<p>I come from a school with a fairly large class size (733 students). My counselor hardly knows me (or anyone else for that matter) and would most likely write a poor rec. My friend asked whether he could submit an additional teacher rec in place of a counselor rec to Wash U recently and they said they would accept an additional teacher rec as long as he explained his large class size and impersonal relationship with the counselors. I was wondering if other schools would also be willing to do this -- especially the upper-level elite schools to which I will be applying.</p>
<p>My school was really large and I didn’t really know my counselor either. However, what our schools does that the counselors request certain information from you. (3 teacher recs, a parent rec, an interview, your resume where they can draw writing material from…they already have your test scores/transcript) Then they write you a letter. I don’t think the counselor rec mattered as much as my teacher recs since my teachers obviously knew me better and wrote excellent recommendations.</p>
<p>[MIT</a> Admissions | Info For Schools & Counselors: Writing Evaluations](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/schools/writing_evaluations/index.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/schools/writing_evaluations/index.shtml)</p>
<p>Something to ease your mind about evaluations.</p>
<p>Most GCs don’t know most of their students. The GC’s role is mostly to inform the college of the offerings of the school – info on % kids going on to 4yr colleges, % kids eligible for Federal free/reduced lunch (shows relative poverty level of school), what types of honors/APs are offered, and other demographic info. </p>
<p>The GCs’ written statements are the least weighted because they tend to know students least intimately. The admissions officers fully know this.</p>
<p>T26E4 is right. The counselor rec served administrative purposes, more than personal ones. To explain the course offerings available, provide the school profile, and to help put the applicant in the context of the high school. That is also the place to explain special circumstances that may apply. The teacher recs are the ones that are personal.</p>