<p>Just out of curiosity...
Does it works same as the teacher recommendation?</p>
<p>Yes. It’s actually quite important. If you look at the common app document your college counselor (that’s how you spell btw), it is quite extensive and he has to fill out your mid year report which could tip the admission decision in your favor or not.</p>
<p>It’s more important than the teacher’s statement because the counselor is comparing you to all students in your high school class, and your counselor also has access to your transcript, school disciplinary record, and teacher reccs.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters, except you should also keep in mind that while the statistics like class size and GPA and whether or not you’re taking the most rigorous classes are very important, the actual STATEMENT about the student (Student X is amazing because they are blah blah blah, you should accept them blah…) is much much MUCH less important if you go to a large public school where your counselor is juggling a load of hundreds of students recs to write. (My school counselor is 500 other people’s counselor too!)</p>
<p>I think it also depends on what the GC has to say. Is there a medical or family situation that resulted in no ECs, etc. God forbid a suspension.</p>
<p>I really hope it does carry some weight. My guidance counselor truly knows how I think and act, even though she has so many others. Her letter really conveyed an aspect of me that others parts of my application did not.</p>
<p>I agree with raelah.The stats that your GC provides are very important but most GC’s do not know you as your favorite teachers or your coaches, etc. As a result, their statement may not be as personalized. I know I am generalizing and I understand that there are some students who have great relationships with their GC, but nearly all of my friends and I have little contact with our GC.</p>
<p>I didn’t meant the class rank/gpa and stuff. I meant the personal statement by the counselor</p>
<p>Critically important, if you attend a small public high school or a private one. Not so important, if you attend a huge public high school, as the the admissions folks know they are probably dealing with 300+ students per counselor - the chances of your counselor knowing you really well at a school this large are slim. Just depends on the type of school you attend, but if you fall into the latter category, it won’t be held against you!</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen in applying to colleges, letters of recommendation are becoming less and less of a factor. If you image what the college admissions people read all day, its just positive note after positive note for every single student, as no student is going to ask for a letter of rec from someone that disliked them.</p>
<p>GPA & ACT / SAT are still dominating factors.</p>