Hi just thought I would add some info. Our d spent a lot of time junior year visiting all types of schools for her sport. By the fall she had narrowed down the options… two D1 and three DIII schools. The DIII academics were great, small classes and she loved the athletics. However, at the end of the process she felt like the D1 school she ultimately chose would offer her the athletic opportunity that DIII just could not in terms of training and facilities. If your daughter wants to excel in diving… having a great coach is really important. So, when she is looking at schools keep in mind how committed the college/university is to her sport and having the coaching necessary.
BTW she is loving her experience at school… they really take care of their athletes.
The Nescacs have varied facilities and some rival any D1. Like anything, you have to do your homework.
For example, Midd has an Olympic pool, heated deck, separate diving pool, huge spectators gallery and a view of the Green Mountains.
I also want to emphasize IMHO that you choose the school first, as if the coach would leave or you would be injured and never play, unless your sport will be paying your salary some day.
I would throw out another point based on our experience. We began the process a bit early, and my DS focused initially on top academic D3s (NESCACs, Chicago, Hopkins) because he liked the feel and they fit with his athletic skill level when he began the process (mid-sophomore and continuing more assertively into junior year). Keep in mind as your student grows and matures physically that the fit may change. By the spring of his junior year, my son was more clearly a D1 level athlete. So athletic fit can be a moving target. This makes the case for looking at both D3s and D1s that fit academically and leave some room for growth and athletic development.
This assumes that all D1 athletic programs are better than D2 and D3. I would just be cautious of generalizing talent by division. I do think it is fair to generalize each division by time commitment though, and previous posters have done a good job of expectations of D1 / D2 / D3.
When we first starting talking to coaches I think my daughter had stars in her eyes whenever a D1 coach talked to her, invited her to campus, etc. As she got further in the process she realized that D1 does not equal talent across the board.
I think a lot will depend on how much scholarship money is actually available in a particular sport. In most smaller sports, there is really very little difference in allowable schlarships between a D1 and D2 program. Swimming and diving actually has a difference of less than .5 scholarships a year (9.9 in D1 and 8.1 in D2). In a sport that seems to roster 40-60 kids, even if the program is fully funded, that is a minscule difference. Since there is so little money available over all, it is not hard to see that the athletic difference is going to vary more by program than division.
The scholarship money really depends on where you fit within the team. The bigger the fish compared to the size of the pond can get a significant scholarship, even in swimming or other sports with equivalency $$. The main question is: how much can you afford per year? If you can’t afford full pay, then your options are need, merit, athletic scholarship, or athletic + merit.
Focus on school. I am a d1 athlete right now and it was not worth going through all of the worrying and trying to be recruited. I am planning on quitting soon to focus on school and pursue other interests.