I have been reading a lot of old threads - someone somewhere said to do that instead of asking a bunch of questions that have already been asked. I noticed several times people said that interest from coaches did not correlate with acceptance. Specifically @TheStig2 mentioned this in a pinned thread. Just wondering what experience has been with that. If coaches say “you are on my list and this will help with admissions” to the child is that not actually a great sign? Possibly the parental units, specifically the husband, were getting a little confident after that email, eek…
Coaches can 100% help with admissions. But it’s school dependent. Some coaches have great influence and others have very little. And some coaches “sell” their school to applicants more than others, so some of what you may be hearing could be marketing. But think of it this way: the more important a particular sport is at a school, and the more important your applicant would be to that sport, the more likely the coach will have true admissions “pull.” Keep in mind that your applicant will need to be seen as both: a) able to handle the academics; and b) not a behaviorally troublesome kid. The last thing a coach will want to do is go out on a limb for an applicant who flames out academically or who proves to be a discipline problem.
With all that being said, a coach showing strong interest is certainly a good thing.
It’s definitely helpful. It’s a sign that the kid will contribute and “fit” on campus through the sport. But at the end of the day, it’s up to the AD and staff to create a class, not the coaches. Tales abound, at both the BS and college levels, of coaches getting way out in front of admissions (to the consternation of applicants ).
It could be the tie-breaker among equally attractive applicants (and that’s meaningful at highly selective schools. )
Remember that admissions is balancing a zillion things, from diversity, day vs boarding, atletics, arts, legacy, FA, interests, gender, etc. Every kid fills several categories.
I would take it as a good thing, but hardly a sure thing.
Coaches can definitely help. The schools vary considerably on how much. This changes from year to year depending on institutional priorities.
My sons admission letter to Andover had a handwritten note at the bottom which specifically mentioned the coach.
There are also schools where the coach support means very little. So take this with a grain of salt.
Your best bet is to ask direct questions to the coach. How many kids in the past with your support were accepted? How high on the list am I? Does admissions go down the list in order?