<p>So, I'm about to ask my school counselor to write me a fee waiver request. One thing I'm not really sure is whether I have to remind her to put college specific names in the request (I mean Dear X college, Dear Y college...). Or can she just put the names generally like "Dear the admission committee".
There're lots of kids applying from my school and it will be a real burden if she has to do that (just wanna spare her some troubles to speed up the process)</p>
<p>Can anyone clarify this ? Thanks so much in advance ;)</p>
<p>oops, the same question with letters of recommendation. Do I need to tell my teachers write down college specific name in each letter ? ^_^
Much obliged :)</p>
<p>No, s/he doesn't need to write the college name in for each waiver. The same is true for recommendations. Colleges know that GCs and teachers may have to do more than 100 such letters, so don't expect them to be individualized.</p>
<p>Thanks Northstarmom! You never fail to give CC kids awesome advice and information ;)</p>
<p>1 more question out of curisosity: What is the standard length of letters of recommendation [I mean how many pages]? My main teachers are quite busy, so I presume they don't have ample time to write long, detailed ones (my impression is long ones are always better, more informative than short ones. Don't know where this impression stems from -_-. So correct me if I'm wrong)</p>
<p>The letters need to show that the person writing them has a good knowledge of the person they are writing about. </p>
<p>My d's rec. letters have been about 1 to 1-1/2 pages long. The best one came from her 11th grade English teacher - who was also her soccer coach. You could tell in his writing that he knew her very well. </p>
<p>Another excellent rec. came from a teacher she has had for history and an elective class she took. She also worked with him on E.C.'s - so again, that was an excellent letter because he knew her beyond the teacher/student level.</p>
<p>Thanks MAMom23 for your input ^^. A 1,5 pages rec letter is fairly long but must be thorough, rite ? My friend who's applying ED told me a couple of days ago her teachers just wrote for him a 1-page letter. That makes me a shade anxious when it comes to my turn :)
(I still wanna know how significantly recommendation letters affect our whole package?)</p>
<p>One well written page should be sufficient. These teachers are writing a lot of recommendations mostly on their own time. I do not think it is appropriate for the student to try to dictate the length of the letter.</p>
<p>Letters of recommendation are usually no longer than one page. Students can't dictate this. The length is up to the teachers, and depends on their time, writing ability and what exactly they have to say.As a person who has read such letters for national and regional scholarship committees, I'd rather read a short, informative letter than a rambling long letter with no useful info.</p>
<p>Thanks Northstarmom:)
You have a great wealth of experiences, so I guess you must have written lots of letters for students ^^. My friend is asking me to write for him a peer rec and<br>
I have no faintest idea how to write an imressive one:( (I mean the style, the language...).If you have any tips or samples for peer rec letters, would you mind sharing it or Pm me ? (I really don't want to refuse my friend but I feel utterly guilty when I agree without giving back a dazzling letter. Such a quandary >_<)
Much oblidged :)</p>
<p>Any letter of recommendation, including a peer recommendation, should include specifics about positive aspects of the person's character and how that would benefit the college or other institution. It particulary is important to provide information that would not be available in the other part of the application -- things that you know from personal experience with the person.</p>
<p>You also should say how long you have known the person and in what context. In terms of a peer college recommendation, you also can provide information about why your friend is interested in that college.</p>
<p>For instance: "Robert and I have been close friends since we met in 7th grade algebra I class. We also have participated in many activities together including student council , where I was president and Robert was vice president, and Mu Alpha Theta, where he was treasurer and I was the vice president.</p>
<p>What I have most appreciated about Robert's friendship is that he goes out of his way to help his friends, including by being a good listener. Last year, when my parents divorced, Robert was my only friend whom I felt comfortable sharing my concerns with. He listened to me without putting me down. He also made some good suggestions such as telling me to talk to my guidance counselor, who was able to help me a great deal from an adult perspective.</p>
<p>Robert has excellent ideas, and he is also willing to help those ideas be achieved. For instance, student council is collecting new books for a Head Start program. This was an idea that Robert suggested, and he also designed the flyers for this. Thus far, we have collected more than 100 books, enough for the Head Start to start a library of its own."</p>
<p>Wow, thanks Northstarmom once again. It's of significant help to me. Actually, I don't fret over the content as much as the style and language of this letter, since he and me have been friends for 3 years. Hence, English isn't our mother tounge, so I'm not confident about my writing :)
Anyway, how substantially do rec letter affect our application?</p>