So once again you have asked an answered your own question with your preferred conclusion while asking for an explanation that I provided in the post you are responding to.
I am fine being ignored but a bit old for gaslightingđ
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I think itâs worth applying to T20s youâre interested in because the answer is already no if you donât apply. However, your challenge is that those schools have an over abundance of well qualified applicants so they have little incentive to look behind the curtain and discover the backstory. In addition, you will be compared to the other students from your high school who apply to the same colleges as you. Can you craft your application so you stand out in such a way that the schools choose you over them or over other applicants? Itâs difficult for me to imagine that an LOR will carry that much weight/influence that it would offset a lack of rigor.
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If you are applying ED1 somewhere, will you even have first semester grades by the November 1 deadline?
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By âoffsetâ I really mean âmitigate.â No LOR is going to completely supplement lack of course rigor. The question is, can it help?
I will be direct. Having someone write a LOR who provided you with academic support contemporaneous to your improved academics (from a very rough starting point) will likely raise more concerns then anything else.
Based upon your description of this teacherâs experience with you they could not be truthful and mitigate those concerns.
Firstly, why would it raise more concerns?
Secondly: next year, I wonât be with this aide, and I will also have honors and AP courses without them. Depending on my performance, it could be proven that I can achieve even in their absence. I donât see how or why this scenario is a form of gaslighting. All Iâm looking for is a response to thisâIâm not necessarily disagreeing with you.
I will have quarter 1 grades, but a Mid-Year Report could potentially be submitted in December, depending on when they make a decision.
All Iâm looking for is a response to thisâIâm not necessarily disagreeing with you
According to the tally at the beginning of this thread, nineteen posters have responded and not a single âYes, I think a strong LoR will get you into a t20 collegeâ
It sounds to me as if the tutor you had could write a strong letter for you, if it went something like this, and did NOT mention any learning disability. "Petunia Peterson arrived at Manhattanâs Finest in 9th grade, having had less preparation for high school than our other students, due to the academic level of the school she had previously attended. She is a bright and talented writer, having (refer to amazing literary accomplishments here), but more importantly, she is an incredibly hard worker. She has made tremendous strides at Manhattanâs Finest, and has now , in senior year, reached the highest level, most rigorous courses offered at MF. I expect her to go on to great accomplishments in writing and literature.
The point is, you DID have to work very hard, and you HAVE made tremendous progress. It is likely that you will continue to do well. If the tutor/aide you had emphasizes your incredible hard work, progress, and achievement, without mentioning your LD, then I think it could be a very powerful letter.
That being said, youâre extremely unlikely to get into a T20 school. Students with near perfect GPAs and near perfect SAT/ACTs cannot be sure that theyâre going to get into T20 schools, and youâre far from that. Youâre making excuses for not taking a standardized test. Itâs August. Most kids who took standardized tests last year only got one shot at them, in the fall. This fall itâs totally possible to take a standardized test. Your practice SATs predict a decent, though not stellar score. You should also take a practice ACT and see how you do on that - it might be easier for you, at least in the reading and grammar sections. You donât have to submit them, but for goodnessâ sake, at least TRY it! Take a real SAT!
So yes, discuss a letter with the aide/tutor, but make sure it lauds hard work and achievement, and doesnât mention the LD. But no, youâre not going to get into a T20, no matter how you try to play your ED/EA card. You should accept that, and plan accordingly.
From the way you describe your experience, I think your best bet is to shoot for a liberal arts college with a reputation for excellent student support, and the strong writing program that you most likely want. If your family doesnât expect financial aid, that may give you an advantage, even at LACs that profess to be need blind. Your reaches should probably be schools with a 30% acceptance range, and matches 50% acceptance range. So not Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, etc. Maybe Wesleyan, Middlebury, Oberlin, Kenyon, Brandeis, Bucknell. Yes Bard, U of Iowa (although I worry you might not be able to get the academic support you need there), U of Pittsburgh, and pretty much any LAC that has a strong writing program, good academic support staff, and an acceptance rate of over 50%.
