“High School Juniors: If you want a recommendation from a teacher that will not help your case for admission, here’s some good advice: Do nothing to impress your teachers. Letters from teachers actually help admissions committees gauge your seriousness of purpose in class, what kind of leader you are in discussions, and how your work ethic shines through. So if you want to help yourself in a highly selective admissions process, you will do a few simple things.” …
I can write a very good letter for a kid who hasn’t done well in my class. I’ve written letters for kids who worked their tails off, but whose strengths simply weren’t in math. And some for wonderful kids who simply haven’t hit their academic, or their maturity stride on schedule.
The rough kids are those low B kids whose voices I’ve never heard. They’re pleasant enough kids, but over the course of 180 days I just never really got to know them well. They show up, do their homework, earn their 80’s, and go on to their next class. Those are the tough letters.
I would MUCH rather be asked to write for a kid who got a 60 or two, and a detention or two, but showed me their personality along the way, than a kid who never got beyond being a name on a test.
Excellent article. I think letters of recommendation along with students essays are the two most underrated aspects of college applications, especially in this age where Admissons officer review the applications holistically. And where the number of applications of qualified students has increased more than ever before, especially for the most selective colleges. We see all the time on the Early Action amd Regular Decison threads the reaction of high stat students and their parents who can’t understand why they/their kids were deferred or denied admission for the most selective colleges when their kids academic indicators --GPA and SAT/ACT scores–are higher than other kids from their high schoo/prep school who were accepted. The reason oftentimes is that the ones who were accepted had stellar letters of recommendation and better written essays than their peers who had higher objective stats.