<p>How do you ask for recommendations without offending your teachers?</p>
<p>I'm applying from Canada, and since I'm applying ED, I will have to ask for recommendations soon. So far I've told my guidance counselor that I will be applying to the U.S. for university. The first question that came from her of course, was why U.S.? We have plenty of good schools in Canada. And I also get this a lot from my friends.</p>
<p>Well, I agree with them. Yes Canadian education is excellent. But I just feel that American ones are better because it allows me more opportunities. </p>
<p>How would you say this without offending my teachers? Considering they all received education in Canada and take pride in the education system here. </p>
<p>And I notice that Canadians have this sort of nationalism, and they get really offended when Europeans confuse us Canadians with Americans, or when some Americans joke about how Canada's their 51st state. </p>
<p>And some people are sensitive about students going over to the states, I think they feel kind of betrayed, especially with so many graduates here (especially med school graduates and engineers) going over to the states that offers better pay.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading my long post, any suggestions? My school never ever sends kids to the states (as far as i know), so my guidance counselor and my teachers are probably not very familiar with the american system either.</p>
<p>Yeah your in a pretty similar situation to me: I am constantly getting, "But why? Australia has some of the best universities in the world?" But I guess we dont have the competition with the US like Canada.</p>
<p>Theres really no way you can get out of this one other than plainly telling the truth; tell them you think there are more opportunites--if they are people worth getting their recomendations hopefully will understand and want the best for you. try not to make it too big of a deal.</p>
<p>Yeah, now i don't feel so alone anymore! I know that alot of private schools here deal with kids going over to the US so they're used to this, but my school has almost no experience with this, which gets me worried a little.</p>
<p>You could say something about the US offering unique programs or opportunities that aren't offered here in Canada. Unique approaches perhaps, smaller class sizes, etc.</p>
<p>I can definitely relate, because when I was applying to the US, my guidance counselor at our first appointment spent much of the time talking about why I shouldn't put my hopes on the US and why I should be doing lots of research on Canadian programs becaue they're just as good and a lot cheaper than the US (very encouraging hey? :P) Basically he was trying to convince me to stay local.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.
I wonder why they really want their students to stay local.
I have a qusetion for you though,
I don't know how it works in the states, or other schools, but my guidance counselor BARELY knows me. I mean like basically does not know ANYTHING about me. I rarely met up with her, except on like rare occasions such as time table changes... How did your guidance counselor fill out the recommendation form for you? I mean, from what I can see, mine won't be able to do much with it.</p>
<p>And how did you get your essays edited? Did you ask your HS english teachers?</p>
<p>^^^Yeah I don't really understand how people get to know their counselors unless they're having problems or something. I don't know about you but my counselor is too busy to have a chat just so he know me and can write a rec</p>
<p>wow, totally understand where you're coming from....I wish I had gone to a US university right out of high school....but you're right, it's something that's not even discussed...I remember having brought it up a few times and the idea promptly being blasted out of my head by my parents...and now a few years after having dropped out of a Canadian university (and am now attempting transfer applications for the States), I am still getting grilled all the time by by family, friends and colleagues with "what do you want to go to the States for?!?"</p>
<p>the plain truth of the matter is that colleges in the States will give you so many more opportunities, more flexibility with what to study and a more innovative and interactive learning environment.....as much as I love Canada, I think our biggest weakness is when we can't admit we have some weaknesses....considering the small size of the country we do amazingly well, and have very strong systems in every area....but we have to be willing to admit that we just don't have the resources for the brightest students right now.....</p>
<p>so I guess I would just try to explain the differences (ie. the liberal arts style curriculum).....but main thing is don't let anyone discourage you.....you have every right to want a different style of education....and if you cave in, and go to a Canadian uni, you're probably going to regret it and end up in a way more complicated situation like myself.....good luck with everything!</p>
<p>I totally understand where you're coming from, too! I get that a lot; I am also probably applying to other countries from Canada. My guidance counselor discourages everyone who wants to apply to the States(Maybe he's just too lazy to do all the recommendation stuff that Canadian schools don't require)</p>
<p>DO NOT let them get into your way though! if you want to, apply. It's your decision.</p>
<p>Hey! Here’s an opinion from a South African... I'm not all too familiar with the Canadian system. But trust me; even here in South Africa, my educators have a problem with my leaving. I'm in the process of applying for a scholarship in the U.S. part of the CV requirements is a recommendation letter, which I very easily obtained from my sports master. Perhaps you should try what I said. You're obviously going to be asked why you've chosen the U.S. The best way to answer that is to be honest. Tell her the real reason why you've chosen the U.S If she's at all concerned about your prosperity and accretion in life, it should not be a problem. I'm sure you'll be fine! Good luck!</p>
<p>My guess would be familiarity, and maybe they think they're looking out for our best interests. After all, Canadian universities are much easier to predict admissions than the US (although the competitive programs can be difficult, but general admissions generally only relies on marks) Canadian schools can and do offer a great education for a much lower cost, but due to their size, in my opinion they can't quite compete at the level of the top US schools which have more money to use for programming.</p>
<p>Don't worry too much about the guidance rec; at most large public schools, guidance counselors are assigned hundreds of students (my school had about 2000 students, and 4 counselors...) so universities understand that it simply isn't possible for the counselor to know every student. Their rec is mainly for the universities to gain an understanding of your school's system and courses.</p>
<p>Like you, before I applied, I had talked to my counselor maybe once regarding courses. When I was beginning the application process, I met with him to discuss my plans and my goals. I gave him all the necessary forms, as well as a resume and a mini essay about why I wanted to go to Penn (I was applying ED there)</p>
<p>As for the essay, I gave it to my English teacher to read over and give feedback. I also had my parents and some trusted friends read it to give me their impressions.</p>