Swimming in College Advice from Rafa Escalas Swimmer

Swimming in College Advice from Rafa Escalas Swimmer and Numbers Nerd April 2019

Where do I start? • Big Picture: Think about what type of program you might like… – First and foremost, try to find the best fit in terms of academics and educational opportunities • Academic rankings: – National universities – National Liberal Arts Colleges • Other fun rankings: – Niche: Best Student Life 2

Where do I start? • In terms of swimming… – Fun workouts part of the year? • Division II • or Division III – Heavy workouts year round? (USS year-round style) • Division I • We will continue under the assumption that Division I is your objective, if it’s not, see the NCAA brochure – Different rules for different divisions 3

Where do I start? • Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond? Or a small fish in a big pond? – Check the times swum at the conference championship meet, to see where you would place • Coaches want swimmers who can score points at the conference meet • Swimswam has them all for you here: – Division I conference results – Some info on DII and DIII at Swimswam 4

Where do I start? • What size fish? – Look at particular schools within the conference • UVA wins the ACC championship, Duke is much lower • Stanford wins the Pac-12, UCLA is much lower – But all four schools are academically great • Do you want to win in the Sun Belt conference or lose in the SEC conference? – It’s fun to win, but it’s also fun to be challenged by the better swimmers 5

Where do I start? • Top swimming schools (last ~20 years) – Women’s winners • Stanford (2019, 10 times), Georgia (2016, 7 times), UC Berkeley (2015, 4 times), Florida (2010, 2 times), Auburn (2007, 5 times), Texas (7 times) • 2019 Current Rankings – Men’s winners • UC Berkeley (2019, 6 times), Texas (2018, 14 times), Michigan (2013, 22 times), Auburn (2009, 8 times), OSU (11), USC (9 times), Stanford (8), Indiana (6) • 2019 Current Rankings 6

Where do I start? • Top schools want you to score at the NCAA championships – Each swimmer only allowed to swim 3 races & 3 relays • Only 18 allowed per team (Stanford left women with A cuts home this year because too many qualified) – Fastest swim meet in the world • Men’s 2019 NCAA results • Women’s 2019 NCAA results • 2018 -19 NCAA Division I, II, & III cuts – More info on how the cuts work 7

How do I stack up? • Will you score points in the conference meet? – Check out results for the conference you are interested in • For example, Pac 12 times can be found here: – Men, Women • Google “SEC results swimming 2019” etc. – Also find out if there are limits to the number of swimmers per school that can compete in the conference meet • For example, Pac 12 s only allows 24 swimmers per school, plus 8 exhibition/unofficial • SEC 20 swimmers, no unofficial 8

How do I stack up? • You can compare yourself to other swimmers in your HS class year, particularly in your stroke – USA swimming database: • Individual times & event rank search – Can search by individual time, event rank, & calculate “power points” (for quality comparisons across events) 9

How do I stack up? • You need to create a profile at College Swimming – Update your times, your profile, etc. – “My college list” may be debatable – Determine your “power points” • Check out the current swimmers at the universities you are interested in (/teams) – How many swim your stroke? What year in school are they? Who’s committed for next year? – How do I fit? (button) 10

Can I get in (academically)? • Coaches have a number of academic “exception” cards they can play every year – For example, we know an Ivy League coach had eight “slots” • But there’s a high minimum academic standard you have to meet – A PAC-12 coach told us his “recommendation” to admissions added an extra 400 points to the applicant’s SAT score – It makes sense to be in the ball park of the criteria published by the university 11

Can I get in (academically)? • SAT Tables by State (of institution): – AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | DC | FL | GA | HI | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | ME | MD | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | WV | WI | WY • ACT Tables by State (of institution): – AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | DC | FL | GA | HI | ID | IL |IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | ME | MD | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD |TN | TX | UT | VA | WV | WI | WY 12

Can I get a scholarship? • What scholarships are available in swimming? – Scholarship Stats. com • Will the coach give me a scholarship? – Coaches take into consideration your times, balanced by other recruits’ times, and their overall pool of scholarship money • Anyone work at Vandy? – Tuition benefit plan: move college scholarship $ into room and board, books 13

After narrowing down schools… • As a sophomore, you need to: – Get an NCAA eligibility number – Fill out the universities’ online information forms (can be done early) – You can send e-mails or call the coach, but they cannot reply (or call you) until June 15 th after sophomore year • We recommend sending an e-mail to each coach expressing your interest at the end of sophomore year – Official campus visits may begin on August 1 st after sophomore year 14

After narrowing down schools… • Coaches can contact you after June 15 th – That’s June 15 th between your Sophomore and Junior year – They can call, email, & have up to 3 off campus contacts – Official recruiting trips begin on August 1 st • D 1: one per college, up to 5 colleges • D 2 & D 3: unlimited – Unofficial visits unlimited (you pay your own way, no assistance from coaching staff or athletic dept. ) 15

After narrowing down schools… • NCAA Swimming Recruiting Rules are changing fast these days! – NCAA FAQs – Rules in “Plain English” – New June 15 th ruling explained • Update! – Rule that was to go into effect on June 15 th has been changed – Now coaches can start calling Juniors on May 1 st 16

After narrowing down schools… • E-mailing coaches – Mention your best times in yards and meters • Try to show improvement over time – Mention your USS team, show you’re a serious swimmer – Mention upcoming meets and how you are training for them – If a “selective” school, mention grades, advanced classes, test scores 17

