Hello all!
I just received an e-mail from a coach at one of my top schools. She said she was very interested in hearing about my level of expertise and experience in tennis and told me a bit about the tennis program at the school. The way she spoke sounded as if she was at least a tad bit interested… Is this even a fraction of a good sign?
Thank you!
Congratulations! Can your high school coach help you make a “reel”? Sometimes HS coaches do that for graduating seniors, so they have the experience to quickly highlight your best features. Maybe your coach can speak directly to the BS coach. A conversation is always good.
We had a coach write an “extra” recommendation. Maybe that is an option for you?
It isn’t anything bad, but don’t think it is anything uncommon… I got emails from both the lacrosse coach and the volleyball coach at Middlesex when I applied last year… Once they figured out I was only decent at the sports, they dropped me like a hot stone with a cold “good luck with your applications” process. The gist of the story, is I wasn’t excepted. HOWEVER, if you are good at tennis and actually would pursue it at a boarding school, good for you! Ask for your coach to send a letter of recommendation!
I am a coach/activity leader at a boarding school. My admissions office just dropped off several spreadsheets showing me names and emails of applying students with a cryptic phrase or bit of word salad describing the applicant. Of course some names on my lists have no information–not sure when, how, or if these kids ever expressed interest/ability/affinity for my sport/activity. I’ve dutifully written a form email which I personalize whenever the Admissions notes are specific enough for me to do so. (Mostly they just say “great kid!” or “2 years experience”) When kids write me back and ask questions, I always email admissions and say “Kid X just wrote me a great email. I strongly support this candidate.”
To answer the question “does this mean anything?” my guess is that this coach got a list from admissions and a directive to contact everyone on it just like I did. But by answering the email and talking more about your tennis career, you can hope that this coach will advocate for you at admissions. She may or may not have much pull with admissions (I don’t get the sense that I have any pull at all), but by reaching back when the school reaches out, you are at least strengthening your case, and giving them a better look at whether you’re a good match.
Write back, and then investigate the possibilities that london203 and Itsjustschool suggest–both are great ideas.