I want to go to a college that has good art and good swim. I have been doing research and college tours on my own. I could use some help in this search. Is there a list somewhere that I'm not aware of?
I've joined several websites and email lists in order to compose a list of possible colleges to attend. This is a very important decision, and I'm nervous about the process. I want to swim in college as well as major in art. I was hoping to find a more efficient way to narrow down my choices. #collegesearch
2 answers
Jennifer’s Answer
NAIA?
What level of swim program are you looking for?
You can look at the governing bodies websites to get a list of all the men's swimming programs.
What type of art are you interested in?
Digital media? Design?
Sculpting? Painting?
If you have an idea of the medium, you can search with this criteria. If you're not sure, then a general search for art programs would give you a start.
Cross-referencing these lists with one another will begin to whittle down your options.
I encourage students to start with 40-60 schools (Grade 10), research to 20-30 (Grade 11), and apply to 6-10 institutions (Grade 12).
Good luck!
college-search college-selection
Jerrica’s Answer
Hi Kenneth. There are many routes one could take and since I do not know your background or your wants, I will briefly outline a few things you should be thinking about and action items. I am a recruited swimmer, so I have been through this process!
Which is more important: art or swimming? If it's art, then make a list of good art schools you would be interested in going to, and then contact the coaches of those schools. If it's swimming, then make a list of swimming schools you would like go to, then see how lenient you are about the quality of their art programs.
Once you've done this, it's ok if your list is 5 or 20. Write a stock email and send it to each of the coaches and assistant coaches of those schools. Don't worry, even if you want to walk on the team, these coaches have experience with that and should at least give you a phone call. Sometimes coaches don't respond immediately - be patient and send a follow-up in a few weeks. Best case-scenario is that you can ask to be in contact with a swimmer and ask him about the college's art program or if he knows any art students to talk to. It never hurts to reach out!
I also recommend making a page for yourself on https://www.collegeswimming.com/recruiting where you can input your times and see your power index (basically how strong of a swimmer you are). You can compare it with other swimmers on the site who have the same power index from the same year and years prior and see what schools they are committing to.
I would also recommend looking at liberal arts schools, which can have good sports teams and just well-rounded arts departments.