Anyone Swim in College?

I played tennis in college, and I LOVED my daily practice....in fact we used to show up early and stay late. We had a short fall and a short spring season, and I do not think it hindered my studies, but then we only had one session a day, and maybe a match on a weekend. We did end up doing homework on the team van, though....and exchanged data on which teachers to take and avoid. My daughter is now applying for colleges, and while she enjoys swimming, she is not up to the 2 a days that most competitive programs require. We looked around and found a small school that only does one two-hour session per day, 5 days a week. They pretty much take all swimmers, too. This sounds perfect for my daughter, as she wants to swim, but not too competively. The emphasis there seems to be on enjoying the swim experience. (Now lets hope they accept her to the college!) Seems like all the programs have different goals, so you may have to find something that suits your child.

I was a walk on at a Division I school back in the late 70's. I swam for two years while doing premed, then (reluctantly) quit swimming when I hit organic chemistry in my junior year. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my college swimming experience (well, maybe not the set of 20 x 300's). I think I swim Masters to try to recapture some of that. And I was by no means a star. College athletics is about more than just the sport itself--at least it was for me.

I swam all four years as a walk-on at a Division I school. I loved it. Yeah, it took up a lot of time, but I'm pretty confident I would have wasted that time rather than studied had I not swum. Your typical college student is quite adept at wasting time. Oh yeah, I did graduate with high honors in what most would consider to be a tough major (mechanical engineering). A smart kid with a decent work ethic can handle swimming and studying. No question.

I would not trade my college swimming experience for anything. The experiences that I obtained from being on a team were second to none. Sure, the workouts were tough. Running, lifting, throwing med balls and shotputs, running around the natatorium in your suit in the snow trying to blast anyone with a snowball, especially coach, racing through the entire NCAA line-up to see if you could win a shirt, those kinds of things. Your teammates become your family. Your coach becomes, well, your coach for a time, and hopefully your friend for life. I would encourage anyone to compete as a member of any level of collegiate athletics. There is no other experience like it in the world. Of course it was difficult, but what isn't. I believe the effect on future employers is enhanced if you have competition listed on a resume. It can be more beneficial than a 4.0 on the grade card. It shows time management and the ability to adapt to long hours of hard work. A teammate of mine got a very good high paying job after telling a story of a very time consuming and mentally challenging workout. The employers wanted to hear about the hardest thing that he had ever accomplished. It wasn't an exam in some Econ class. It was a 5 1/2 hour swimming workout that crushed peoples minds. When you made it through, you knew you could do anything. College athletics is a way of life that allows for great opportunities after you move on to whatever you move on to. The people who can make it through and still have a 4.0, are genius'. There are a lot of distractions. A LOT. But what college doesn't have distractions. If my kids grow up and are good enough to compete at the collegiate level in anything, Div I, II, III, NAIA, or whatever, I will know that they have a built in support group 24/7, The Team. Sorry if I rambled. I'm on my second week of Jury Duty.

Snicker. Did not swim in college. Went to art school. We had Ultimate Frisbee. That and potsmoking, those were our sports. ;-) Hey, I hear you about swimming on the team in college. My kid's coaches swim on the university team and knowing how hard they work and what they miss out on (lots of stuff, ex. semester abroad) I would encourage my kids to not go out for swim team.

My big question is ,"How many people went to US News & World Reports top 100 undergrad schools & swam?" I did, and previously said that it was difficult to balance both. However, several people on my team managed to swim 4 years with pre-med majors, so it can be done. You have to give up a conventional social life though. Hofffam: I know a very smart kid happily swimming at Emory and doing very well in both endeavors.

Did open swimming after happy hour on Friday's (drinking age 18). Amazing the kind of dives you can do after a few beers!

I am the parent of a high school senior who wants to swim in college. He is good but not fast enough for Auburn, Cal, Stanford, etc. He might be a walkon for one of the not-so-fast Div 1 schools or perhaps some scholarship money to a Div II or Div III school. Our guidance to him has been to choose the school for education first, and if swimming works, we'll support it. Earning 1/10 or 1/4 of a scholarship isn't particularly meaningful for the money unless he goes out of state or to a private school with much higher costs. My son is smart, a solid but not outstanding student, and has very good test scores. He seems to understand that a degree from Rice with no swimming will do him more good in life than a degree from a far lesser school that offers him a swimming scholarship. I think swimming would be good for him - especially early on in college. I'd rather he have a group to belong to that isn't a fraternity. There are many small schools that have very good swim programs. And Remeber in most small schools between 80 & 95 % of the students receive some aid from the college. I went to knox in Galesburg, IL NO good swimming but a very good water polo team. Some of the other schools in the ACM are very competitive in swimming. I think Grinnell & Coe have good teams usually. There also schools that people know. My big question is ,"How many people went to US News & World Reports top 100 undergrad schools & swam?"

There are many small schools that have very good swim programs. And Remeber in most small schools between 80 & 95 % of the students receive some aid from the college. I went to knox in Galesburg, IL NO good swimming but a very good water polo team. Some of the other schools in the ACM are very competitive in swimming. I think Grinnell & Coe have good teams usually. There also schools that people know. My big question is ,"How many people went to US News & World Reports top 100 undergrad schools & swam?" You make good points. The real issue is not the size of the school or which NCAA Division they are in. Most, but not all, of the smallers schools do not have good engineering or business programs. They tend to be liberal arts, which is not what we are looking for. There are some very interesting schools, like UC-San Diego and Emory. Very strong swim teams, not Div-I, and strong academics.

Swam 2 years for a Division III school with an up-and-coming swimming program. My father died during my freshman year and it really changed my whole perspective on things. I took some time off and also got badly out of shape--from which I never fully recovered. After 2 years I decided that I wasn't going to the Olympics (hah!) and even if I could train hard enough to be an NCAA Div III All American, there was more to life than swimming. I became very active in student government (which met during swim practice), I met my future wife, etc. As we all know, elite level swimming is extremely time consuming (or at least it was 15 years ago when I was in college). There's so much to be experienced in college that it can almost be a shame to waste it all on one pursuit. To each his or her own, I suppose. I have no regrets for quitting swimming and I think it made me a MUCH more well-rounded person. My advice would be for your son to go to the best school he can possibly get into, regardless of swimming. If he can't walk on and swim (or if they don't have a team), then he can always join a local masters or USS team. If he decides swimming isn't everything (and it's obviously not) he'll want to be in the best school possible, not just the best swimming school... PS at my school many of the swimmers were in the same fraternity, and I know many schools where the teams were per se fraternities (if not actual fraternities). Unfortunately, there's going to be no way to avoid the drinking... Good luck!