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Want to Swim in College? Clearing up the NCAA Clearinghouse

From Jessica Berkowitz Minier:  Assistant Director of Swimming, American College Connection

We have been asked to provide some information on the NCAA Clearinghouse/Eligibility Center… so it here goes.

The NCAA Eligibility Center, also called the NCAA Clearinghouse, was set up years ago by the NCAA to certify the academic eligibility of a prospective student-athlete to compete in college.  Previously, each school was responsible for certifying their own prospective student-athletes.  In short, every graduated high school senior must be certified “academically eligible to compete” by the Clearinghouse prior to full-time enrollment at a 4 year school or participating in college athletics.  Clearinghouse certification does not apply to D-III or Junior Colleges.  NAIA schools now have their own version: www.playnaia.org. These are two separate entities and do not share information.

At the beginning of an athlete’s junior year in high school he or she should go to: www.eligibilitycenter.org  to register with the Clearinghouse.  There is no ‘deadline’ to register, but registration must be completed and the prospect evaluated ideally 3-4 months prior to enrollment.

Being “registered” with the Clearinghouse is one of 4 requirements that a swimmer must meet in order to take an official visit to D-I or D-II schools. “Registered” is not the same as “Certified”. The Clearinghouse can only certify a student-athlete after he or she completes high school.

There is a fee associated with registration; if a student received a fee-waiver (based on need) for the SAT or ACT, they can also apply to have their NCAA Clearinghouse fee waived. The fees periodically go up (three times since its inception) so register early.

We hope this clears up the Clearinghouse.

If you would like to find out if you can swim in college and at what level, go to www.ACCrecruits and submit a Free Profile.

ACC is a SwimSwam ad partner. Learn more about ACC and their entire team here. 

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About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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