<p>My friend is applying to competitive medical programs and is disappointed with the evaluation that that he received from a teacher. We got to see them because she had us copy the forms; she does so many a year that it would be a lot of work for her to copy them herself. </p>
<p>He doesn't want to be arrogant by thinking that he deserves better, but I, too, find her evaluation surprisingly low. She RAVES about him in class all the time (to the extent that I've gotten jealous, lol) and gave him the "English student of the year" school award last year. However, his CommonApp evaluation is all in the "Top 5%" category (still great, I know, but kind of low considering how highly she obviously thinks of him) except for one.</p>
<p>The last is "Leadership," ranked in the "Top 10%" category. This, above all, is incredibly surprising: he's vice president of our school's Student Government Association (each class has its own board, and then there is the Executive board, of which he is VP, which is in charge of the entire school) and has been actively involved with SGA through high school, as well as the Future Business Leaders of America. In addition, he is a member of a small group of students who work with teachers as an organization called the School Improvement Team. </p>
<p>He is incredibly modest and therefore wouldn't dare claim that he deserves higher marks, but he is very frustrated and upset, especially with the "Leadership" rating. He feels that it stands out, considering that it is the lowest of the marks. I, personally, think that she may have made some sort of error when filling out the form; she does so many a year that she likely rushes through them. </p>
<p>Would it be impolite or out-of-line for him to approach her about her evaluation? He would say something to the effect of, "Thank you very much for my recommendations! However, I want to know, just for my reference, why you gave me a lower mark for 'Leadership' compared to the rest of the traits."</p>
<p>The class boards are kinda lazy and sit on their butts, emerging once a year full throttle for the Homecoming hallway-decorating contest, but Exec Board takes care of things. :]</p>
<p>Maybe the teacher wasn’t thinking of leadership in the same way. Perhaps she was thinking of leadership qualities in the context of the classroom itself. It’s difficult to say.</p>
<p>If he feels very strongly about finding out why she ranked him that way, and he can ask politely and respectfully, then he should probably ask. It’s not like she’s going to take away the rec letter and downgrade him just for asking.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I doubt her assessment of his leadership (top 10% is still pretty great) will make or break his application, especially since he’ll have obvious and impressive leadership experience on his list of ECs.</p>
<p>He already submitted his stuff to his counselor (and to two other teachers.) But I’m sure they will highlight his leadership, as it’s an outstanding feature of his resume. He’s just afraid of the incongruity of the whole thing – that he has all these leadership roles yet is evaluated this way.</p>
<p>Btw, amciw, this is the same teacher about whom I complained 'cause of the barely “Top 1%.” Having seen my evaluation didn’t exactly help my boyfriend’s morale in this situation. D:</p>
<p>I think the counselor recommendation carries a bit more weight than the teacher recommendations do for activities/leadership. At least, that is the perception I have got. But if it is really that big of an issue, why doesn’t he just use the two other teachers’ recommendations over the one in question?</p>
<p>Oh, that complicates things. I guess the best he can do is hope the counselor rec overrides the teachers. Also, perhaps he could talk about leadership in one of the essays, highlighting the extent of his accomplishments. The natural implication from this is that, in actuality, he is a good leader.</p>
<p>What’s wrong with top 5%? Isn’t this supposed to be done in comparison to other students in the teacher’s class? In an advanced honors or AP class you’re already dealing with top 10% of the school. A top 1% in that crowd should only come around once every few years.</p>
<p>True, true. I told him that, and he was like, “Well, most of the people who apply to these programs are probably ‘Top 1%’ students!” … which is kind of illogical lol. But also, I would have thought that – if ANYONE would – he’d get a “Top 1%” from this teacher.</p>
<p>also, I did, and I didn’t think she liked me that much</p>
<p>don’t worry about it, i have a teacher who just went down the “Top 1%” column but ended up writing a mediocre essay that just lists how much she likes me w/o any detailed information. Another teacher on the other hand was more honest, i think i got a top 5% in something…forgot, but his recommendation letter was awesome. Even though my ratings are slightly lower from the latter teacher, i think his recommendation letter is actually better. The point is that colleges prefer to read sentences rather than look at checkmarks.</p>
<p>And don’t ever confront a teacher about ur recommendation letter. One of my teacher refuses to let anyone see theirs after some kid a few years didn’t like the stuff she wrote…even though i thought it was quite nice. Just make sure u don’t burn any bridges.</p>
<p>It is all really subjective, and colleges should know that. Teachers would view what “maturity” or “leadership” or “participation” even means in class. I think it’s the letter more that matters. Or at least it should be that way.</p>