We’re getting encouraging emails from schools we’ve applied to and visited and I’m just wondering how to interpret them. One school had a teacher email to talk more about subjects my son had expressed interest in. Others are from coaches sending “team notes” and info about their spring trips, etc. Several schools have had students my son knows email him. Are they just trying to gauge his interest level? He’s an athlete but not superhuman or anything. I’ve read here that people got their hopes up over this kind of thing. Should I tell my son not to read too much into it?
FWIW, we got those kinds of emails too… from schools that accepted, waitlisted AND rejected my kid. So… think positive, but don’t count your chickens before March 10. Best of luck!!
The answer is always tell him not to read to much into it because it’s a lot better to be pleasantly surprised with acceptances on March 10th than to be shocked when you aren’t accepted. FWIW we have also gotten teacher emails, coaches, AO emails etc. I’ve told my child that is part of their job to sell the school they was the best class they can get.
My son had proactive contact only from Choate and Hotchkiss. No contact from any other schools (except the AO he interviewed with). He was accepted everywhere. So I saw no correlation between contact before M10 and chance of acceptance.
Try not to read into things too deeply. I’ve heard of schools saying encouraging things just to get more students to continue with the application process, and I’ve heard of schools saying encouraging things because they really like that student. It’s all up in the air until M10.
I am a boarding school coach/teacher. The admissions office emails me a long list of students, and says “these students are interested in your subject/sport. Contact them by Friday!” I know little to nothing about the kids on the list. So I write a friendly form letter and spend an hour or so re-addressing the email to each kid on my list and changing the name at the top. I send 50-100 letters; I hear back from 6-15 kids. Of course we’re an “unworthy” tier 2 school so most of the kids I’m writing to are still planning to go to Andover. They start fawning on my school on March 11th.
But I do let the Admission office know when I get a nice, funny, kind, or goofy letter (I describe them all to admissions as “great letters”) I tell the office “I endorse this kid.”
I do not coach football, so the office does not care about my endorsements all that much. But I make them anyway. I like getting nice emails from obviously excited and nervous kids. I’m proud of them for taking these bold steps of the school admission process.
Do not read anything into this contact.
Do. Not. Read. Anything. Into This. Contact.
It doesn’t mean coach isn’t friendly, or that coach doesn’t want more players on his team. It just means we do what admissions tells us, and yet admissions doesn’t really listen to us.
There are no tea leaves to read. Smile, and then get back to regular life.
What if a coach says that out of a number of applicants interested in his program, I am one that he chooses to support that he believes will help the program. Also with the gauging interest and stuff- is this just a generic letter? He also wrote a personalized message on it
In our case, DS plays neither football nor hockey. However the head coach of the varsity sport happens to be on the administrative leadership team, and he sent letter to us with clear message, as we understood it, that he wants DS to go to his school next year. We tried not to read too much into this though, especially because there is still FA situation involved.
We got a phone call from an Assistant Director of Admission at one of the schools we applied to. He said, “I’m just calling to congratulate your son on his SSAT score.” He did not say much more after that and my son was not home. I asked a few procedural questions and then after an awkward silence, thanked him and ended the call. I have no idea what to make of it.
Like I said before, don’t read into things too deeply. Wait until March 10, and then piece things together.
@bshopeful121 : sounds like the coach is interested. However most coaches have little to no pull with admissions.
I’ve personally seen BS coaches promise that an applicant is #1 on their list only to end up being wait listed or rejected on M10.
The adcoms are generally independent from the coaching staff. So although being a great athlete is nice and being recognized by the coach it doesn’t guarantee anything. Good luck
It must have some sort of pull, albeit a very small one. One coach at one of my schools is “very interested” in me, and we have made a lot of contact. Then, one time I called the school, and the AO who asked me my name said that “she recognized my name.” I have no idea what that means. It might be the coach, it might be something completely random.
@mathman1201: It could perhaps be a coincidence. When I came for my interview, my interviewer insisted that she felt like she saw me before and asked repeatedly if I attended the school’s summer program–very odd deja vu going on that day! Just kidding, there was probably someone there that looked like me (perhaps my doppelganger!) I had to tell her that that time period was my first time visiting the East Coast/Northeast. 
Hmm, that might be it.
@mathman1201 If you are interacting with a coach and they tell you they are interested that is a good sign. Nothing more nothing less. No guarantee of admission but a good sign. Congrats to you and good luck on M10.
I’d say it doesn’t mean anything until it means something (meaning the kid gets in).