<p>Last Spring, I called up Coach “Ned” and talked with him for a little bit about running and the school. Unlike all of the other coaches that I have spoken with, he was cold and didn’t seem to care. I realize that I wouldn’t be on Varsity at Amherst, but that isn’t why i run. Furthermore, he asked about ACT scores and I said that I had gotten a 30 (and am shooting for 31), but he said that I wouldn’t be admitted unless I had a 33 (most likely). Is there any reason to apply?</p>
<p>Have you tried the SAT? I scored a 30 on the ACT and a 2300 SAT...you might be like me.</p>
<p>go try the SAT. yeah, i donno about ned. i havent met him yet, but by email when i told him my running stats, his response seemed a bit cold, but its sometimes hard to tell online. basically, like you, i was low varsity on my high school team but wouldnt be varsity at amherst, but i like to run. if he is mean, then ill just do like i did with my coach from high school sometimes (ignore him), and do xc probably and skip out on indoor to just run on my own. oh btw, i'm gonna be a freshman at amherst next fall. my coach at high school was really nice though, he trained everyone as long as they were committed and was usually very nice. he just liked to talk a lot, and i would often just go on runs during meetings because i had stuff to do, like homework for instance...getting home at 6 can be quite a pain...but thats enough of a rant. it doesnt just depend on sat. rigor of course is very important, plus a really good essay can help if that other stuff isnt as good.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I just don't get the feeling that I'd be happy at Amherst...unfortunately, he is one of the reasons that I don't think I'll apply</p>
<p>thats too bad. it all depends on what you want i suppose, but it really is a great school in a good location. plus, i'm sure they have good running trails.</p>
<p>I'm sorry for your experience with the coach, but I haven't heard any of the runners I know complain about him.</p>
<p>I found myself in almost exactly the same situation this year. I was hesitant about Amherst, and, although in retrospect it was pretty silly, I think my opinion of the school was almost entirely based upon Ned's rather cold reception. But I still applied, and am happy I did, because he was much nicer once I actually got it. If you think you'd be happy at Amherst, don't let your opinion of one man hold you back. I've talked to a few runners and they all say he doesn't give off the best first impression, but that he's actually a pretty cool guy once you get to know him. I think I'll be running track next year, but who knows, if it turns out to be a bad experience, there's always something else...</p>
<p>My friend is really into Cross Country and is planning to run Varsity at Amherst in the Fall. One of the reasons he chose Amherst over Williams was that he thought the Amherst coach was a lot friendlier. So who knows. I have emailed a bunch of professors and stuff at Amherst and they all seem really nice.</p>
<p>Here's the deal:</p>
<p>I love Pomona College. I live in Oregon and it's closer to home than some of the east coast LAC's. I plan on applying Early Decision. Just out of curiousity, what would i need on my ACT to get accepted?</p>
<p>Hope you don't mind that I am hijacking your thread skyhawk, but I have a question for you. Since you have already talked to the coach at Amherst, could you please give me approximate times in order to be considered for Varsity at Amherst? Maybe 1 mile, 5k times or something like that. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any first-hand info? </p>
<p>I talked to him last week and I told him my times (4:55 miler, 17:20 5ker), and he in essence said that me running at Amherst would be a "struggle" and that it probably wasn't worth it. I mean, my times aren't terrific, but they are certainly serviceable.</p>
<p>During the spring, I talked to the coach at Bowdoin and Williams who both said that I would be right in the middle of the incoming class of freshman runners if I applied. This is what I want.</p>
<p>It seems to me that 'Ned's' coaching philosophy is that he should spend all of his energy coaching a very small number of athletes, and the heck to the rest of them. Can anyone on the team/anyone with knowledge of anyone on the team justify this?</p>
<p>If I end up going to Amherst, it looks like I won't run...which is kind of a bummer.</p>
<p>My son had the same reception last year. He initally loved the school and even met up with the jazz director (great guy) and a couple of profs during the summer. But running and the friendships from running are big parts of his life, and he felt that he could get the education he wanted at other top LAC's, so he didn't even apply to Amherst. Funny thing is, he was All-League, MVP, school record setter, etc, etc, not to mention great academics, nice kid, etc. But his opinion was that the coach seemed to want to make him feel like a loser. It might depend on what you are used to. My son's high school coach is super positive, asks a lot of the kids, gets a lot in return. So, my son could see that a coach can be a nice guy and still get results.</p>
<p>I had similar times to you and wanted to do XC (little better miler, worse 5k), and Ned also said something similar to me in an e-mail, but I trained a lot over the summer and started running on the team for the first week or so. After that, I realized I couldn't really compete with everyone else. Well, I wasn't like far behind everyone in workouts, I was just at the bottom of the pack. If I had kept running, I probably would have improved significantly, but I couldn't take the time commitment what with Science labs and just a lot of over things.</p>
<p>I switched to Ultimate Frisbee, great decision. Very chill and flexible, but also serious, and all the guys are great.</p>
<p>I don't think that Ned necessarily focuses on the top people always, he just won't treat you any different from the others. If you finish behind everyone else and he wants to give people like 1 minute rest before the next interval, and you finish 1 minute after everyone else, he will just have you go again. At least, that happened to me during the time I was there. I finished a little behind and he was about to start an interval again. And I stared at him, as if to convey I couldn't just go, it wouldn't be helpful in my training without rest. and he just stared back, and was like, get going.</p>