Okay so I’m pretty sure tons of people can relate. My school has around 130 kids and three college counselors. My counselor didn’t know me before we met. We’ve met twice since I was assigned to him in April, once as a mandatory meeting with my parents to discuss the college process and once voluntarily because I had some questions.
So honestly, how am I supposed to get a proper recommendation from him? He hardly knows me. I doubt he knows the activities I’m involved in. All he knows is I have a strong upward trend, good ACT score, and great AP scores. Besides that, he doesn’t know my personality besides “hardworking”, and I think that’s only discerned due to me being one of the only ones in my grade actually interested in meeting with my counselor for guidance through the process.
He’s also pretty disorganized- rarely responds to my e-mails asking him questions and so far the only real advice he’s given me about the process was knowledge I had already gleaned by scrolling through College Confidential. So I’m really scared he’ll just write a totally generic recommendation, or worse, have a standard rec letter with which he just replaces names.
You could definitely speak to him about your concern, and offer to put together a “brag sheet” of accomplishments you would like him to highlight in the recommendation. That’s what seniors do for the college counselors at our school.
Here’s your chance to stand out. Make an appointment to meet. Bring info that shows who you are beyond the stats. Have good questions prepared, especially around how you will work best with him. For example, would he prefer that you provide info in writing in advance of a meeting so he can prepare? Many of your classmates will not do this. You will make a positive impression.
Remember that most of the app is under your control. Make sure your application and essays tell the most important stories about you, that way you are not depending on others.
First, many students are in your shoes (many have a worse guidance counselor/student ratio) so a generic guidance counselor rec won’t hurt you as admission officers will understand. The two things I would suggest are:
1)Meet with your guidance counselor in the fall. You can discuss the schools you plan to apply to (ask for his/her opinion) and ask if there is anything you can bring to help him/her write your recommendation. You can offer to bring a resume if you have prepared one or a list of activities/accomplishments.
2) Your teacher recommendations are under your control. Take care in choosing the teachers you ask for college recommendations.
This was in the US News college issue a few years back
Placing weight on the counselor letter lets adcoms select those from privileged backgrounds who attended privates or publics in high-end communities without appearing to discriminate based on financial status.
@mikemac I have taken steps to meet up. I have set up meetings. I have emailed him. I’m honestly the only one in my grade going through this much work to establish a relationship with my counselor prior to the coming year.
However, he hardly ever responds. He gives generic advice. And he spends more time talking about “good fits” than strategies to get me an acceptance letter.
Side note: I do agree that a college should be a “good fit” but he isn’t focused on talking about things like what I need to do between now and when I apply, maybe what other standardized tests I should take, how to interview, etc.
So really, I’m trying to say that he is the problem. I do understand that I should give him a CV. The problem is that we had a meeting a few months ago where prior to the meeting, I had to make an activities list with my accomplishments and send it to him. I thought we’d touch on the activities list in the meeting. Nope! He literally said “How’s your college process going?” “Good…” I reply. “Okay, just asking. Bye!”
Maybe I should have taken the initiative to say “what about the activities list”. But the fact that he didn’t even so much as hint at the fact that I had given him anything is something to be said for.
The good news is that you don’t exactly need him for all this information. There’s a lot of useful articles, books, and you can always ask questions on this website.
Blaming him won’t get you anywhere. Plenty of people get into good schools despite having unreliable counselors. See if you can plan another meeting with him and give him another brag sheet that lists your activities and some anecdotal evidence about your character that he can use in your letter of recommendation. If he doesn’t respond to emails, just go knock on his door during lunch or after school. Stress to him the importance of college to you and thank him for writing the letter for you. At the end of the day, know that his rec probably isn’t going to make or break your application if it’s generic.
Start thinking about which teachers you want to ask for rec letters if you haven’t already. They’re the ones who should know you well and will really be able to give a boost to your application.
Remember the counselor rec is just one piece of the application. Your grades, test scores, and essays are the things that are going to be most important, so focus on putting energy into what you can control.
I’ve heard this quote before, but I’ve never understood the reasoning behind it. My HS counselor was completely inept. She once confused two schools on my list (and sent the wrong information to one of them) apparently because they were both in the Deep South; she wrote down the wrong GPA - she didn’t know where to find the correct one - one a scholarship application; and she once forgot what grade I was in while we were scheduling classes. Exactly why would I have spent so much time trying to get to know her?