<p>Hi, I'm a student but I would really like to get some parents' advice on this.</p>
<p>I would really like to have one of my favorite teachers (also one whom I will probably have had 3 classes with by the end of high school: Bio, Chem, and AP Bio) write a recommendation for college but I have heard that he is brutally honest and will try to pick out faults that you have. Now, this is just from one person but knowing my teacher's personally, he may do that with the students that he may not be as satisfied with. Now, this is just a rumor and I do not know what he really would do. But should I take the risk? I know that every teacher comes with the risk.</p>
<p>He knows my work ethic and academics well enough to write the rec, but I am just afraid that he will pick me apart and be honest. He seems to like me very much but then again, who knows?</p>
<p>On the one hand, when you ask for a recommendation you are always taking some sort of a risk...what if the teacher is not a fabulous writer, or just corrected your only poor work of the semester, or is just having a bad day. You can choose to read the recommendation (but schools will know you have done this, and it is generally perceived as a vote of less confidence in yourself).</p>
<p>My son asked a teacher for a recommendation and he knew the teacher really liked him, and I knew the teacher adored him (the parent teacher conference started of with "Thank goodness for...."). But, the teacher is a bit of a loose cannon, tangential, not always on track...so...My son asked his GC to review the recommendation and to make a decision on whether it should be sent or not (there were other options, this teacher teaches what my son might be interested in studying). The criterion were not whether there was a fundamental critique, but rather the "quality" of the recommendation.</p>
<p>If the teacher you are talking about is a known commodity at school, be proactive and go talk with the GC about this before hand...not after the fact.</p>
<ol>
<li>Ask my GC, if I had a good relationship. Your GC has probably seen other recs done by this teacher.</li>
<li>Have a discussion with your teacher, along the lines of..."would you feel comfortable writing this for me?" in such a way that he can gracefully decline.</li>
</ol>
<p>I am one of his top students, that's for sure. I've always gotten 98% or higher averages in his class (mainly b/c he curves and the highest average before the curve gets close to the 100% but a lot of people have gotten C's after those curves).</p>
<p>My teacher is one of those strict, fair, lecturing-people-for-poor-work, and telling-people-that-they're-the-only-ones-who-can-create-their-future type of person.</p>
<p>A lot of people hate him, but for some reason, I have a huge fondness for him.</p>
<p>Well, a few months ago when I asked him to write an application for the IB diploma program (which I late actually told him to not do b/c I changed my mind), he told me on the spot when I asked him whether he would recommend me for the program, he said something along the lines of "I know that you will do well in the program b/c I know that when you have a task to do, you will go through with it no matter what and complete it." But keep in mind that at my school, the coordinator literally hunts people down with his IB radar trying to get people to join the program and this year, I think all 20something who applied were accepted. The IB entrance thing at my school is definitely not intense as college admissions.</p>
<p>This might not be what you want him to write in your recommendations, depending on what schools interest you. Some, such as MIT, ask for an assessment of whether you achieve your grades through "ability" "hard work" "grade grubbing" (well, a more polite term for this, in reality). You want to know that this guy can articulate more about you than the fact that you "work hard." Ask what he wrote for your IB recommendation, since that will be an example...talk with the coordinator or counselor.</p>
<p>Canadia1 , I agree with robyrm. Look for more opinions on rec's under the CC connotations thread. Parts of it are directly on point. Actually-eerily on point.</p>
<p>Canadia, My guess is that selective colleges are sick to death of reading recommendations that are 100% superlatives and effusive with praise and that an honest appraisal from someone who knows you well would be refreshing. No student is ever perfect and having some negatives to balance the scale just makes the positives more credible. You seem to have an excellent relationship with this teacher, so I'd say go for it. If you still have doubts, ask your guidance counselor for guidance. S/he must have seen recommendations written by this teacher in the past and could help you appraise the risk.</p>
<p>Momrath's theory might sound good, but you need to be very careful, especially if you do intend to apply to the most selective colleges. Remember that these colleges are so inundated with applications that the readers often look for any reason to separate the no's from the maybe's. This is why I--and many of the teachers I work with--steadfastly refuse to mark the boxes on the recommendation forms. I've heard first-hand stories of admission committees that read right past applications if they're not marked "to the wall," that is to say if all of the boxes aren't marked in the "excellent" column. Come to think of it, one year I was called by an adcom from Stanford and asked to clarify a point in my letter that they read as "too negative" (the student was eventually admitted). Adcoms want honesty, to be sure, but it's possible to be too honest in a way that plays into their need for convenience and efficiency. In a good letter of recommendation, honesty should meet diplomacy, and the teacher should never lose sight of the fact that they're writing a "recommendation," not an "assessment."</p>
<p>spoonyj, in fact many of the teachers at my son's school won't check those boxes either -- they'll incorporate all the relevant facts in their narrative. I'm glad to hear it's not just some quirk on their part, that others are doing the same. Thanks!</p>
<p>In a book I recently reviewed a comment was that report cards are a cross between a romance novel and a legal document. I suppose the same can be said about recommendations, though making them confidential changes the dynamic a bit.</p>
<p>Work backwards from the end event - when you think of the 20 minutes that most adcoms spend on most applications, I believe you really want them to nod and smile through the recommendations, skim them quickly and conclude "supports the rest of the application, and this student is not an axe murderer." If honest criticism from a teacher who has a perfectionist's 'glass half-empty' outlook on developing his students would cause the adcom to think "hey, wait a minute," you probably want to avoid that. Let them spend another two minutes on your killer essay instead, savoring the strong verbs, arresting imagery, yada yada yada.</p>
<p>I would suggest speaking with the teacher first - "(big sincere smile) I am applying to X,Y and Z, and as you know, the applicant pool is highly competitive. Would you feel comfortable writing a glowing recommendation for me?" (huge sincere smile). If he says "yes" you thank him profusely. If he seems willing to continue the conversation, you can say that that the admissions instructions want recs from someone who knows you well and who can provide details that illustrate your academic qualities in the class. Then finish up by 'stroking' the teacher by chatting about his favorite subjects (football team?). [The Prince]</p>