score below 700). (Not sure how that translates to an ACT composite score, but I assume it’s in the 33-34 range.)</p>
<p>Swim-wise, the entire NESCAC has quickly become blazingly fast of late. This year Amherst women (and, given your times, I have to assume you are female) included a 26.8 in the 50-back (last year, they had four women at 27). In the 100-back, they had a women at 58 (last year they had there go 57). Hamilton’s backstroker was a multiple NCAA champion–though I believe she just graduated.</p>
<p>Jzaj08 - To see where you fit in on any college team swimming-wise, go to collegeswimming.com. Once there, go to the ‘teams’ tab. Then select the college team you are interested in looking at. Once inside the team, go to the ‘times’ selection. There you will find all the times by event and you can see exactly where your times fit in relative to everybody on the team this year. If you are already listed as an athlete in the data base, or you set yourself up in the data base (which is a good thing to do because many coaches do use collegeswimming to help identify prospects), you can push a button to see how you fit across multiple events.</p>
<p>If you click the ‘academics’ tab in collegeswimming, you’ll also get a sense of where your test scores fit in to the overall picture of the college. My general sense is that swimming is not a ‘helmet sport,’ and as such it’s tough for swim coaches to stretch too far with the academics of the athletes they can support through admissions. Unfortunately, h2ocows is probably right about Amherst.</p>
<p>Given that you have your test scores already, I’m assuming you’re a rising senior. So if you’re interested in swimming in college and you want a coach’s help through the admissions process, the time is now to be reaching out to those coaches at the schools in which you’re interested. Ultimately, they’ll give you the best read with respect to their interest as well as whether or not they can support your application through admissions. To get started with this, go to the college website, get to the swim team page, and fill out thier online athletic recruit form. Once you do this, follow up with either an e-mail or phone call to the coach. Make it your goal to have reached out to five or more schools in which you are interested by the end of June, as this summer is when they are trying to finalize their recruit lists.</p>
<p>Recently the top 3 times for 100 back at Amherst have become significantly slower, so this school may be a possibility if you can raise your ACT score. Your times also may be to be in range for Hamilton as well. I would contact the coaches and ask them what test scores they are looking for.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from anherst. Was not looking to be recruited but she was swimmer, dynamo and swim atlanta for those of you who know… No way is amherst going to take the 28 ACT. Their athletes are academically on par with the student body, of course there are always a few outliers. Even tho D didn’t swim, she needed to have her athletic thing on…ended up with crew all 4 years. She said after a regatta that it was much more grueling than a 400 LC IM. As a former swimmer myself, that put things in perspective!</p>
<p>Thank you so much. I am just lost because numbers wise, I am average at best. However, I do community service, I hold leadership positions, and am involved in my school so I know I am more well rounded. I just don;t know how much a coach can help you into a college so I don’t know where to look. </p>
<p>You should take the standardized tests again, after studying. Most schools count the top scores. I would think Hamilton is reasonable academically, but I don’t know about the swim times. You could also look at other NESCAC schools that have swim teams. Some possibilities include Connecticut, Trinity, Bates, Bowdoin, etc. Not sure they all have teams, but look on their web site, fill out the athletic questionnaire and contact the coach by e-mail.</p>
<p>These schools are very difficult to get into, and my impression is that an exceptional swimmer might get a little boost. But, there are a lot of exceptional swimmers who don’t need help getting in. </p>
<p>Many of these schools (NESCAC) do a pre-read. If you contact the coach, introduce yourself, your times, test scores, GPA in a brief email, they might ask you to follow up with specific items, like a transcript. I think they will give you an honest assessment as to whether you have a shot.</p>
<p>I would definitely cast a wider net. Collegeswimming.com can be very helpful to you. Use it to look at other schools. Look at championship meets and note the ones where you would score points for the team, in individual events or relays. See if they are a fit for you academically. </p>
<p>Or, search for schools based on academic/geographic preferances, and then go to collegeswimming and see how your times fit in with those schools. It takes time. </p>
<p>Once you find schools, go onto their website, find the swimming page, and fill out the recruiting profile. At this stage if the game, it might also be helpful to send out an email directly to the coach.</p>