I wouldn't be so concerned with athletic scholarships, because few get full scholarships. I don't know how many are allotted for DI swimming, but probably not a lot, and most scholarship kids likely get partial scholarships.
Although I don't advise avoiding a grade skip because of sports, it should be remembered that there are both implicit and direct sports scholarships. For the direct sports scholarships that most people think of, some or all of tuition and living expenses are paid in return for playing on the team.
Some prestigious schools with need-blind admissions offer big implicit sports scholarships for students not from rich families. For example, Harvard
says 20% of our parents have total incomes less than $65,000 and are not expected to contribute.
Families with incomes between $65,000 and $150,000 will contribute from 0-10% of their income, and those with incomes above $150,000 will be asked to pay.
A student from a family earning $65K who gets into Harvard because she is a good athlete in addition to being a good student is better off than a comparable student without the sports hook who does not get in.
