Communicating with All Interested Schools is Key!
When you start your college recruitment process, make sure to prioritize it! When you prioritize it and do everything we’ve written above, you’ll get the best possible results. You can really influence the outcome of this process in many ways!
Communicating with All Interested Schools is Key!
A big part of the work we do at Athleticademix is educating our athletes and turning them into pros during the recruitment process!
At Athleticademix, we don’t just provide a service by finding interested schools, but we also coach our athletes to make them as sharp as possible when coaches compare their profiles with athletes from around the world. In this article, you’ll read about how communicating with all interested schools is key!
How to Communicate with Coaches!
In a previous blog post, we went through four things you should think about when communicating with a college coach. These are:
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When you receive an email – reply quickly! Even if it means the first reply has to be short.
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Research the school! In your reply to the coach, include a detail that shows you’ve looked into the school before responding.
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Don’t be afraid to follow up with coaches! A coach talks to many athletes and is not always the most organized. Didn’t get a reply to your last email? Don’t be afraid to remind them!
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Keep constant communication! Don’t settle for just one conversation; follow up with the coach after a week or so to check in! Make the coach aware that they can reach out to you whenever they need something.
The Most Common Mistake – Letting Schools Know You’re Not Interested!
All the tips above are about how to communicate with a school you’re interested in. No matter how horrible and boring it might sound, you will receive emails from schools that you might feel at first glance are not for you! And even schools that after the first conversation, you might feel aren’t a good fit.
So, what do you do then? The most common mistake athletes make is notifying the school that you’re no longer interested in them. This is a mistake for many reasons!
Reason 1 – Have you really done all the necessary research?
Going to college in the USA is a big step! At Athleticademix, we do everything we can to provide you with all the information needed to make a good decision. Once again, it’s YOU and your family who make the final decision.
So, is it really wise to decline a school based on an introductory email?
This is a big deal, so you should take the time to research the school and give the coach a chance to talk to you to get a feel for the school. Who knows! After talking with the coach, you may have a completely different view of the school than you had before.
Reason 2 – If you’re sure the school isn’t for you, take advantage of it!
This might be a bit in our blood and culture as Swedes, where we can sometimes be a little too polite and trusting. But sometimes, you need to be a bit clever, and if you’ve decided the school isn’t for you, it’s not always the time to notify the school that you’re no longer interested! A school’s action could prompt another school you like to take action as well. Let me give you an example!
Let’s say you’re talking to five schools, and you’re actively communicating with all of them. Out of these schools, two really feel like a “home run” and your dream schools! Since you’ve been in contact with all the schools, one of them offers you a deal with a three-week deadline. The school offering the deal, however, isn’t one of your dream schools.
But! Here’s where the magic happens. The two dream schools you’ve been talking to suddenly get a sense of urgency! They don’t want to lose you, and now that you have an offer on the table, they need to act! Suddenly, you’re sitting there with offers from the schools you’ve dreamed of.
Had you NOT communicated with all the schools, your two dream schools might have wanted to wait a little longer to see if they could find someone even better! If they then move forward with other athletes, you’d be left with no options because you already declined the three schools you were unsure about. So, you’ve gone from five schools to zero by not being communicative and putting all your eggs in two baskets!
Reason 3 – All Coaches Know Each Other, Create a Buzz About Yourself!
This is a section that I don’t think many people think about! If you have a meeting with a coach and you’re unprepared and uninterested, it can lead to that coach mentioning it to someone else, and suddenly we’re in a downward spiral.
On the flip side, you can create a buzz about yourself by always being prepared, communicative, and pleasant with coaches. That kind of reputation spreads! This can lead to more schools reaching out to you.
By being prepared, taking the time, and being someone they can count on to always reply, you can suddenly become a more “attractive” profile for coaches. People like working with people they can trust!
Go All In – You’ll Come Out as the Winner!
To sum up what you’ve read above, when you start your college recruitment process, make sure to prioritize it! When you prioritize it and do everything we’ve written above, you’ll get the best possible results. You can really influence the outcome of this process in many ways! You can be communicative with coaches, prepare well for your SATs, continuously update your video, and much more!
Nothing comes easy, and you can’t expect to just get lots of interest and only respond to the ones you feel like. That usually doesn’t work out well in the end!
Thank you for reading! Remember – keep all doors open and always be kind and polite!