<p>Hi! For teacher recommendations, do you just pick one for all of your applications? Or do you need one for each? Sorry- I don't know much at all about these technical details of applications. And what would make an application strong? Don't most teachers just write about how smart or diligent or nice the student is? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Since your name is Hoping4Stanford, I’m gonna assume you have really good grades and are only applying to really good schools using the Common App. If this isn’t the case let me know and I’ll explain it for your situation. For now, I’ll talk Common App. Basically what happens is that each college has it’s own requirements for teacher recs (most are either 2 or 3, but can allow you submit more (sometimes up to 10!) if you so choose). You invite and assign the teachers you pick (usually ones whose classes you’ve done really well in or who you know really well) via the Common App and they will be emailed to fill out a teacher recommendation. From there, it’s a pretty generic “How do you know this student, what was unique about them, what should we know about them that may not be represented in the rest of their application” form. Oh also, you should know, you have to waive something called your FERPA rights on the Common App, which means only the teacher can write the recomendation and you (the student) are legally not allowed to see what they wrote.</p>
<p>wait… so if i applied to many colleges, i would have to get many different recommendations? (thanks for the reply!)</p>
<p>1 teacher rec = as many schools as you want. I’m using the same two teachers for the three schools .</p>
<p>Okay. Exhaustive guide here.</p>
<p>You ask a couple of teachers who know you well to write recs for common app. Do this early–if you’re applying ED/EA, you have a November 1st deadline for submission (though it’s okay if the letters aren’t submitted right away, but they should be ideally), and you want teachers to have plenty of time to write the letters. I asked my teachers as soon as school returned. Then you go on common app and invite them as a recommender; this sends them an email telling them to upload a letter. They write the letter and they upload it to common app from their end. Then on your end you can see your college list and assign specific teachers to specific schools. </p>
<p>Some teachers will let you read the letter they write for you. Some may even ask you to edit it. Others may not let you read it at all. My math teacher gave me a copy of it, my english teacher didn’t let me see it at all, and my science teacher asked me to edit it. You cannot see the written letter on common app; you can only see their name which represents the letter they wrote. </p>
<p>THE MORE A TEACHER KNOWS ABOUT YOU, THE BETTER. Details are key in the letter, because they add depth to it; adcoms read thousands of “He is an excellent student. He asks a lot of good questions and consistently does well on tests”-esque letters a year; those are generic. Rec letters are really good when they focus on specific accomplishments, details of what you’re like, how you are outside the classroom–specific stuff that adds depth to your application that isn’t immediately evident from your transcript/ECs/essays.</p>
<p>There are two types of recs: “teacher” and “other.” Teacher is exactly what you think–classroom teachers. “Other” can be basically anyone else–community mentor, some adult you know from something else, your boss at work, music teacher, etc. Generally you should only use one of those if you know the letter will be very strong and will add a new perspective to your app. I used the assistant principal at my school because he has known me for a long time and it was a very strong letter. A friend, who is in a leadership position in high school democrats of america, asked his supervisor to write him a letter.</p>
<p>There’s also the counselor rec, which every school requires. Basically, you invite your counselor to common app just like you do a teacher. Then your counselor will go on common app and upload a letter for you, along with other stuff like your transcript, a “school report” which says stuff like courses offered at your high school, size of the school, etc. so colleges can get a better idea of your background in high school.</p>
<p>Each school has different requirements; every school on common app requires a counselor rec, and almost every school requires 2 teacher recs. Some allow (not require) extra teacher recs or other recs. Those extra ones are not mandatory. After the teacher writes and uploads the letter, you go through your list of schools and it’ll allow you to choose certain letters for each school, based on what the school wants. You can use the same teacher for multiple schools.</p>
<p>Have fun! Recommendations are really straightforward. Don’t worry too much about them.</p>