by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 10 programs for Women’s Swimming & Diving by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To help you decide, College Factual scores each program on a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
No school ranked higher than University of California-Santa Barbara this year for Women's Swimming & Diving. University of California-Santa Barbara is a public school based in Santa Barbara, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 96%. The program generates about $17,881 in revenue per athlete, against $17,881 in expenses. The school awards about $11,355 in athletic aid per athlete.
California Lutheran University earned the #2 place for student athletes. Based in Thousand Oaks, CA, California Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $5,940 in revenue per athlete, against $5,940 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
University of California-San Diego earned the #3 place for student athletes. Based in La Jolla, CA, University of California-San Diego is a public institution. University of California-San Diego records an NCAA APR of 989, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 100%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $19,003, with expenses of about $19,003 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $9,847.
University of Redlands came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Women's Swimming & Diving. Located in Redlands, CA, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $7,250 per participant, against $7,162 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
University of the Pacific earned the #5 place for student athletes. University of the Pacific is a private not-for-profit school based in Stockton, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 979, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 72%. Team revenue averages $21,182 per participant, compared with $21,182 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,596.
Westmont College placed #6 among the best colleges for Women's Swimming & Diving. Based in Santa Barbara, CA, Westmont College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $10,563 per participant, against $13,883 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $6,511 per athlete.
University of La Verne ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Women's Swimming & Diving. Based in La Verne, CA, University of La Verne is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $7,368 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $6,584 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo landed the #8 spot this year. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo is a public school based in San Luis Obispo, CA. The Graduation Success Rate here is 88%. Its federal graduation rate is 88%. Team revenue averages $9,725 per participant, against $9,725 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $10,344.
Fresno Pacific University ranked #9 on our 2026 list for Women's Swimming & Diving. Based in Fresno, CA, Fresno Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $14,998 per participant, compared with $14,440 spent per athlete. The school awards about $9,517 in athletic aid per athlete.
California State University-East Bay ranked #10 on our 2026 list for Women's Swimming & Diving. California State University-East Bay is a public school based in Hayward, CA. Team revenue averages $22,619 per participant, compared with $22,619 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $5,078 per athlete.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
See our data sources and methodologies.