Suppose if I invite and add all my teacher recommendations to one school only, and then once the recommendation is completed, add the teachers to other schools. Will this be a problem? I am concerned that other schools might have different questions/requirements than the one school I’m adding them to.
Well, for starters, I assume you’re talking about 2 teachers plus your guidance counselor? That’s the standard number-- no adcom is going to read a briefcase full of letters.
Your letters should speak to the kind of student you are-- how you were in class, your native intelligence, your work habits, the high opinions of the faculty and your peers. We don’t write as answers to a series of questions (except in filling out the Common App-- but those questions are in addition to the letters we’ve already written.)
We submit our letters electronically via Naviance, and the College Placement office takes it from there, sending the letters as part of the whole packet they send out for each student.
So I guess my answer to your question is that your plan is unnecessary. Get letters from two teachers who know you well and can write good solid letters.
@bjkmom Thank you so much, but that’s not what I’m asking at all. I have the three teachers I want (math, science english, plus counselor). It’s just that I don’t want them to know all the schools i’m applying to. What I’m asking is: Is it possible to add their letters to the other schools once they’re done w the letter w/o them being notified/having to do anything else? Or do different colleges have different recommendation processes within the common app?
I have no idea, I’m sorry.
I admit to being confused-- you want them to write you a letter, but don’t want them to know which schools you’re applying to? To be honest, I’m not sure they care all that much. But it does seem-- I don’t know-- arrogant or something-- to want their recommendations but to want to hide your applications from them.
For what it’s worth, I think that if i really wanted to know, I could go onto the Common App after I’ve submitted my letter and answered the survey for each kid for whom I’ve written a letter, and see where they’ve applied. I’m not sure-- I’ve never had a reason to be all that curious. The kids for whom I’ve written letters tend to be kind of outgoing about that stuff, even writing a thank you note once they’ve gotten in to a particular school.
@bjkmom really? I thought it was arrogant to tell my teachers up front that I’m applying to selective universities, mostly because no one in our school usually does and I don’t want them to think that I think I’m something “special.” And I really don’t–there are a lot of students much more qualified than me to apply that don’t because they’re not interested, which is great and I respect it. But thank you so much–I’ll stop being so worried about them knowing the schools!
Honestly, we love to see our kids reaching beyond their peers. If you can get into those selective schools, then you are “something special”-- at least in terms of academics. I know what you mean-- you don’t want to appear to be stuck up, but that’s not how we see it. Every one of our kids who finds success-- academic, personal, financial, whatever-- is a fond memory for us. We want and hope for the best for our kids. If you’re capable of getting into a good school, that’s great.
Again, I doubt they’ll ever know where you apply unless they run into you and happen to ask. But if they do, don’t be afraid to mention your “reach” schools. There’s nothing wrong with ambition.
@bjkmom Thank you, this made me feel so much better about the whole process.
Good luck to you!