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I will do my best.
First- A teacher providing a letter of recommendation will provide a truthful context on how and why they have interacted with you. âI was assigned to work with this student because their academic performance was sub par and they had been diagnosed with a learning disability. We would meet once a week and during our time together the students performance improvedâ.
Next statement becomes irrelevant because you have now highlighted 3 things:
1- poor academic performance
2- learning disability
2- improvement took place with support
Second- Performance has improved but only over a short period at best but the history of a lack of rigor is now front and center. How will this student perform once the heat is really turned up at an elite school when surrounded by students that have excelled under the most challenging of academic loads with no support? Layered upon this is the reality that AOs arenât looking for kids to just get by, they want students who can thrive and contribute to the academic community based upon a proven track record.
I am not trying to break you down but as you requested responding to why I donât think a letter such as you describe will serve to mitigate a lack of rigor and would likely work against you.
You sound determined to pursue it, and of course that decision is your but please contemplate not what you hope is written but what the AO will read and wonder.
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I beg your pardon?
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I agree with your post but unfortunately donât see how the support teacher can comment without providing an honest context for their interaction with the student that raises a variety of concerns if the audience is a top 20.
And I will leave others to defend the âhonorâ of Wesleyan and Middđ
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I never claimed I agreed. I just claimed I didnât necessarily disagree. All Iâm looking for are opinions that can be challenged.
I agree with everything @parentologist said, especially the advice to take the SAT or ACT. You have time for at least 2 sittings. A solid score will do more to help you in your specific situation than the LOR. You are trying to convince colleges that despite not having the highest rigor, that you will be able to excel in a high rigor environment. A good test score, which you are capable of, will do more to prove that, then a letter stating that. Showing is always more impactful than telling. You seem to be fine taking a chance on a long shot ED, then why not take a chance on taking the test?
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There is a duality to this.
Some here have wrote that my lack of course rigor and initially mediocre academic performance would be explained and contextualized in the LOR. Your opposition is that my LOR would somehow divulge a secret learning disability (which I wouldnât need to have accommodated). It is also implied that it leaves AOâs with a negative impression of me.
I donât know. There is a very sharp upward trend in my application, and this would be implicit or explicit in the LOR. I really donât know how to respond to you or anyone else here, because it is completely out of our control. Any one of you could be correct or incorrect about this.
Regarding Wesleyan- I donât see that happening. Without the highest rigor and without Calculus on the transcript or a strong math standardized score I donât think ED is possible there.
I donât know much about Emory- but maybe thatâs the only ED option that could be viable?
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Emory is a far better school than Wesleyan, at least rank wise. Since my family is likely moving to Connecticut in the next year, Wesleyan would be really, really convenient.
What about UCLA? They are test blind, freshman blind, and class rank blind.
Maybe rank wise but Iâd venture that a student that wanted to attend Wesleyan wouldnât want to attend Emory.
UCLA will be $65,000 a year for an OOS. Are your parents ok with paying?
especially the advice to take the SAT or ACT.
Itâs just too late now. Part of me does regret not taking one of these exams, but for many months I was simply unable to. This is not an excuse, but a reality.
I took ungraded practice exams for the ACT, and found it much, much easier. In hindsight, perhaps I should have taken that.
Then, by all means, apply to Wesleyan ED. At this point, Iâm on my second helping of popcorn.
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My '21 kid got ONE shot at a standardized test, the ACT, in Sept '20. It was all he needed. You could prep for and take an ACT in Sept and Oct, and it would be fine even for Nov 1st deadline ED/EA applications. Your stubborn insistence that it is too late for you to take a standardized test says a lot about your approach to the application process, akin to your belief that very highly selective colleges are within your reach.
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Schadenfreude at its finest, but enjoy the popcorn.