How Important are Recommendations?

[LaxFan16]

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I think I can get some really good recommendations, how much weight do they really hold?</p>

[Sikorsky]

<p>Depends on where you’re applying.</p>

<p>At highly selective colleges and universities, they can be very important. But probably not important enough to eclipse other deficiencies in an applicant’s academic record, such as low grades or unimpressive standardized test scores.</p>

[T26E4]

<p>The vast majority of colleges require ZERO recommendations.</p>

[thirdageknight]

<p>I have had time in the past to talk with the people who look at our application and read our essays and etc. What they said is it has very little impact in their decision process except when they cant decide between some students, that’s when they pull out your essay and letters of rec. </p>

<p>I would assume that most colleges wont care as much but for competitive colleges that is when they will examine letter of recs and essays. </p>

<p>I think the only colleges that require letters of req are private and I heard public colleges wont even bother looking at them.</p>

[T26E4]

<p>@thirdage: very few publics ASK for them and most DO NOT WANT THEM. The ones that do, will read them.</p>

[gibby]

<p>@thirdage: As T26E4 noted, for those colleges that do ask for teacher recs, sometimes they are the deciding factor in admissions. Listen to William Fitzsimmons and Jeffrey Brenzel</p>

<p><a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/[/url]”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/&lt;/a&gt;

Recommendations from secondary school teachers and counselors are extremely important at Harvard and at many other colleges, particularly those with selective admissions processes. Faced with more academically qualified applicants than places in the freshman class, our admission officers review the two required teacher recommendations and the counselor report with great care, often commenting on them in writing on “reader sheets” in each application.</p>

<p>We often project the recommendations themselves onto large screens so that all members of the Admissions Committee can see them during the subcommittee and full committee review processes in February and March.</p>

<p>Recommendations can help us to see well beyond test scores and grades and other credentials and can illuminate such personal qualities as character and leadership as well as intellectual curiosity, creativity, and love of learning.

</p>

<p><a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application[/url]”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application&lt;/a&gt;

The most important part of your application — bar none, no question, any college — is your high school transcript. Probably the next most important are your teacher recommendations, particularly if you’re applying to any kind of selective college or university.

</p>

[lookingforward]

<p>OP, homeschooler, now cc? You need to determine whether you will be considered a freshman app or transfer. If it’s the former, you need to see the colleges’ directions for homeschooler apps.</p>

[T26E4]

<p>laxfan: if you’re a homeschooler and are applying to colleges that need rec letters, you have unique features you need to meet. You should clearly look over your target colleges’ website directives for homeschoolers and rec letters and testing requirements (you mentioned you haven’t taken SAT/ACT)</p>