Getting into a college swimming program is hard, but sticking with it is even harder. In addition to the physical demands of the sport, swimming is an incredibly time-consuming activity. It's like a full-time job that you'll have to balance with the academic obligations of being a full-time college student.

Swimmers typically train upwards of seven hours per day, with about two workouts per day at two and a half hours each, an hour of weightlifting, and an hour of "other." Then, there's all the time you'll spending traveling to, competing at, and decompressing from meets. (We have to recommend crying in the shower after a disappointing meet. Very cathartic.)

The competitive season typically runs from September to March and includes 12–15 meets. Depending on whether or not your school has a pool that's able to host meets, you might do a lot of traveling during this time...which also means missed classes and even less time to study. Boo.

Then there's the stress of swimming in, say, the NCAA Championships. While there, you might have to do something truly nuts...like swim the last leg of a relay during a meet with a tied score. We haven't actually had to do anything like this in our lives, but wow, does that sound stressful.

So, go ahead and blow off some steam. Just don't do it too loudly. We're trying to catch a quick nap over here.