Does swimming help admissions to a child's reach schools?

Anonymous
Do you think a swimmer who will rank 1-3 on a colleges roster for 2 or more strokes can get into a D3 school that is a bit of a reach?

Asking because my DS (junior) had straight until an illness this Fall and now his grades are not great (several Bs). Lots of our target schools may now be out of reach.

I'm hoping his grades will pick up for 2nd semester and we can try to explain he had an illness and missed a lot of school. He can't retake classes in summer school because they are AP classes.

I just don't have a grasp on how much swimming helps an application.
Anonymous
Is he following the recruiting process? Has he spoken to coaches, gone to events to be seen etc . . . .?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Is he following the recruiting process? Has he spoken to coaches, gone to events to be seen etc . . . .?


Yes. He is speaking to several coaches. Many don't know how sick he was in the Fall though. It was only one meet in December where his times were off. However, it took a toll on his grades.
We have visited two schools and met with coaches and have a few more set up in the coming months.

His unweighted GPA is not going to be close to a 4.0 anymore though he has all AP or honors classes.

I think he could still do D1 mid majors but because he might not rank as highly on the team as most D3 schools, I'm assuming the coach isn't going to work as hard with admissions to help him.

Anonymous
I think it depends on the school. I would assume most coaches have some chips to play for swimmers they want. Talk to some good swimming matches where you know he can get in as well. Eventually, he’ll have to ask the coaches this question.
Anonymous
How about D2?
Anonymous
I’ve heard college like to see success at big meets like JOs and IMX. Looks great on a resume and shows toughness and resilience at an extreme meet.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard college like to see success at big meets like JOs and IMX. Looks great on a resume and shows toughness and resilience at an extreme meet.


College coaches don't really care about how you swam as a 14-year old. The meets that would be meaningful to college coaches (and that they attend to talk with potential recruits) are ones like Futures, Jr Nats, and up.
Anonymous
Depends on the school and your swimming stats. To me, explaining away grades due to illness might not be enough, especially at a SLAC.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard college like to see success at big meets like JOs and IMX. Looks great on a resume and shows toughness and resilience at an extreme meet.


Please stop with the IMX. It’s an age group meet- no college coach looks at that
Anonymous
High academic and swimD3 schools (nesac and UAA) do academic pre reads after junior year. My swimmer (class of 2021) had good grades, APs and test scores but the schools he was targeting were reaches for everyone. One school (I think Tufts or Swarthmore) wanted to see an official transcript after a first phone call.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard college like to see success at big meets like JOs and IMX. Looks great on a resume and shows toughness and resilience at an extreme meet.

Dude, it’s your weekend to shine!!! How have you not started a thread on the IMX meet?!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard college like to see success at big meets like JOs and IMX. Looks great on a resume and shows toughness and resilience at an extreme meet.

Dude, it’s your weekend to shine!!! How have you not started a thread on the IMX meet?!


Lol! So true! You should be there to see all the collage coaches recruiting the 14 & U crowd! Let us know how many you spot Ha!
Anonymous
What kind of cuts does your swimmer have? What meets his he making?
Anonymous
BTDT 100% but varies significantly by school. Some schools require the student to get in on own merit with no admissions tip (e.g., MIT). But most others give admissions tip (e.g., NESCAC). My DS got positive pre-reads from LACs that he otherwise would not have gotten into where he would be entering at top of the roster. For the truly elite swimmers, they get HUGE advantage at large D1 schools. That said, Ivys you need to have a ticket to ride (so have the grades, have the SATS) but otherwise get admissions tip whereas it is lottery for non athletes.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:How about D2?


There are that many D2 schools with great academic reputations.
post reply Forum Index » Swimming and Diving
Message Quick Reply
Go to: