USA TODAY High School Sports has a weekly column on the college recruiting process. Here, you’ll find practical tips and real-world advice on becoming a better recruit to maximize your opportunities and play at the college level. Jason Smith is a former NCAA DIII athlete and college coach at all three division levels. Jason is just one of many former college and professional athletes, college coaches and parents who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. Their knowledge, experience and dedication, along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community, have made NCSA the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.

Choosing the right college is a big decision for any high school swimmer. Where do you want to spend the next four years of your life? What do you want to study? Should you play NCAA Division I or Division II? The rankings below are designed to get you started on your college search by learning about schools that you may not have thought to consider.

NCSA Power Rankings are based on proprietary analysis of NCSA Favorites data obtained from the college search activity of the over 2 million student-athletes on the NCSA recruiting network, U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges, IPEDS graduation rates, and IPEDS average cost after aid.

The goal of these ranking is to help families find the right college fit athletically, academically, socially and financially.

Best Men’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 450 four-year colleges that offer opportunities to compete in men’s college swimming. The 2019 overall rankings are dominated by “name brand” schools at the top, with several NCAA Division I colleges, 33 NCAA Division III colleges and 2 NCAA Division II college.

1. Stanford University
2. Harvard University
3. Princeton University
4. Yale University
5. University of California

Top 100 Colleges for Men’s Swimming Student-Athletes

Best NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 130 NCAA Division I men’s swimming colleges, large and small, in all corners of the US. Fully funded programs can offer up to 9.9 scholarships per team. While many families know of the Power 5 schools they see on TV, this year’s rankings have a mix of colleges, showing that the “right college” is up to the recruit to find.

1. Stanford University
2. Harvard University
3. Princeton University
4. Yale University
5. University of California

Top 50 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming Colleges

Best NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming Colleges

The NCAA Division II level has over 70 colleges with men’s swimming teams. Fully funded Division II swimming programs can offer up to 8.1 scholarships per team. While most student-athletes think of Division I schools when considering college, they are surprised to find that athletes at the Division II level often have the talent to be Division I but chose Division II for a better fit.

1. University of California – San Diego
2. Colorado School of Mines
3. Bentley University
4. Rollins College
5. Grand Valley State University

Top 50 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming Colleges

Best NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 200 men’s swimming colleges competing at the NCAA Division III level. While you may know NCAA Division III schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, most families don’t realize Division III athletes can get several other forms of financial aid (academic scholarships, grants and aid) that can make these schools competitive with any other division levels scholarship offer.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. California Institute of Technology
3. Johns Hopkins University
4. Amherst College
5. Swarthmore College

Top 50 NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming Colleges

Best NAIA Men’s Swimming Colleges

There are just over 20 colleges that have men’s swimming teams at the NAIA level. Fully funded teams can offer up to 8 scholarships per team. While an NAIA college might not have been the school you grew up dreaming about, with a little research, you might find it is just what you are looking for.

1. Soka University of America
2. The College of Idaho
3. Asbury University
4. Loyola University New Orleans
5. Morningside College

Top 15 NAIA Men’s Swimming Colleges

Best Women’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 550 four-year colleges that offer opportunities to compete in women’s college swimming. The 2019 overall rankings are dominated by “name brand” schools at the top, with several NCAA Division I colleges, 31 NCAA Division III colleges and 1 NCAA Division II college.

1. Stanford University
2. Harvard University
3. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
4. Princeton University
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Top 100 Colleges for Women’s Swimming Student-Athletes

Best NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 150 NCAA Division I women’s swimming colleges, large and small, in all corners of the US. Fully funded programs can offer up to 14 scholarships per team. While many families know of the Power 5 schools they see on TV, this year’s rankings have a mix of colleges, showing that the “right college” is up to the recruit to find.

