<p>Can a counselor's recommendation and student evalution be must of a factor in college admissions? </p>
<p>*esp for LACs?</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>Personally, I feel that recs have a much greater impact that most people acknowledge. Everyone talks about random admission decisions and all, but I think the reason lies beyond our creativity where we cannot control it. If someone has a 2300+ SAT, 4.0, good ECs, etc, why would a college pick that person if a teacher calls him snobby and neglectful?</p>
<p>This is the great unknown. Sometimes teachers write very generic reviews --especially teachers and counselors in the public school. I agree this is often a determining factor, and more than what you have said (blatant negatives) are all those things between the lines, all those things left out, all that faint praise. You cannot control it, and sometimes, with an extremely bright child, the kid may be more knowledgable or skilled than the teacher, and the teacher may be too limited to even realize it, yet through the luck of the draw, that's the teacher the kid has. </p>
<p>Personally I think it's unfair that kids don't get to see their recommendations, because there is no way of knowing whether the recommendation is actually accurate.</p>
<p>I actually asked three different teachers to write me recommendations, then read all three and sent in the two I thought described me best. I didn't know that was against the rules...hopefully it's not that big a deal.</p>
<p>it's only against the rules if you signed the part on your application saying you forfeit the right to see them.</p>
<p>oh, and counselor recommendation can have a HUGE impact on your decision.</p>
<p>My son's counselor actually asked for parent input to develop the recommendation. I assumed this is to make the recommendation more personal. I think it's tough for a counselor that is required to write 80 to 100 recommendations to come up with a meaningful recommendation for each student. I liked the idea that my input was solicited.</p>
<p>Doesn't a guidance counselor WANT to write a good rec for each student. I would think it makes the school look better and the counselor feel better to get kids admitted to stronger schools. Why would they write a poor rec?</p>
<p>My counselor did that as well, and then proceeded to read me exceprts from the rec that she had written. She mainly read it to me (in a private meeting, of course) so that I could see how she had highlighted something of concern to me. Anyway, I thought the way she had used my mother's letter was ridiculous. She literally lifted paragraphs directly from it, regardless of content. For crying out loud, how is a college counselor supposed to know about my life at age 3?!</p>
<p>ilikenoodles, did she think she was doing you a favor by highlighting your life at age 3? Surely that's going to look odd to the college...</p>
<p>Exactly my point. She is a loonie, and I have no idea why she thinks anyone would believe that she knew me like 14 years ago.</p>
<p>For my school they gave us a 25 question sheet to answer in details and they gave your parents a 5-6 question sheet and then we hand them in to the guidence counselor before he writes the reccomendation</p>
<p>For my school, we have the "students brag sheet" and "parent brag sheet", which is a series of questions about your high school experiences, etc. and things you would like to be highlighted in the application. Also, my counselor asked for a few teachers that we thought knew us well, and actually went around and talked about us with them. I figured she wouldn't actually do that, but I actually walked into the room of my favorite teacher while she was in there, and talking about me, so they had to shoo me out! I'm satisfied with that knowledge.</p>
<p>I don't think the number of reccs should be more than one or two (teacher and counselor).... for one school I need three, and I am struggling to find a third person who could accurately represent me in the way I would like to be represented... sigh</p>
<p>i agve three at most; two requried ad one supplemtenry</p>