I just found out our guidance counselor left the school and needed her letter of recommendation for colleges. Can I try to get one from her still and keep it myself to send to the colleges or is it supposed to come right from the school and her school email each time? She really liked my son and would have been a great letter I believe.
You can still use teachers you’ve had that have left the school, so it should definitely be fine for your GC.
Give him/her a call and ask for a rec
You might need a letter from the current GC at the school. I am not sure of the rules but I’d defnitely check with the new GC or the head of the guidance department because you don’t want a problem over a technicality. Even if the GC letter has to be from the one employed at the school, the old GC could provide a supplemental recommendation if he/she is willing and you think it would be worthwhile.
Please have your son request his letters of recommendation.
When I first read the post, I thought it was a student requesting the help. “Can I try to get one from her still and keep it myself to send to the colleges”. He has to be proactive in the process.
Your child needs to get into the habit of advocating for himself. All records at his university, including his grades, will be sent to him, not to you. Anything pertaining to him, will go to his college address. Even if you pay the bill, the school will direct all correspondence to him.
The high school will likely want the new GC to handle this. Remember that MANY students apply from schools where the GCs have several hundred students each. If there is something specific your kid wants the GC to handle in the letter (eg, health issues affecting grades, etc), then your kid should make an appointment to see the GC. If your kid’s other recs are strong, this shouldn’t really have an impact.
The purpose of the GC letter is usually different from the purpose of a letter of rec from the student’s teachers. GCS often do not know the kids they are writing for and don’t need to. The letters focus on the school’s profile and how your S or D’s transcript compares relative to 1) the rigor of the coursework available at the school and 2) the rigor compared to other students at the school. It will give a class rank, mention any disciplinary issues, and similar. At some schools, the guidance staff ask for the student to submit a statement about their goals and objectives, greatest challenge overcome, etc…but others don’t. If there is important personal information that needs to be conveyed - a health issue, recent divorce, or other extenuating circumstances that might impact admission - your son should set up an appointment to talk to the GC about it. As for the former GC, if she was close to your S and he wants a letter of rec from her because she can say things about him that no one else knows, then it’s fine to ask for an additional letter of rec from her. But he’ll still need probably 2 teacher recs in academic subjects and the school’s gc rec with the context data.