College Recruiting
To All University and College Swim Coaches:
Missouri Valley Swimming welcomes you to our website and our "College Recruiting" section. In addition to providing information to our prospective college swimmers, this section offers a resume' area for use by our swimmers interested in sharing their information with you. We're very proud of our swimmers and their accomplishments, whether it's in the water or the classroom. We invite you to review these resumes' as we're confident
that you will also be impressed. Please take a few minutes to review our Resume' List.
Note: A valid password is required to view each individual's resume'. Passwords may be obtained by calling the office for Missouri Valley Swimming LSC at (785) 841-0999.
So You Want to Swim in College?
Great! We've put this page together to help you obtain more information about college swimming.
 The best site to begin your search is the Harvard University website. It contains direct links to almost all of the major college swim teams. As you visit each college's swimming web page, look for things such as their
Freshman Records or their All-Time Top 10 (or 20) list. From these times you can determine where you would fit into their program.
If there is a link to the college's conference or year-end meet, go there and look at last year's conference results. That will also help you get an idea of where you would fit into their program.  Remember, most conferences have limits on the number of swimmers and divers that a team can take to the conference meet (typically 16-18 swimmers for each men's and women's teams).
Thus, if the team is quite large find out about the conference limits unless swimming at a conference meet is not a concern for you.
From the conference meet, most colleges go to one of the NCAA Swimming Championships (Division I, II, or III), the NAIA Championships, or the National Junior College Championships. You can get the latest NCAA Championship Time Standards from the USA Swimming website. Remember, the "A" NCAA standard does not necessarily guarantee you entry into the meet. Most NCAA championships are limited to a specific number of swimmers in each event. The fastest
swimmers get into the event, and some may be left out even if they achieve the "A" standard. The "B" standard lets you into an event if you are in the meet with an "A" cut or entered as part of a relay. The Harvard Results site normally carries all of those results and you should look for them to find out where you might best fit. You can also find the latest NCAA Championship meet information and results by visiting the
All Sports Swimming Championship website.
 Another good place to check for college swim programs is the Directory of American Colleges and Universities. Click on a State and then visit all the colleges from that state. At each college, look around for Athletics and see if they have a swim program. These general university and college sites
might also help you get an idea of admissions requirements and scholarship opportunities. Remember, in Division I and II, schools can offer scholarships for swimming but the total amount of scholarship money available is limited to approximately nine (9) full-time out-of-state scholarships for each school. This money is often distributed among many swimmers. In addition, the money your child receives in academic aid will also count towards the university or college's swimming scholarship amount.
 One place you'll want to be sure to check is the NCAA website. You'll find answers to many of your questions regarding academic eligibility, financial aid, recruiting, and graduation rates, just to name a few. And as the president of the
NCAA advises, start your college career by asking lots of questions. Find out if you're on track to meet academic eligibility and core-course requirements. See what the graduation rate of the athletics programs and the athletes in your sport are at the colleges in which you are interested. Ask what academic support services are available and how academic progress is tracked.
Choosing a college is difficult. Choose wisely to make that first step down the road a success.
Good Luck!
The Big Trip: Tips for taking official visits to colleges.
What Coaches Want: Traits most coaches look for in a swimmer.
Narrowing the List: Going from many potential colleges to just a few.
Marketing Yourself: How to standout from the competition.
Tips for Choosing the Right College: Finding the right fit for you.
A Coaches Perspective: An interview with the Head Coach of American University.
Considering swimming in college?
Publish your information on our website so coaches can view it! As a service to our college-bound swimmers, Missouri Valley Swimming has setup a separate area on this website for graduating students to publish their high school swimming and academic credentials. Each year, MVS will notify and encourage college and university coaches to review this special section to learn about some of the great swimmers in our organization.
View a sample resume' in this section
Missouri Valley Swimming encourages all interested swimmers to participate in this very special project. To have your information published in this section, send it to us using the "Prospective College Swimmer" form that's located in our "E-Forms" section.
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