Scholastic All American Application Deadline is August 15!

By Reach for the Wall Staff

Last year (Academic year 2017-2018), The Eastern Zone had 410 swimmers recognized, a big jump from the 287 recognized in Academic year 2016-2017, 72 (or 17%) scholars were PVS swimmers.  NCAP had the most swimmers in the list with 33, followed by Machine with 10, and RMSC with 7. Make sure you don’t miss the deadline & we look forward to seeing how many PVS scholars make the cut!!

As stated on the USA Swimming website, here are the qualification standards and process for completing the application:

The application for the 2018-2019 year is available online at the USA Swimming website through tomorrow August 15, 2019.

• The only method for application will be the online application on the USA Swimming website.
• Applicants will be required to have a USA Swimming account.
• Qualifying pool times for the applicant will be validated through Times on the USA Swimming website (time MUST be in SWIMS).
• Applicant will be required to have a TRANSCRIPT for the COMPLETE academic year available for uploading to the application.
• Applicant must have been a member at the time of the swim and a current member when applying for the 2018-19 SAA team.
• Applicant must have all application documents completed by August 15, 2019. Late applications will NOT be accepted or considered.

Requirements:

• Applicant must have completed 9^th, 10^th 11^th or 12^th grade
• Minimum 3.5 GPA for the current academic year
  • A=4, B=3, C=2. If numerical grades are used, the following scale will be used unless the school’s letter grade conversion is given on the transcript: A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79. In calculating the GPA no rounding will be used – one decimal place only.
  • Honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual credit college level academic courses will earn one half (.5)extra Grade Point. Grades for academic subjects only are calculated – history/social studies, English, mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, computer sciences, visual and performing arts if indicated as academic. A grade lower than a C in an academic subject will mean automatic rejection of the applicant. Grades for non-academic courses will NOT be calculated – art, band, orchestra, choir, home economics, health, driver education, physical education, shop, etc. and any other class marked as non-academic will not be included in the GPA calculation (unless transcript indicates ‘academic’ or AP or IB).
  • There will be no special status designation for a 4.0 GPA other than for a national champion who also has a 4.0 GPA.

• Pool Requirements
  • Applicants must have swum an individual pool time equal to a 2018 Winter Junior qualifying time in any individual event during the SAA qualifying period (August 16, 2018 – August 15, 2019) with qualifying times in SWIMS – list of times are posted on the USA Swimming website. A qualifying time will be available for selection from the SWIMS database during the application process. Only ONE time is necessary and only ONE application is necessary.
• Disability/Para or Open Water Requirements (for athletes without pool requirements)
  • Applicants must have competed in one of the following meets:
    2018 US Para National Championships– December 14-16, 2018, Tucson AZ
    2019 World Para World Series – April 4-6, 2019, Indianapolis, IN
    2019 Can Am Para Swimming Championships – July 12-14, 2019, Vancouver, BC
    2019 World Para – July 29-Aug 4, 2019, Kuching, Malaysia
    2019 Open Water National Championships – May 3-5, 2019, Miami, FL

To apply for the SAA team for 2018-19:

Go to the USA Swimming Home Page or any page on the site.

In the upper right corner, click on “Sign In”.

If you do not have an account, click on the link to “create account” and follow the instructions.

If you have an account, simply type your log in name and your password in the appropriate place.

Make sure the account you have signed in with is linked to your (the athlete’s) USA Membership account. (If you are unsure of the link, go to My Account, Membership Information, where you can either link with ‘Click Here’ or Unlink to check the linked membership record and relink.) You will not be able to access the SAA application without being logged in and linked to the athlete’s Membership account.

Once you are sure you are correctly linked to your athlete registration, navigate to the SAA Application page (Resources, Browse More, Times, SAA, SAA Requirements, click on link to SAA Application and complete the application. Make sure you SUBMIT the application. If you cannot complete the application, SAVE your work so you can go back again to finish.

Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email sent to your Deck Pass log-in email. If you do not receive that confirmation immediately upon submission, PLEASE contact Betty Kooy – blkooy@gmail.com so that we can check the status of your application.

Your complete high school transcript will need to be uploaded for your application to be complete. All grades for the current year (both semesters 2018-2019) must be on the transcript. You must have completed the 9^th, 10^th, 11^th or 12^th grade in order to apply.

Note that school transcripts are the only documentation accepted for the Scholastic All America application (PDF or JPG files). Word documents will NOT be accepted. Grade cards and report cards will NOT be accepted. Only grades for the 2018-2019 school year will be used to determine your GPA but a complete transcript is required.

When a committee member has completed evaluation of the materials, you will be notified of either acceptance (automated from USA Swimming to Deck Pass Log-in email) or rejection via email (from committee member).

Note: Applications are only accepted from ATHLETES! The athlete must complete the application.