1. Stanford University
2. Harvard University
3. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
4. Princeton University
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Top 50 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Colleges

Best NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming Colleges

The NCAA Division II level has over 100 colleges with women’s swimming teams. Fully funded Division II programs can offer up to 8.1 scholarships per team. While most student-athletes think of Division I schools when considering college, they are surprised to find that athletes at the Division II level often have the talent to be Division I but chose Division II for a better fit.

1. University of California – San Diego
2. Bentley University
3. Truman State University
4. Colorado School of Mines
5. Rollins College

Top 50 NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming Colleges

Best NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming Colleges

There are over 250 women’s swimming colleges competing at the NCAA Division III level. While you may know NCAA Division III schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, most families don’t realize Division III athletes can get several other forms of financial aid (academic scholarships, grants and aid) that can make these schools competitive with any other division levels scholarship offer.

1. Johns Hopkins University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Techonlogy
3. Emory University
4. Amherst College
5. California Institute of Technology

Top 50 NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming Colleges

Best NAIA Women’s Swimming Colleges

There are just over 30 colleges that have women’s swimming teams at the NAIA level. Fully funded programs can offer up to eight scholarships per team. While an NAIA college might not have been the school you grew up dreaming about, with a little research, you might find it is just what you are looking for.

1. Soka University of America
2. The College of Idaho
3. Asbury University
4. Indiana Wesleyan University
5. Loyola University New Orleans

Top 22 NAIA Women’s Swimming Colleges

What to look for in a college as a student-athlete

Student-athletes have even more to consider about a college than their non-athlete peers. Recent research published in an NCSA report shows that nearly 45% of college athletes aren’t listed on their teams roster the next year. In more basic terms, too many student-athletes are choosing colleges that aren’t the right fit and end up leaving the team. The below criteria can help families quickly decide if a school is worth considering.

• Athletic Fit – This is less about knowing how good you need to be to play at a certain level and more about knowing what level is right for you. Would you rather be a starter and get significant playing time or compete at the highest level you can, even if you don’t see much game time?
• Academic Fit – Having good grades ensures you will have more opportunities at the next level. But you also want to make sure you pick a school that has the major you might want and a manageable academic workload. It is okay if you don’t know these answers initially, like everything in the college search process, they can change.
• Social Fit – Even before you get the opportunity to get to know a coach or the team, you should think about things like location, school size, weather, distance from home and other important factors. Once you get the opportunity to meet the coach and team, ask questions about coaching style, practice philosophies and how playing time is determined.
• Financial Fit – Getting a full-ride athletic scholarship is far from the norm in college sports. Families should expect to cover some, if not all of the cost of college for some of the years in school. Rather than focus on just the sticker price of colleges, learn to evaluate schools on your expected contribution. You should know what you are prepared to pay. Realize that it takes time to understand what your final costs might actually be once you talk to a coach.

College List Template: How do I make my college list?

Knowing how to evaluate potential schools is only one part of the game. With so many unknowns in the recruiting process – will the coach stay, what if I get hurt, what if I get a lot better next year – you want to have a range of schools on your list. Below, we breakdown how to build a college list that will set you up for success.

1. Reach School (5-10 schools) – Everyone has a dream school. They might be a dream because you aren’t good enough athletically yet, your grades are borderline or maybe it is looks too expensive. You should always have these types of schools on your list because you never know what opportunities might open up, but don’t only have dream schools on your list or you risk never finding an opportunity at the next level. These are schools where you have a <5% chance of making on the team.
2. Target School (10-20 schools) – These are schools you know you qualify for now or with a conservative estimate on how much better you will get in the near future. Keep in mind, even if a school is a good fit athletically or academically, you are competing against other recruits and there are no guarantees. These are schools where you stand a 25%+ chance of making the team and getting into the school.
3. Safety School (3-5 schools) – Imagine everything goes wrong, the coach quits last minute, you get a career ending injury or just have a big change of heart and decide to go another direction for college. You need safety schools on your list to ensure that, even in the worst-case scenario, you can still make progress towards your degree. These are schools where you have a 90%+ chance of getting in and making the team.