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Make Contact!
 In
order for us to help you with admissions, colleges need to know
as much about you as possible. This includes your abilities as a
scholar, athlete, and citizen of your community.
Getting your name to collegiate coaches is
important as it is often hard for collegiate coaches to know
EVERY potential recruit out there nationally or internationally.
If they don't know anything about you they cannot recruit you. E-mails, phone calls, letters, and visits are all recommended
means of making contact and each has their own strengths and
weaknesses. Depending on when you start, your geographical
location, your budget, and your desire to attend the college you
need to have a plan of how to approach the schools in which you
are interested.
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Advantages |
Disadvantages |
E-mails
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Free & easy to use
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Both you and the coach have a record of contact
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Potentially impersonal especially if sent as a mass e-mail
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Easy to get lost in the crowd
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Phone Calls |
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Allows you to be articulate
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Better for getting to know the coach
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Can be difficult to get a hold of a coach
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You may be speaking to an answering machine
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Letters
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Allows you to really present your accomplishments
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Letters show you are serious about the College
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Time consuming
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Must be error-free to make a good impression
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Visits |
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Gives you a feel for the school
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Allows you to meet the coach face to face
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Very time consuming
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Difficult to schedule
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E-mail Tips
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Do your research and find out the name of
the coach to whom you are writing, recent results from the
school's season, and the name of the school itself.
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Use these details in the body of your
e-mail to show that you have done your homework.
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When writing about yourself follow the
number one rule - BE HONEST!
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List the information that the coach will
definitely want to know. These include your height, weight,
GPA, SAT/ACT scores, 2000m time and 6000m time. If you don't
have this information then you should get it as soon as
possible.
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List the information that YOU want the
coach to know about you. This includes your rowing
experience in practices and in races, community service,
extracurricular activities, and leadership roles.
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Be formal in your approach - there's
nothing worse than a first e-mail that says "Hey Coach,
what's up?"
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At the end of your e-mail introduction
say what you will do next. Many recruits write "I would
appreciate more information about your program." This does
not help. What do you REALLY want to know about the program?
Ask specific questions and then say "I would like to follow
up with you by early next week" or give some times that
would be convenient for the coach to call.
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Remember that college coaches are reading and writing
hundreds of e-mails a week from potential recruits. As long
as what you write is clear your accomplishments will speak
for themselves.
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