<p>So i thought my math teacher, whom i've gotten to know very well over the years would write an awesome rec, but i got a glimpse of it today and to be honest it was mediocre. How much can a bad rec weigh in on the admissions process, specifically at top-flight LACs (Williams, Pomona, etc.)?</p>
<p>If it was a mediocre rec, I don't think it'll harm you very much, but it probably won't do anything for you either. </p>
<p>Did your math teacher's rec gloss over anything or fail to mention important aspects of your personality? If so, you might ask your GC or other teacher to mention those qualities in their recs (if you're comfortable enough with them to make such a request and if they're still writing them) to make up for the "bad" one.</p>
<p>I think your rec is more generic than bad. Generic recs don't boost your chances, but they don't destroy you either.</p>
<p>:( I had one generic rec, and another that describes me with the terms "darkly frail" and "affected sullenness" and called me stereotypical artist.</p>
<p>Believe me, be happy with your generic rec.</p>
<p>With all the colleges kids are applying to these days, if you go to a medium size or larger public high school, I lot of teachers are just sending in generic reccs, slightly customized for each student. I can't say I blame them. </p>
<p>As for jkid's "affected sulleness" and "darkly frail," some schools and adcoms would probably chuckle at that. I don't think it's a bad thing unless you're going out for football.</p>
<p>I have really showed some enthusiasm and dedication in the class (math to be exact) for the love of the subject. It would be a lie if I were to say that I haven't done any suck-up to the teachers who were to write rec letters. But doesn't it somewhat suck to find out your teacher has written a generic rec letter? </p>
<p>I find that shining letters of recommendations are based more on the teacher's personality than the actual student-teacher relationship. There are those who genuinely use superlatives to describe the students and those who are very reserved in recommending someone. O well, life's never fair lol.</p>
<p>"I find that shining letters of recommendations are based more on the teacher's personality than the actual student-teacher relationship."</p>
<p>true, one of my recs was from my english teacher and it was soo eloquently written. the other was by my physics teacher...it was really generic and bland. both essentially said the same things, but the english teacher letter seemed much better.</p>