The regular signing period is right around the corner (begins April 15 and goes through August 1). Swimmers and especially parents use the term “signing” very loosely. “Signing” refers to the National Letter of Intent which is the swimmer’s binding commitment to attend a school in exchange for an “Athletic Grant in Aid”.
A NLI is only issued if some form of athletic scholarship is provided. D-I and D-II schools are the only ones who provide an NLI.
NAIA schools have their own version.
Here are some questions we have all of our swimmers ask before they put their “John Hancock” on the National Letter of Intent.
Before you sign ask the following questions:
ONE
What is the school’s policy on 5th year aid? It may take 5 years to complete the degree, but the swimming scholarship only goes for 4 years. Schools are allowed to pay for the 5th year, but I suggest asking up front.
TWO
If there is not a full scholarship offered, ask about what it would take to get a scholarship increase after the first year.
THREE
Will the school pay for health insurance?
FOUR
Where does the team go for Christmas training and who pays? This is not negotiable, but it could be an expense. A school is not allowed to pay for expenses for one swimmer and not the rest of the team.
If you were not offered an athletic scholarship you can still have an official signing at your school. We suggest that you sign your housing documents or some schools will offer a letter of commitment that recruits can sign.
Congratulations, you are about to embark on 4 of the most exciting years of your life as a college swimmer. Nothing else in life compares to being part of a college athletic team.
Our daughter accepted a small scholarship and the coach promised to raise the scholarship after her first year if she swam faster. She did swim faster and when she went to the coach to talk about increasing her scholarship he offered her a 50% scholarship in her fifth year. I wish I would have seen Mr. Paine’s advice and asked about a fifth year before we signed.
ALL great points, Rick….the #1 priority should be the discovery of whether or not you feel that you will get the very best education you can receive. The education you receive over the 4-5 years will carry you through the rest of your life. The swimming will be over, more than likely, after those 4-5 years. Do not make a decision to go to University “A” because of the scholarship and they do not have your major; and miss out on University “B” because the scholarship might be a bit less, but, DO have your major.
Another point is I would suspect that those universities paying for your insurance are Div. I program. I am not aware of any… Read more »
just saw Rick’s article and I had to comment. We worked with ACC several years ago with my son and daughter. They both have their degree and a wonderful college swimming experience that was made much more affordable for us because of ACC’s advice in teaching us how to leverage one school against another. Listen to his advice…it really works.
i am getting conflicting information regarding the length of a swim scholarship. My understanding is that a swim scholarship is a year to year contract…I have heard now in some conferences/schools that has changed to 4 years.
if it has not changed do scholarships get taken away or reduced based on performance?
The old NCAA rule allowed schools to issue scholarships for 1 year. That rule was change a couple of years ago to “allow” coaches to guarantee scholarships for any number of years up to 4. I have found that most coaches are not utilizing this rule yet, but the Big 10 and Pac 12 have passed their own rule that guarantees scholarships for 4 years.
Once coaches start utilizing the “guarantee”, life will become much more complicated for recruits. A D-I coach recently offer one of our swimmers a scholarship package that was worth $95,000 over 4 years, but it read like this:
1st year- 80%
2nd year- 65%
3rd year- 35%
4th year- 65%
When you… Read more »
Good stuff – note the training trip item applies to D3 as well.
I would add a #5 about roster size. How many swimmers go to the conference meet? What do the swimmers who don’t make the conference meet taper for? How many swimmers participate in away meets?
Good points OSD. We have our swimmers ask those questions long before they start considering scholarship offers from specific schools. I wanted this article to be about finances and potential costs.
We just took a campus visit and were able to meet with the coaches of a small D1 program. They were very up front about expectations, working around class schedules, study hall/tutors etc. They also laid out the training trip, and what the team covered and didn’t (athletes pay for air fare to and from Fla). They covered scholarship possibility, but it sounded like it was based on where they anticipated the swimmer placing at conference champs. That was a little confusing, saying money could increase as swimmer got better. Overall, a very enjoyable meeting.
#4 is important. My sons team led us to believe their trip to Hawaii was all-expenses paid. First communication received as a parent during his freshman year was an $800 bill for the trip. They should have said 75% expenses paid.
The health insurance question is interesting. If paid, is this part of the scholarship?
Health insurance is not part of a scholarship, but schools are “allowed” to pay for it. Some do and some don’t, but you won’t know until you ask.