What schools in the Northeast have solid engineering programs that are manageable for a student swim athlete?
Do you expect to be a recruited athlete? What division? Are you a rising junior?
Yes, currently talking to D1 and D3 coaches.
I think looking for academic and athletic fit is a good way to go. If swimming is super important, you will get a sense of coach support in the coming months which may help you tailor your list. Do you have SAT or ACT scores yet? GPA? What are your budget constraints? Do you have an idea of required times for some schools?
Do you have a sense of what size of school you are interested in? Rural, suburban, urban? These will all help other posters make recommendations for you. 
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Is there a specific engineering major like MechE or Chem?
I’m not a sport dad but I imagine a D3 would be better in the sense that - perhaps they are better to negotiate academics and athletics.
Engineering is amongst the most rigorous majors so you’d want to be at a school that understands. In other words, at the D1 level, you don’t see a ton of engineering students in big time sports.
What are your stats - because that will impact admittance…and budget (no athletic scholarships D3). Are you a full pay family or have demonstrated need?
I disagree with d3 vs D1. The time commitment is the same. I personally would be looking at Big Ten schools for both. Great competition and great engineering schools. If getting a free ride due to scholarship, that would be a fantastic value
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Swimming is an equivalency sport. Free rides are rare.
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Many students at like Michigan are D1 and swimming, baseball, football, rowing etc and in engineering. These kids figure it out and have tutors with the teams also. It can and is being done successfully.
Didn’t know. Thx but still some of the best engineering and competition
I guess what I’m saying is - and again, not a sport dad so maybe the observation is off - if you’re at a Penn State vs. a Union College, will the “acceptance” or “understanding” of an engineering student be different than say a liberal art major (by the coaching staff, etc.).
I’ll bow out - I’m not a sport dad - but rarely do you hear about athletes in the big sports at the big schools - with the intense/rigorous majors. You do - but rarely.
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Yep.
What year are you? Have you asked the coaches about doing engineering and swimming on their team? Some will be ok with that, others won’t (even in D3 some won’t be ok with that)…that will help you target schools that will be a better fit. More about your preferences in a school would be helpful too.
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As an example, many many big ten student’s do both. It’s not so unusual. Never said easy. But it’s done.
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Also for Northeast, some of the ivy’s look for sport kids… For both
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Just one of many articles.
https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/news/me-student-athletes-thrive-and-out-classroom/
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I have in my head - Josh Dobbs from UTK - they kept putting him out as this unicorn.
Good article - thanks for the education.
Is this for a male or a female student?
But there are 42 schools in the northeast that offer varsity swimming and an engineering major (source). Now whether they offer swimming for the right sex, or the right kind of engineering, etc, is something else entirely. If you give us more info on what you want from your college experience, @Angel151k, that would help us to tailor our suggestions.
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I don’t know about the swimming world, but at least for team sports, there’s a huge difference in time commitment for D3 vs D1. Regular season is about the same, but that’s only a 10-week time period from pre-season workouts through the end of regular season.
Check-in date and pre-season is much earlier/longer for D1 (for fall sports). And off-season coach-led workouts are highly limited for D3 per NCAA rules.
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OK. My meaning is once your in the sport, training etc is the same commitment or close. They are still time sucks. Same as the kid that takes 18 credits in engineering, works 15 hours a week and runs an organization on campus 20 hours week. Plus plays intermural sports. OK, that was my son but still… Lol. Time commitment to sports is just one consideration. Yes D1 is longer but the kids I know but not in swimming, still put it tons of time in their off season and seasons to be the best they can.
I believe D1 have tutors from what I know also. But maybe that’s not all schools.
My point is regardless that with proper time management it can be done. Student athletes tend to do well academically.
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It is really important to ask like @Mwfan1921 advised. My daughter, a crew recruit, was told by 2 big universities that it would be nearly impossible to major in engineering and I am guessing she would have been taken off the recruit list if she was interested in that major (she wasn’t).
Some coaches will say it is okay - know a D1 soccer player that was told it was fine to major in nursing by the coach and only after admitted they were told by the team’s academic advisor that is would not work and they changed their major.
Check the current rosters of schools and look at majors - that is one of the best ways to understand the true picture.
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This article argues that D3 swimming is less of a time commitment and has a better academic/athletics balance. And that the coaches are more flexible with student-athletes with majors with more time constraints (science labs and the like).
On the other hand, D1 programs do have dedicated tutors and more comprehensive support.
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