<p>Hey everyone - can someone help clarify this Common App process of teacher recs for me? I want to get this cleared up before I actually go and ask my teachers for recommendations so I actually know what I'm talking about (:</p>
<p>So: I see that I can "invite teachers" for my recommendations... my question is, how many can I invite? Are the "assigned recommenders" per school pulled from a "pool" of invited recommenders? I see that the number of recommenders I'm allowed to assign varies per school.</p>
<p>Let's say hypothetically I had 4 recommenders I wanted to invite - 2 teachers, 1 research mentor, and 1 volunteering coordinator. I want to assign the teachers and mentor to a research-y school because I think the research mentor's letter will connect better with their academic aura, but I want to assign the teachers and volunteering coordinator for my state school's application because they value community service. Are we allowed to do this, pick and choose based on the values of the colleges we're applying to?</p>
<p>Thanks for answering my question in advance, this whole Common App process frustrates me</p>
<p>Okay so…
If your school uses edocs, then all the recs get sent through that rather than common app. So, if you want to pick and choose (I do not know if you are allowed to or not), then you would have to go through your guidance counselor.</p>
<p>If your schools does not use edocs, it is probably a good idea to ask your counselor about how your school runs these things, because they may use something else other than common app.</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t really help if your school does have common app; I have no idea whether you can pick and choose recommenders.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t have any sort of system, it’s actually pretty rare for anybody to apply and need a recommendation letter other than for scholarships… so nobody knows about the Common App really.</p>
<p>What is it, Naivance and edocs that larger schools use? My high school doesn’t use those, recommendation letters are done in old-school format… Microsoft Word and printed out/scanned in. And now the Common App, of course, for the 5 or so who are using it this year. But thanks for the input!</p>
<p>WeIsCool
I think you can try to complete recommendations together with your teachers. I mean, help them with registrations and with another stuff</p>
<p>The common app will allow you to invite all four recommenders and then pick and choose which to assign on a school by school basis. </p>
<p>The tricky person will be the volunteer coordinator. If you label that person as an additional recommender rather than a teacher, the common app might not allow you to send the rec to all your schools. Similarly, if you label him as a teacher, that might limit the number of actual teacher recommendations you can submit at some schools. </p>
<p>Each school has specific limits for the number of teacher recs and the number of “other” recs (if any) that it will accept. Before beginning the process, add all your schools to your dashboard in your common app account and look at the page to assign recommenders in each on so you understand what is required/permitted.</p>
<p>Awesome, thanks all for the answers everyone… they helped with my question (: Would you guys list a high school principal as a teacher or “other recommender?”</p>
<p>So, it’s important to look for and understand what number of actual teacher recs are required by each of your schools from actual teachers. If a school requires two, you should shoot for one from science/math and one from language/soc. st. </p>
<p>After that, look for whether your schools permit additional recs to be sent. If so, that’s where you might consider sending a principal rec or a volunteer coordinator rec. For those types of recs, you’ll have to first find out on a school by school basis what is allowed for extra recs. </p>
<p>Look in your dashboard under each school to determine this. Some allow for an extra “teacher”, others for an extra “other” and some don’t allow any extras at all. Once you know what is allowed at each school, figure out where exactly you could assign your principal (or your volunteer coordinator, or whomever else is on your list). At that point you will be able to decide whether to invite him/her as a ‘teacher’ or as an ‘other’. </p>
<p>The key is that you won’t be able to assign someone you have invited as a “teacher” to a spot designated by a school for an optional “other” recommender, and vice versa.</p>