<p>I mean, some people are more shy than others, so it seems as though the quiet kids who don't say much in class make it harder for the teacher to write a good rec. I mean, you can get As in a class, and be quiet, and the only thing the teacher would be able to write on their rec would be: achieves very nice grades in <subject>; top of class in <subject>. Its not really on a more personal level. Opposed to other kids who are very open and are always speaking to the teacher.</subject></subject></p>
<p>Kids who do not form personal relationships with teachers are at a disadvantage with teacher recommendations. If a quiet kid is less likely to form personal relationships with teachers, then yes, he/she is at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>I know that what I am about to say was not a part of your post at all, but I don’t find this necessarily unfair.</p>
<p>Good teachers have ways of getting to know their students well enough to write letters of recommendation, whether the student is quiet or not. Don’t worry about this one.</p>
<p>It has always seemed ironic to me that shy students, many of whom are very deep thinkers, are at a disadvantage at just about every stage of the college application process. Perhaps the place they are best able to shine is in the essay.</p>
<p>you can be shy or quiet and still be able to contirbute to a class dicsussion, work along with others on a project, answer questions, etc. These are things that as you mature, you must learn to do. If a teacher sees that a student are incapable of contributing to the class, then yes they are at a disadvantage.
I was really shy/quiet in elementary school, but I kinda grew out of that. I’m still reserved but teachers still regard me as an asset to the class. I lead clubs, debate, speak up for myself, do well on interviews etc. If you sit in the back of the class, never saying a word then, yes there might be a disadvantage.</p>
<p>I personally don’t think so. I was definitely a quiet person and didn’t speak up much in class, but I was still able to form personal relationships with teachers outside of class. When I needed extra help, I would schedule one-on-one appointments, and sometimes I would stay after class just to talk. I think they respected that just as much as they did the person who answered all the questions in class. I think if you’re able to build a relationship with a teacher outside of class, that can go just as far as in-class participation does. Of course, if you’re so shy that you can’t talk to teachers at all, then you might be at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>If you’re quiet and don’t PARTICIPATE , get INVOLVED WITH CLASS, or BUILD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHERS</p>
<p>are unlikely to get a good and well-rounded recommendation</p>
<p>Quiet is OK. Shy, probably less so – i.e., if you’re quiet just because you’re introverted, you can still be perfectly willing to form a good relationship with a teacher, and be a good student to have in class, apart from just acing tests. If you’re SHY, however, then you probably aren’t going to go the extra bit to develop the right relationship.</p>
<p>Note that the idea of forming a good relationship with teachers is not just about college admissions, it’s about a skill that one needs to develop for the future! So one might as well get on that.</p>
<p>Good question, I guess. Here’s a few other good questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are public school students at a disadvantage because they have larger class sizes, and less teacher interaction?</li>
<li>Are international students at a disadvantage because their teachers have to write recs in English when it’s not their native language?</li>
<li>Are minorities at a disadvantage because they have less resources available to them (theoretically)?</li>
<li>Are non-minorities at a disadvantages because colleges favor URMs?</li>
<li>Are poor kids a disadvantage because they can’t afford college?</li>
<li>Are rich kids at a disadvantage because they can’t get financial aid, mommy and daddy didn’t save up enough cash, and colleges are sick of accepting rich kids anyway?</li>
<li>Are kids from Massachusetts at a disadvantage? California? Connecticut?</li>
<li>Oh my gosh! Are they giving an advantage to those kids in remote villages in Alaska? SO UNFAIR!</li>
<li>Is Billy at a disadvantage because his name is weird and boring sounding?</li>
</ul>
<p>Stop getting hung up on ridiculous questions like this. There are a million ways that you can be at a “disadvantage” in college admissions. Acknowledge. Accept. Move on. It’s silly to waste time worrying about things like this that are actually extremely trivial and probably will not make a difference one way or another.</p>
<p>College admissions aren’t fair. No one said they were. Life’s not fair either. Oh well.</p>
<p>Nice. No need to go crazy. I was asking a simple question. Did I say the process was fair? Did i say life was fair? Did I say ANYTHING about FAIRNESS? Nope. Didn’t even mention that word or anything close to it so don’t come on here, probably mad at something going on in your on life, and put down a thread. I hate people who go to threads dismissing the OP. So if you don’t like the question, it is as simple as NOT CLICKING ON THE LINK TO THAT QUESTION. Hmm… sounds hard. peace</p>
<p>The only schools that really look at teacher recs are somewhat selective. Selective schools generally want kids who will participate in learning actively and be a part of the community, not just soak up information for four years. So, yeah, sucks for the shy kid.</p>
<p>Sorry if that was overly cynical, I was just trying to point out that, yes it might be a disadvantage, but it doesn’t really matter. The whole college admissions game is a big gray area, and where you have a disadvantage in one place, someone else has a disadvantage in another place. In the end, the “advantages” that people have might balance out or they might not…but since you can’t do anything about it, it’s not really worth worrying about. Focus on the aspects of the application you can control.</p>
<p>Peace to you to.</p>
<p>(Sorry for the excessive sarcasm, again…)</p>
<p>My kids have things called “graded discussion” as freshmen. Not sure what it means exactly, but it’s about learning to have a spirited, but respectful discussion where everyone must find a way to contribute and if someone hasn’t contributed, they suggest they do so. I actually think it has made my kids, and my daughter especially, quite confident in the classroom.</p>
<p>i disagree. im mostly a quiet kid and i get my work done/straight A’s/ top of my class but my teachers wrote great recs because i was activeley engaged with the teacher with my question.</p>
<p>hahah okay rael. alright so we all agree it wont make a huge difference</p>