<p>my teachers (which i'd have known for 1.5 years only by rec-writing time) are probably going to focus on my academic side along with what i offer in the classroom--in short, the emphasis won't be on my character or personality, though they will be included.</p>
<p>my art teacher, on the other hand, i've known for years. i'm probably asking her for a supp rec to complement my portfolio and to sort of 'validate' my art skills, however, she's probably going to have a bunch of little anecdotes of how i've grown as an artist, the risks i've taken, etc. assuming that it's really strong, will this sort of compensate for the lack of personality/character description in teacher recs?</p>
<p>and.. is a supplemental rec even that heavily weighted? from the site, it says:</p>
<p>"Additional letters can have the effect of cluttering an application file, often repeating what has been said elsewhere, and can leave a reader wondering which letters are the most important recommendations."</p>
<p>does the last part imply that supplemental recs--despite from non-academic, outside-of-school areas--can be more 'important' than those of teachers?</p>
<p>An art portfolio would probably be a better way to demonstrate your artistic skill to Yale.</p>
<p>But, supplemental recs can help for sure!</p>
<p>Think of them like wild cards… depending on how relevant or good they are, they can either have a positive or minor negative effect. Useless spam recs are just… well… annoying. My regional rep specifically told me in an e-mail…</p>
<p>“While we do allow the submission of additional materials and recommendations, we strongly discourage such submissions”</p>
<p>While that seems a bit harsh, I did send in an additional rec. So it totally depends on the situation.</p>
<p>Now… there are many types of reccomendations.</p>
<p>You’ve got:</p>
<p>[Generic teacher rec]
[Teacher rec that swears you are god’s gift on earth]
[Internship/Employer rec]
[Senator John Kerry’s recommendation that was written by Cindy the secretary in Florida]
[Coach’s Reccomendation]
[Community Reccomendation]
and it goes on and on…</p>
<p>But clearly you can see where some of those additional recommendations become a hindrance.</p>
<p>If you are going art oriented and your theme is the arts… then go for it! I hope I answered you and not just rec’s in general… Does that answer your question?</p>
<p>^^ In case someone says it has to be from academic subjects… that is not true. They accepted my rec from a technology course teacher as a main rec.</p>
<p>I would send in the supplemental. My kids both sent their 2 academic recs and their main ec rec. Both ec rec’s were able to share about their talents that wouldn’t have been in the academic rec’s. Art teacher to me would be a supplement - I can see a tech course being viewed as a core but not art. One extra rec is fine as long as it’s not saying the same old thing which it doesn’t sound like it would.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t send something in at this point…unless it’s something phenomenal. I mean…so awesome it makes other people in the field weep in fear of becoming irrelevant. </p>
<p>Supp. Recs are really only to be sent in when they add significant and new information to a candidates profile . So, this late in the game, even if new information is sent, it also leaves the adcoms…what, like a little over a week (?) to actually parse that new material…and since the majority of decisions have been made (you’re in that, most likely), those candidates being decided on now are probably the really borderline/high competition ones.</p>
<p>Art teacher is a teacher and since you stated it represents a different side of you than the other two teachers, it should replace one of the two redundant teacher’s recs.</p>
<p>D had two very different teachers. English, which is not here strength and head of science department, her strength. Each I am sure covered very different aspects of her.</p>
<p>Supplemental should be something completely different: coach, boss, supervisor on research project, scoutmaster overseeing eagle project. Note that each of those could not be sent in as a teacher req because they are not teachers. They can only go in as a supplement.</p>
<p>After, D was deferred by Yale, she contacted them about sending a supplemental rec. It would have been the band director who has known her 8 years and has overseen her in leadership position as assistant drum major and drum major. Her Yale AC specifically said “no”.</p>
<p>Obviously, you can do what you wish but I think you run the risk of not following instructions.</p>
<p>Note that 2x2’s was from child’s EC not child’s teacher.</p>
<p>They ec rec’s were also both teachers and I think the OP hasn’t applied yet- it’s a bit late now if that’s not the case. Art is a talent- I believe talent is something that all colleges need- it doesn’t matter what your talent is- they are looking for talent in things outside of classroom as well as in. They ask for 2 academic teachers to access your academic talent- they can’t assume to guess if you have others- its your job to let them know. IMO. That said- a rec that says “tom is good at art” isn’t going to do much for your case.</p>
<p>like 2by2 said, i haven’t applied yet, but thanks for the helpful responses! and to reply a bit: my two teacher recs consist of one from a humanities class which is very discussion based, and the other from a math class which is lecture-based but has opportunities to ask questions, present work, etc–so they should not be ‘redundant,’ well, at least i hope not.</p>
<p>and i think 2by2 said “tom is good at art” would pretty much be useless. what would an outstanding supplemental rec be–“tom is one of the most talented student artists i’ve encountered” and then an in-depth description of tom’s strengths in art? (lol, sorry with the tom thing)</p>
<p>The key here is that the supplemental rec needs to add something that doesn’t appear elsewhere in the application. I think an arts-related rec could be a good example of this.</p>
<p>I sent in a supp. rec. (Way back in December, though.) I had my french teacher and my chem teacher send in the required ones and then I had a community service director write my supp. one. I’ve been working with her for about 8 years and run a leadership role for an intensive homeless shelter program. I’m hoping she’ll add a different perspective to my app.</p>
<p>it definitely shouldn’t hurt to send an extra rec. i did and all turned out well just make sure you send only one extra and make sure it is good in its representation of you.</p>
<p>Chair2- I’d say that if the art teacher could give examples of your, I mean “tom’s” unique vision, work ethic, creative spirit, and how that talent has been used in the school community as well as validate any awards and so on. Does “tom” help young artists? Is he patient? Does he make the cover for the literary magazine? Those are things that will help the adcoms see how you (tom) will use your talent on their campus! Good Luck Tom! :)</p>
<p>my art teacher’s from outside of school (but knows my school pretty well) so i’m not sure if her claims about “tom has the cover of such-and-such magazine” would be taken 100% seriously. also i plan on entering some of national/international contests that have no affiliations whatsoever with my school or my art teacher, for that matter, so would her statements on those awards (if i win!) actually validate them? or, similarly, would my counselor’s mentioning of those awards validate them?</p>
just make sure you send only one extra and make sure it is good in its representation of you.</p>