<p>How much do counselor recommendations matter in relation to teacher recommendations? </p>
<p>I ask because when it comes to my recs, ive got a number of teachers who will be able to give me really good recs talking about my character and academic achievement and for that reason im relying on them heavily</p>
<p>The problem is that my counselor is completely unenthusiastic about anything. i see him around quite often, and have served on the school council with him. my fear is that in the counselor rec hes going to put banalities that are more reflective of his personality rather than my presence as a student.</p>
<p>if this was the case, would this be bad for me even if i have teachers write me amazing recs? or is the counselor rec used mainly as a context rec and anything else thats added about a student can be seen as a potential plus?</p>
<p>its not that hes not gonna write me a good rec. at the very least id imagine that its gonna talk about the "good student, highly motivated" stuff, but it wont have the level of intimacy that my teacher recs will have. will that hurt me?</p>
<p>I don't think they really expect counselor recs to have the level of intimacy that teacher recs do. At many schools, counselors barely know students, colleges know that and will take it into account. The impression I've gotten from this board/things people in admissions have said is that counselor recs are used more for info (special circumstances, ECs, etc.) and teacher recs are used more to show character because they know you better.</p>
<p>I agree with fhg- colleges know that most students won't have as close of a relationship with their counselors as their teachers (especially in a large school), and they will take this into consideration when reviewing recs.</p>
<p>Also, you can't choose your counselors as you can choose which teachers you want to write your rec, so colleges may not put as much emphasis on the formers'.</p>
<p>I'm thinking not much because some people come from really big high schools where it's almost impossible to meet with the counselor.
But a good rec is always good..</p>
<p>i think they're pretty much the same if not more important b/c it is directly as statement from the student. However, there could be more credibility in the recommendation if there is a discrepancy.</p>
<p>At my high school there are no counselor recs, instead the school sends two teacher assessments, one from sophomore year and one from junior year. I'd say that the rec could be less or more important depending on how well the counselor actually knew you.</p>
<p>eh, i could only hope that a decent but not amazing counselor rec wont kill me. the thought of it is so terrible though, the fact that i cant choose my counselor and i have the least enthusiastic one at my school =/. blast. </p>
<p>why does college have to be so hard to get into?</p>
<p>-give a statement about the rigor of your courseload (what's offered at the school and what isn't offered)
-explain why you didn't take certain classes/got bad grades because of special circumstances
-explain how competitive the school is, etc.</p>