How to get a counselor recommendation?

I’m a current junior, and some of the schools I’m applying to (Northwestern and WashU) require a letter of recommendation from a school counselor. I go to a somewhat large public school, and I’m not particularly close with my counselor. I have spoken with her before to arrange my high school schedule so I can also take classes at a local liberal arts college. She knows that I take advantage of rigorous AP courses and a few college courses, but should I do more so she can get to know me better? I guess she knows from my grades and courses I’ve sought out that I’m a diligent student who’s interested in learning, but do schools expect a more personal perspective from the counselor?

A lot of schools have students fill out an “about me” form for the teacher and/or counselor with things you think would be good to mention in a rec. If your school doesn’t ask for that you could provide it anyway. Don’t give a novel that is overwhelming to get through and dissect, maybe bullet points broken into categories like academic achievements, personal characteristics, EC’s,etc.

Colleges realize some counselors don’t know their students very well and don’t put too much on the recommendation from them, but it is good to do what you can to make any rec stand out and be positive.

@CADREAMIN Thank you for your response! This is helpful to know.

Unfortunately not always true. The counselor rec provides the opportunity for colleges to select kids from more affluent backgrounds while appearing neutral, if they so prefer.

At private schools and publics in pricy neighborhoods the counselors do make an effort to know all the kids. At most of the rest the counselors are so busy dealing with kids who are flunking, behavioral problems, etc. that a good student is seen as a godsend, one who doesn’t take up their time. The counselors let them be. So a college that wants to can use this to filter kids by financial status while outwardly talking about how “fair” they are. It isn’t fair, I don’t think it’s right, but you ought to know that it happens.

The excerpt below was in the US News college issue a few years back (and, no doubt coincidentally, that former college says it practices need-blind admissions)

[quote]

  • I attend a large public school where my counselor doesn’t know me well. Will I be at a disadvantage because this person couldn’t possibly write anything insightful about me?*
Gary Ripple, now director of admissions at Pennsylvania's Lafayette College, was asked this question when he was admissions dean at Virginia's College of William and Mary. He said to the student questioner: "I wonder why your counselor doesn't know you. Your counselor probably has over 300 students he or she is responsible for. You should take the initiative to get to know your counselor. At William and Mary, we look for students who take charge of their lives." The student sank slowly into his seat, Ripple recalls.

Good point @mikemac - I didn’t mean to imply that all colleges don’t put weight on counselor recs at all but on re-read of my post in may have come off that way. I certainly know of schools where overall the recs being put out are not great (overworked staff) and the colleges know those as well. But the main point I intended to make was that a student should ensure they write a good rec for you by basically giving them all the info they need to do that. Whether the school weights the teacher rec more than the counselor rec (which I have read as well) isn’t as relevant as having all good recommendations, which is what I was intending to convey like your article said - take charge of your life and make them happen.

What you should find out, is if your school and Senior Guidance Counselor have any kind of policy regarding these Recommendation Forms. My student’s school has such a policy that do not provide them to any school because of their size and time constraints and defer to the teacher and “optional” letters. And, they state this on the School Report Form when they submit it, so that no student is penalized.

Many guidance counselor letters are pretty impersonal. Due to the sheer numbers at some schools, counselors don’t get the opportunity to know their students very well. Students are not penalized when this is the case. I’d suggest that you ask to meet with your counselor to discuss where you want to apply to college and at that time you can ask if there is anything you can provide him/her to help write your recommendation (ex. a resume, list of ECs etc.).

Thank you for your responses! I have a meeting with my counselor in the next month to talk about my senior year schedule, so I will be sure to talk to her about my college app plans as well.

Our public school had a scandal-ish in the counseling department resulting in lots of them quitting or being fired so 2 of my 3 had recs from a counselor that hardly knew them. 1 counselor had literally been hired the day before my kid was scheduled for their senior meeting. We do have senior packets here that take students hours to fill out. The 2 with the counselor who didn’t know them at all both got into elite schools. I think the rec forms ask how well the counselor knows you so maybe that helped them? I think the recs can help someone like in the private schools where they get to know students well or they can just be a non-factor most likely for kids like mine or from big schools where counselors have too many students to know people personally.