<p>My guidance counselor is new(2 yrs)..is there anyway that she can ruin admissions??</p>
<p>If she doesn't like you, she can write a very lukewarm recommendation letter. Sort of damn you with faint praise. That's the kiss of death.</p>
<p>But someone with two years' experience can be as good or bad as someone with 30 years.</p>
<p>If you go to a big school, the gc letter really doesn't mean much except to explain your school's system.</p>
<p>ro add my own worries... is it possible for a counselor to "screw up" not because she doesn't like me, but because she is inexperienced?</p>
<p>think of...uhhh.... "Orange County" I think the movie was called? Where the kid's counselor didn't send his stuff to Stanford?</p>
<p>LoL my guidance counselor fits this perfectly. She has no clue what she is doing, and this was her first year. She said taking AP Spanish (4 years consecutively) would be the same thing as taking spanish 3 years and photography senior year, because they are all electives. I laughed to myself and just nodded.</p>
<p>
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Sort of damn you with faint praise. That's the kiss of death.
[/QUOTE]
This is not the case.</p>
<p>New guidance counselors often write us notes letting us know that they are new and may not know their students as well as others at the school. In those cases, we'll look to another recommendation for information.</p>
<p>True story: my brother graduated in '05, and applied to some very prestigious schools. In the counselor's letter, she began EACH ONE with: "Dear Stanford University". So those got sent to like every school he applied to. Funny thing was, he wasn't even applying to Stanford. Neither was anyone else in his graduating class. Also, instead of focusing on him, she wrote about how great his family was (flattering, but not ideal), and basically re-listed his activities. He ended up only getting into those schools that did not require a letter of rec, though he is now at Berkeley, so I guess it worked out for him.</p>
<p>Dean J: How much do you weigh counselor letters? I have the same one, and it is not that I don't know her well, I do. But she just is not very bright (when I told her I was applying to Michigan, Virginia, and Boston College, she responded with "Oh, the Ivy League!"). I have worked very hard to become a competitive applicant, but know that my counselor's letter will not even be close to what one at a private school (or probably any other school) could have written. Please give me some advice on this...</p>
<p>My friends brother wrote a regular essay for college, but the counselor at my school said it was too long. He didnt even bother to read it. So, the brother wrote the essay over, only shorter, to the councelors liking. He sent it in and got rejected because his "essay is too short."</p>
<p>I don't know about "ruining admissions," but sometimes counselors do not know enough about "elite admissions" sometimes to help students who may be capable of getting into top universities.</p>
<p>For example, our school counselor generally handles a lot of UC, NYU, USC...etc. apps, but very few HYPMSC ones. Although our counselors still try to help a lot in our applications, sometimes they aren't knowledgable enough about these applications to give us constructive advice, so we end up researching a lot personally. Sometimes, they might even discourage a HYPMSC potential from applying by telling them to aim for a less-well-known school where they'll be more "happy" at. </p>
<p>I don't blame our counselors though - I just think it's out of their usual scope of handling applications.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sometimes, they might even discourage a HYPMSC potential from applying by telling them to aim for a less-well-known school where they'll be more "happy" at.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>GASP! The nerve of them!</p>
<p>^ For unexplained reasons, they think HYPMSC students are overachievers who often get suicidal if they get a B+ on an exam. On the other hand, if you attend a religious school (my school is parochial), then you are most likely to be happy and have a wonderful life.</p>
<p>Alright, I'm exaggerating, but the first sentence is true and they do often tell us to consider Bible schools because they are afraid of us falling out of our faith. I don't see why people can't be religious in a secular school...=/</p>
<p>
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In the counselor's letter, she began EACH ONE with: "Dear Stanford University". So those got sent to like every school he applied to.
[/QUOTE]
Personally, I couldn't care less if someone makes this sort of mistake. It's no secret that you are applying to lots of great schools. In no way will I be offended if someone doesn't catch each reference to another school when they're editing. This includes students.</p>
<p>Of course, there's a difference between</p>
<p>I love [other school's name].
and
I love [other school's name] for its [characteristic not found at UVa].
[QUOTE]
I have worked very hard to become a competitive applicant, but know that my counselor's letter will not even be close to what one at a private school (or probably any other school) could have written.
[/QUOTE]
I imagine that your counselor will write a positive, but fairly generic letter and this has you concerned. When we see a letter full of generalizations, we usually look elsewhere for more information. This is why it'd be smart to supplement the GC rec with one from a teacher that is going to really give us some insightful comments about your style and participation.
[QUOTE]
He sent it in and got rejected because his "essay is too short."
[/QUOTE]
Where did you hear this? I can't think of an admission officer who would say such a thing. Students don't get denied because of the length of their essays. I've seen some brilliant ones that were quite short.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the help, Dean J. How many recs are allowed? Is 3 (2 teacher, 1 counselor) ok?</p>
<p>Each school to which you apply should let you know about their desired number of recommendations. I'd try to stick close to that number. If you think it's critical that we hear from more than that, it's okay to add more letters, but keep it reasonable.</p>
<p>Quality over quantity.</p>
<p>Remember that people who know you in similar ways will probably say similar things about you. Three teachers are probably going to write letters that sound a like. </p>
<p>UVa requires one recommendation and we'll read any others you send. Don't go overboard! Our record is 37 letters...and that student didn't get an offer. If you need that many recommendations, you're probably trying to compensate for a less-than-stellar transcript.</p>
<p>i just think of the movie orange county when i see this thread</p>
<p>Haha, I was thinking more like 28, so don't worry. That's still 9 below the record!</p>
<p>just kidding!!!</p>
<p>My counselor is fairly new also, I believe. I don't trust him because he suggested a class that I didn't needed(AP phys.). I don't need it because I'm taking AP Chem. Also, he doesn't seem to know a lot about getting into colleges, such as Stanford.</p>
<p>My school switched my counselor 4 times.</p>
<p>I'm going to another counselor that can write my recommendation letter. She(other counselor) knows me much better and has experience with writing letters. She helped a couple of people go to ivy league colleges.</p>
<p>My son applied for a scholarship where all the letters of recs were given to him to send on to the college. I admit, I opened the guidance counselor's letter. I was surprised to discover a "draft" version....the letter had notes from teachers and an entire paragraph that referred to another student and his accomplishments.</p>
<p>Of course the guidance counselor was horrified. This was in January and letters of recs. had already been sent out to all of my son's colleges.</p>
<p>Everything turned out fine and my son was accepted to one of his top schools...but I wonder how often this type of mistake occurs and what can be done to prevent it?</p>