diving scholarships

Question
My 8th grade daughter recentlty retired from a successful gymnastics career at level 8 and is now diving with a good j.o. team. She is interested in college diving. I understand that diving, unlike gymnastics, is not a head count sport and so scholarships may not be "full ride". What is the typical diving scholarship arrangement in a division one school? Are they ever full ride?

Answer
Carole -

In college and high school, diving is a swimming event and divers are members, in this case, of the women's varsity swimming team. Diving has not and will not exist on its' own scholastically. It has to be attached to the swim team. It is a head count sport as it is counted along with the number of swimmers allowed #about 18#. There are many "full ride" opportunities in Division I diving and are very common. There is no typical arrangement for this as it depends on several things:

Is the college diving coach a head coach or an assistant? Does he or she have their own budget or is it dependent upon the swimming team? How many scholarships does the diving team get? There are many other questions too numerous to list here. If it is not a full ride the first year, a diver could earn one if it is available in their sophomore year.Lots of variables with nothing consistent from school to school or conference to conference.Divison II and III diving a little different.

I think a good idea for you and your daughter is to go to the nearest division I college with a diving team, observe a meet or practice and ask the coach questions about what it takes to get a scholarship. Meet with varsity divers and ask them how they made the team or received financial aid based on their diving ability.All college teams are in the middle of their season that will end the third week of March.The most important meets will be in January and February with March being the post season championship events. Find meets on www.divemeets.com and check some out near where you live.

Here are some websites to go to help you figure out college diving:

www.diverstocollege.com

www.diving.about.com - Lots of info here about college diving.

www.usadiving.org

www.aaudiving.org

www.flipnrip.com

www.ncaa.org - look for link for student athletes

Good luck. I hope all  this helps.