JESSIE LIAO RECEIVED A NCAA D1 SCHOLARSHIP OFFER TO LSU STARTING IN FALL 2024
2023 WORLD AQUATICS DATABASE
TOP 100 ASIAN JUNIOR FEMALE SWIMMERS
Jesse Liao is an elite female swimmer from Taiwan. Currently a senior at Hsinchu Commercial High School, she specializes in freestyle and backstroke. In 2022, she was selected for the “National Potential New Star Team” and competed in the FINA World Cup in Indianapolis, USA. She also performed exceptionally well in the 2023 National Middle School Athletic Games, winning three gold medals in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, and 100m freestyle events. Throughout her participation in the National Middle School Athletic Games, she has accumulated a total of seven gold, four silver, and two bronze medals, breaking multiple records in the Hsinchu City Athletic Games.
In the fall of her senior year, Jessie participated in a sports study abroad seminar focused on swimming. Encouraged by her high school coach, she looked forward to the challenge of attending and swimming at a NCAA university. After consulting with her parents and seeking advice from various sources, she contacted ACA, where we specialize in sports study abroad services. On October 15, she signed a contract with ACA at their Taipei 101 World Trade Center office, officially starting the application process for studying abroad in the US.
November marks the time when college coaches in the U.S. can officially sign high school athletes. Nearly all NCAA D1 universities have already signed their high level recruits by this time, and if they haven’t yet, they have already identified several candidates. Given the urgency of Jessie’s admission, ACA immediately began reaching out to coaches to help Jessie seize the opportunity for a college scholarship.
ACA consultants began building her profile with video highlights and competition results. They promptly provided coaches with first-hand performance data from Jessie’s previous competitions and sought to secure recruiting spots at ideal schools. By the end of October, they had arranged online interviews for Jessie with multiple prospective schools. Throughout this process, ACA consultants helped prep her for the interviews by practicing asking questions that coaches might ask, familiarized her with other English dialogue content, and encouraged her to demonstrate a strong interest in the school, which is beneficial for the recruitment process.
Jessie maintained her excellent grades in the classroom over the coming months, and several NCAA D1 universities expressed recruitment interest and were willing to provide flights for Jessie to visit their campuses. This provided Jessie with the best opportunity to familiarize herself with the school environment, training facilities, and coaching staff.
Through multiple communications between consultants and parents, Jessie and her mother selected Louisiana State University (LSU) out of several options. They signed with the school at the end of December and visited the campus in mid January 2024. The LSU coaches planned a two-day campus visit itinerary for them, including activities such as joint training with the team, to familiarize Jessie with the coaching team and the team’s training mode.
Through this campus visit, Jessie gained further understanding of LSU and established trust with the coaches and the team. Additionally, some of the coaching staff had extensive Olympic experience and having coached many international students. This gave Jessie an opportunity to participate in international competitions in the future, which will be very helpful for Jessie’s future growth as a swimmer.
Jessie will join the LSU women’s swimming team in the summer of 2024. She traveled to Japan in late January to undergo off-site training, preparing for international competitions in February and April. Asian Age Group Championships at the end of February and the National Games in April. We wish Jessie success in challenging herself and setting new records, and enjoying every competition. Many thanks to Jessie’s mother for generously sharing the process of how ACA assisted Jessie in her study abroad application, hoping to help more excellent swimmers go to the United States for study and training.
Breaking News! Congratulations to Jessie
February 2024: The 11th Asian Age Group Championships
Women’s 18U 50m backstroke: Second place, time: 29.11 seconds
April 2024: The 2024 National Middle School Athletic Games
Won three gold medals and broke meet records
High School Girls 100m Freestyle, first place, time: 56.56 seconds (meet record) High School Girls 50m Freestyle, first place, time: 25.92 seconds (meet record) High School Girls 50m Backstroke, first place, time: 29.13 seconds (meet record)
Louisiana State University (LSU), officially named Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, is a public university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest universities in the state.
The university competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which includes traditional swimming powerhouses such as the University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Missouri, and University of Tennessee. The school has excellent swimming facilities, including four Olympic sized pools. In the 2023 NCAA Championships, the LSU women’s swimming team ranked 13th in Division I with a total of 112 points. The current head coach of the swimming team, Rick Bishop, has successfully coached several top Chinese swimmers, including Siobhan Haughey from Hong Kong and Maggie Mac Neil, the gold medalist in the 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics, who is of Chinese descent from Canada.
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