Think. Swim. College.

It's very demanding. You feel tired all the time. The food is okay but questionable compared to your mom's cooking. However, you have an amazing support group that no one else has: your team. Those forty people going through the same struggles as you are your family. The athletic department is also on your side. They will help you with financial, academic or personal issues. Read this article for more. 

The other day I met a woman at the gym. She saw me swimming and started asking if I swam in college, where I went to school, etc. She mentioned her daughter is in high school and played on the varsity soccer team as a freshman. "Schools are already reaching out to my daughter but we're only interested if they're offering money. We can't afford to pay for her to go to college, and we don't want to waste time on schools that won't offer her an athletic scholarship." This is a dilemma every family faces. If only it was easy. I said to her, "I understand you want money. But, you can't tell a coach that in the first email. I can guarantee you he won't offer your daughter anything after that. Think of recruiting as a relationship. Over time your daughter will build up a reputation with the coach. A coach has a list of criteria he looks for in a good athlete too. It doesn't happen overnight."

JULY between your junior and senior year in high school. At this time, Division I & II schools can reach out to you, and you can have PHONE conversations.  Read more here about eligibility dates .

The main difference is that Division I and Division II schools can offer recruits athletic scholarships whereas Division III schools cannot. Technically, DIII schools only offer academic scholarships. However, there are ways to get an "athletic" scholarship masked as an academic scholarship. Check out the Helpful Resources page. There are other distinctions between DI, DII, and DIII schools you can read about here .

If you have chosen a school and signed the National Letter of Intent (NLI), congratulations!!! You have now joined the ranks of collegiate athletes. The respectful thing to do is to let the other schools know that you are no longer on the market. Send out an email to all the coaches that you have been talking to. Let them know that you have committed to a team.

I am currently a sophomore chemical engineering major at Howard University. I am also on the swim team. I also pay about $200 dollars in fees every semester (that's it). I received a full ride at Howard through hard work, dedication and strategy. I started swimming on a club team when I was nine. Which is kind of late considering many people started at five. I was raised by a single mom. She's extremely smart and resourceful. That's where I got my drive from. By the time I was in middle school I was excelling at math and science. Around that time is when you start to learn about college and all the different specialties. I decided on engineering by the time I reached high school. Somewhere in there, I chose chemical engineering. By my senior year I was actively talking to eleven universities, nine of which I was being recruited for. Both Division I and Division III. I applied to all eleven. Accepted into ten of those schools. I received four academic scholarships....