<p>counselor rec- all check boxes maxed out woot
math teacher rec- all check boxes maxed out woot
english teacher rec- most check boxes maxed out, with a few in the top 5% category</p>
<p>how about u guys?? is it common for teachers to max everything out?</p>
<p>Counselor: All maxed out and I actually did it for him
Teacher 1: All maxed out
Teacher 2: He is very honest so probably most</p>
<p>hmmm i didn’t see my recs but umm it is common for teachers to max everything out esp when u r applying to HYSPM. but i think unis/colleges have seen so many of those that they don’t really trust it anymore… or well less
i think that’s where the interview kick in, when there’s no solid basis leading to"accept"
or at least that’s what i think.</p>
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<p>I think so. Although i don’t know for certain, I would guess admissions officers use the ratings at schools like Yale more to look for deficiencies rather than maxed fields. So someone with a few 5%s probably wouldn’t be at much, of a disadvantage vs someone w/straight 1%s (on the account that most of that variation would be simply on a teacher by teacher basis).</p>
<p>What the admissions officers are really looking for in teacher recs is whether or not the statements/comments section is filled with general platitudes that offer little insight into the student. If a student with full 1%s had a statements/comments section w/little insight then they would probably be viewed less favorably than a student with only a few, top 1%s but a glowing statements/comments section that offers specific, positive insight as to why student X is exceptional in those few 1% catagories.</p>
<p>There is so much arbitration in most of the fields that its really tough to take the ratings at face value.</p>
<p>thanks=]</p>
<p>well…if everyone’s was always maxed out all the time, then wouldn’t they just toss out that section on the recs?</p>
<p>well like i said, i think the ratings section is used more to weed out “deficent” students vs bolster the ones who do get fully maxed recs.</p>
<p>the comments section is where you can really shine.</p>
<p>a Stanford admissions officer said “one of the most powerful things on an application is when a teacher says in the comments: X____ student is the most brilliant student ive ever had in all the 20 years ive been teaching X_______”</p>
<p>and</p>
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</p>
<p>it is the common app, not the Yale app…</p>
<p>To be honest, I think the teacher recs are kind of unfair. We have no control over what the teachers say (or at least I don’t with mine). If my teachers write positive but unspecific recommendations, I don’t see how that’s my fault.</p>
<p>^lol ur so silly. shutup. u don’t even need recs to get in. X__X</p>
<p>@chrsitiansoldiar</p>
<p>yea its kind of a roll of the dice, but its more of a helper not a hurter. It probably won’t “lower” your chances if the rec isn’t well written (in the sense that it includes personal details ect…) as long as nice things are said. It just won’t be a keystone part of your app.</p>
<p>No, christiansoldier is probably right: It IS a little unfair. Getting a strong recommendation from a teacher who knows which are the right buzzwords and concepts to use, and how to package them into a compelling narrative, is a significant boost to an application. And NOT getting that – getting a general, unspecific recommendation, or an enthusiastic, detailed one that hits the wrong notes and makes the student look like a drone – is a serious problem. It’s one of the reasons why year after year some schools consistently do better than others in the elite college admissions derby. They have counselors and teachers who know the ropes and take the time to do their recommendations well.</p>
<p>So, yes, unfair . . . in the same way a whole lot of life is. Even if you are the most brilliant teenager on the face of the planet, for at least the next 15-20 years you are going to be relying on a series of mentors to help you succeed. Finding and cultivating those mentors, and getting them to deliver the goods in terms of recommendations and endorsements, not just educating you, will be a big key to your success. So it starts now, and in comparatively mild form, because in college admissions your recommendations are probably a lot less important relative to other factors than they will be for the next 5-6 steps you take.</p>
<p>The fact that life in general is unfair on the macro-scale is no excuse for making it unfair on the micro-scale. Judges aren’t allowed to say, “Well, I can’t convict you under the law, but life’s not fair so you’re going to jail!” The problem could easily be rectified. If CommonApp just put something like “This isn’t a letter of recommendation for a job. The teacher evaluation helps us get to know the student, so personal details and anecdotes will be more useful than generalized praise.”</p>
<p>I know at least one person will say “Well why don’t you just say that yourself?” Teachers, especially English teachers (or at least mine), get offended if you give them advice on how to write letters. I’ve seen it happen secondhand, so I’ve steered clear of it personally.</p>
<p>i’ve seen my recs and i think they are both very good. they don’t offer like story-type of anecdotes, though. is that what you guys mean by anecdotes? like “one day in class, ___ did ___…”?</p>
<p>I am quite surprised at the number of students here who report “maxed out” boxes on their teacher and counselor recommendations. How many times can a teacher or counselor honestly check “one of the top few I’ve encountered- top 1%”? If a college has on file more than a few recommendations from a particular individual over a number of years, all of which have the top box checked, that teacher might lose credibility.</p>
<p>I believe it is more effective to have qualitative statements, especially the ones that follow the rule of “show, don’t tell”. My D’s junior year english teacher, for example, cited multiple concrete examples of things that she did in class to demonstrate her abilities and work ethic. She also sought out the senior year teacher and got her to add a paragraph that provided a more complete picture of a strong and sincere student. I don’t think she checked all the ‘rightmost’ boxes, though.</p>
<p>^I never saw my recommendations until after they were submitted. One says I’m one of the best writers my teacher ever encountered, but I’m not sure if that’s very useful… The letter is like two paragraphs long, which is a bit concerning. The other is very insightful, though, thankfully. CC makes me worry about my teacher recommendations’ quality… :(</p>
<p>my rec said i was in the top two of all the kids she’s taught…she compared me to a kid who is currently at yale to give them a gauge</p>
<p>“One says I’m one of the best writers my teacher ever encountered, but I’m not sure if that’s very useful”</p>
<p>why wouldn’t it be useful? my teacher said i’m the best writer she’s ever taught. i hope it’s useful!</p>
<p>also are personal/character qualities important? both of my recs talked about personal qualities in addition to academics; one of them said i was one of the kindest students he had ever met, both talked about my humble nature, etc. is that kind of stuff important to admissions officers?</p>
<p>mine said that my writing skills are equivalent to those of a person in a phd program</p>
<p>Its odd that a thread like this came up today because I have started to worry about the portion of the teacher rec where we are ranked on our various academic qualities. A couple weeks ago, I was asking my counselor if I did well on that section of my recs (I signed away my right to look at them directly). In response, she took out my rec and only covered up the 5% and 1% columns, showing me that I had no marks lower than to 5%. However, I got the feeling during that talk with my GC that I did not max out my rec. Will this hurt me?</p>
<p>My school will throw out recommendations if a student has seen them, and refuses to have teachers submit recommendations while filling out the check boxes. All we get it their recommendation letter.</p>
<p>I think you guys should give admissions officers some credit though…</p>
<p>Their job is to study and interpret applications, they know what they are doing and they know about any pitfalls/ambiguity/variation in the rec section of the common app more intimately than we could ever hope to know through pure conjecture. I trust them to judiciously evaluate our teacher recs…</p>