Counselor rec vs teacher rec

[Natoren]

Hi!

I am international and we do not have any counselors during high school, so I therefore must ask one teacher two write it. I have 2 teachers I think will write fantastic recs and one who will write one OK. In addition I have a coach who I believe could write an breathtaking rec. Who should I ask to write which?

For me as an international I almost feel as it is three teacher recs since I cant see any difference between the counselor and teacher rec, can someone explain if I am wrong here?

[skieurope]

can someone explain if I am wrong here?

You are wrong. If you do not have a counselor, the counselor’s rec needs to be filled out by an administrator. The person may have a different title at your school, but common titles are principal, dean, headmaster. The college does not want another teacher’s rec in lieu of a counselor rec.

[Natoren]

Ok, I understand. However neither my principal or similar know me well since I went to a large school, so I can not really see how they can answer on personal questions of me other than what classes and grades I took.

[skieurope]

neither my principal or similar know me well since I went to a large school

And colleges understand that. Many students in US HS’s go to large schools where each counselor is responsible for several hundred students. [url=http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]This[/url] is what MIT says on the subject:

Guidance Counselor Recommendation for Mike:
I do not really know Mike very well. He has come to me for routine matters but generally has not had any problems that he has discussed with me. In this large school, I do not always have the time to personally get to know each of my advisees. From the comments I get from Mike’s teachers, I have the impression that he is one of the strongest students this school has seen.

Critique: We do not learn very much from this report, but we understand why. The counselor is very honest, and we are not left guessing as to the reason there is not more information and will turn our attention to other parts of the application.

So don’t worry about this.

[Natoren]

Ok, thanks a lot for clearing this up!

[qzombie]

@skieurope @Natoren Actually, in my school the standard policy is to get another teacher who knows you well outside of academics to write the rec, which is then sent and submitted under the US counsellor’s name. It’s different from a teacher recommendation in that it focuses on things outside the classroom. For me I asked the teacher-in-charge for my most major extracurricular (who never taught me academically) to write it. I’m not too sure about a coach though–you have to ask your school about this.

[skieurope]

Actually, in my school the standard policy is to get another teacher who knows you well outside of academics to write the rec, which is then sent and submitted under the US counsellor’s name.

Well, as described, that would be enough for the college to reject you automatically, or rescind your admissions later. So it’s not advice that I would suggest to the Original Poster; colleges tend to frown on fraudulent applications.