Are you a student athlete who wants to gain an extra advantage in US university applications?
There are generally some misconceptions as to how much being an athlete actually helps in US university applications, but it’s safe to say if you currently play a sport in your school team and the sport is recognised as an NCAA sport, and that you have what it takes to become a Division 3 athlete in University, this article might help you!
Let’s first do a quick rundown of the US university admissions process and how communicating with coaches might actually help you. You should first know that Universities consider a students profile in the following order: 1. Academics Rating 2. Extracurricular Activities 3. Personality Traits. In special situations however, for instance if a student has certain special talents that could contribute to the university, or if a coach is advocating on behalf of a student, the admissions committee might take this into account as well. However, it’s important to note that the final admission decision is always made by the admissions committee and not the coach.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to effectively communicate with US university sport coaches in hopes that they might write a recommendation to the admissions committee on behalf of you.
The NCAA Recruit Questionnaire The most standard procedure that you can go through is to simply visit the university’s website and fill in a “recruit questionnaire” which will contain basic questions about your background and your best achievements. As you might’ve guessed, this form will put you in a pool of many other NCAA hopefuls but will not help you stand out! Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to fill it in. Here is a link to NYU’s recruit questionnaires: http://www.gonyuathletics.com/sports/2008/8/20/recruitquestionnaire.aspx
Coach’s Email
Perhaps the easiest way to catch a coach’s attention other than physically attending a sports camp held by the university is to write the coach an email communicating your interest in playing for him/her. This is how you should structure your email for the most part:
Briefly introduce yourself including your academic achievements & desired major at university. I can’t stress enough that your academic achievements are important since they give sport coaches more reason to advocate for you other than your athletic achievements.
Show the coach that you’re passionate about the sport and that you’re coachable. Winning is not the only thing that coaches care about, and many US coaches preach the mental aspect of sports. Tell him/her why you’d like to continue playing throughout university.
Explain why you’d like to play for that particular university and coach. This means that students should do some background research on not only the the school as pertaining to your potential major, but also the coach's experience and skillset.
Additionally, we advise that you attach the following two items in the Coach’s Email, :
Sports Resume
Much like a CV for job application, Sports Resumes help coaches quickly get a sense of the student's athletic abilities. You can look up one of the many templates online and modify as you see fit. Just make sure you prioritize your best accolades and don’t forget to include your GPA & SAT/ ACT scores since these will help the coach decide whether he/she wants to advocate for you.
An Introduction Video
Perhaps the most effective way to help coaches see what kind of person you are is through an introduction video. A good structure would be to start off talking to the camera then end with a very short highlight reel. It would basically be a condensed yet candid version of the coach’s email excluding the part where you explain why you’d like to play for a particular coach. It’s generally advised that the video shouldn’t exceed 2 minutes.
Good luck and hope the above tips help you gain an extra advantage in your university applications!
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