After narrowing down schools… • E-mailing coaches – The coaches (or assistant coaches) will likely respond • Most will send you information about the swimming program through the mail • They may ask for your transcripts or test scores • They may invite you to a Junior Day (if they still exist) • They may ask you to apply to the university • Some schools have staff/assistants who handle this, others do not and so they take longer… 18

After narrowing down schools… • E-mailing coaches – If you don’t hear back, reach out a 2 nd time • Wait 2 weeks or until you have a new results to share • They are busy, so don’t assume no response the 1 st time means they aren’t interested • However, don’t bug them, eventually no response will mean they aren’t interested 19

Commitments • Verbal commitments can be made anytime by you or the coach, but they are not binding – Coaches can offer a scholarship or spot on the team (and only very rarely do not honor their offers) • Written commitments (scholarship offer from coach) cannot be made until after August 1 st of senior year – Don’t forget to watch other scholarship/aid deadlines • National Letter of Intent (not required) – Commits you to one year at that college or lose one year of eligibility 20

Who’s going where? • Swim. Swam keeps a database of all the verbal commitments of high school swimmers throughout the year – https: //swimswam. com/the-first-170 -verbal-commitments -from-the-hs-class-of-2020/ 21

Other things to worry about • New coaching rules to prevent abuse of minors – Generally speaking, coaches should not be alone with swimmers in secluded situations • E. g. , hotel rooms, cars, locked door office meetings – Your parents may need to be included in emails, phone calls, and social media interactions until age 18 – Check out all the rules at Swim. Swam 22

Other things to worry about • Be careful on social media – We know Vanderbilt follows their recruits on social media to see what type of person they are • Offers have not been made based on poor judgment by recruits on social media 23

Other things to worry about • College swimming is a full time job – You need to choose a school where you think you can handle working full time and studying – Most college athletes take the minimum course load and finish in five years – You will be forced to make trade-offs • You cannot excel at swimming, studying, and partying 24

Questions? 25

Relisting of Links • Academic rankings: National universities – http: //colleges. usnews. rankingsandreviews. com/best-colleges/rankings/nationaluniversities • Academic rankings: National Liberal Arts Colleges – http: //colleges. usnews. rankingsandreviews. com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberalarts-colleges • Niche Rankings – https: //www. niche. com/colleges/search/best-student-life/ • List of Division I schools: – http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_institutions • Division II: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_II_institutions • Division III: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_III_institutions 26

Relisting of Links • SAT Tables by State (of institution): – http: //collegeapps. about. com/od/sat/f/goodsatscore. htm • ACT Tables by State (of institution): – http: //collegeapps. about. com/od/theact/f/goodactscore. htm • Swimming scholarship information – http: //www. scholarshipstats. com/swimming. htm • Conference championship meets – https: //swimswam. com/2019 -ncaa-swimming-conference-championship-primerdivision-i/ – https: //swimswam. com/college/ncaa-division-iii/ – Pac 12 Women: https: //pac-12. com/womens-swimming-diving/championships – Pac 12 Men: https: //pac-12. com/mens-swimming/championships 27

Relisting of Links • 2018 -19 NCAA Division I, II, & III cuts – https: //swimswam. com/2018 -2019 -ncaa-cut-times-released-19 -00 -is-new-50 -free-acut/ – https: //swimswam. com/ncaa-refresher-qualify-ncaa-division-championships/ • 2019 NCAA results – Men: https: //www. collegeswimming. com/results/118612/ – Women: https: //www. collegeswimming. com/results/118613/ • NCAA Championship History – http: //www. ncaa. com/history/swimming-women/d 1 – http: //www. ncaa. com/history/swimming-men/d 1 • NCAA 2019 current rankings – http: //www. ncaa. com/rankings/swimming-women/d 1 – http: //www. ncaa. com/rankings/swimming-men/d 1 28

Relisting of Links • NCAA recruiting rules – Register: https: //web 3. ncaa. org/ecwr 3/ – Rules: https: //recruitlook. com/recruiting-calendar/ncaa-division-i-recruitingrules/swimming/ – FAQs: http: //www. ncaa. org/student-athletes/resources/recruiting-calendars – Plain English: https: //swimswam. com/new-ncaa-rule-changes-in-plain-english/ – June 15 th rule: https: //swimswam. com/ncaa-recruiting-rules-change-allow-earlierrecruiting-official-visits/? fbclid=Iw. AR 0 i. U 1 w-Vsi. Xd. OFGMNlu. P 28 Hc. LDs. Xy. KD 48 n. Cb. RY 9 kt. Ms. POm. Agqt. BBM 2 m 4 w – Junior May 1 st adjustment rule: https: //swimswam. com/ncaa-change-coaches-can-begin -calling-junior-recruits-as-of-may-1/ 29

Relisting of Links • College swimming database – Create a profile: https: //www. collegeswimming. com/register/athlete/#register – Check out conferences & schools: http: //www. collegeswimming. com/teams/ – Power Index: http: //www. collegeswimming. com/recruiting/ • USA swimming database: – Individual times/events/power points search: https: //www. usaswimming. org/Home/times/individual-times-search • Swim. Swam verbal commitments: – https: //swimswam. com/the-first-170 -verbal-commitments-from-the-hs-class-of-2020/ • Swim. Swam minor protection rules: – https: //swimswam. com/navigating-the-maapp-potential-solutions-for-commoncomplaints/ 30