<p>Im in a bit of a debacle and I would really appreciate all of the advice u can give me! Well, recently I have been finishing off my applications for college. All my teachers gave in their recs and predicted IB marks to the HS counselor and although I had never waived my right to see these things she wouldnt allow me to either ways. Just last month she sent all my stuff off to Yale scea through DHL . Today however I needed a copy of these forms because I was going to send them through speed mail (as it is cheaper than dhl) and I had to take them to their office downtown myself. However, I had a feeling that something in the forms was missing. This is due to the fact that Yale earlier on this week had sent me an email saying that they had received only one page of one of the teacher recs when Im sure that this teacher had given my counselor the entire form. So even though im technically not allowed to open this packet I did and I discovered that a lot of things were missing or were simply wrong/inaccurate.
Firstly she had only included the first page of the recommendation (the common app one)just like yale had earlier said. Moreover, she typed up my predicted marks and instead of giving me the one's that the teachers had issued out she just gave me all six's. (I know that this is totally wrong because my French teacher , bio teacher and math teacher had told my parents during the PTC's that they predict I will receive a 7 on my IB exams and more than that they did inform me that this was in fact my official predicted score).
This woman is also my English teacher and without even having asked her she included a recommendation letter that strongly contradicts the 3 other ones that I had some teachers send off. Three teachers put tick marks under "top few encountered in career" for like 5 of the things on the list and she put very good/good for the same things!! I didn't even ask her for this rec yet she for some reason sent it of
and to YALE!! Now not only will they think im totally going against their instructions by including way to many recs (4!!) but more importantly they will also see this awful rec and possibly base some of their decision on it!
They messed up on some other stuff on my transcript as well like instead of writing Biology HL they wrote SL
grrr
I really don't know what to do now, I already contacted my teacher and asked him to fax a COMPLETE copy of his rec to yale (he did). However, im upset because of the wrong predicted marks (which are substantially lower and could def. have a huge effect on my chances) , the despicable rec (which I never evveenn asked for !!!!!!!) and the other mistakes- I mean the whole thing looks like it was put together by a drunk or something.
I can not confront her because i was technically not allowed to look at these forms in the first place yet im applying to 5 more schools and if I don't do something she will keep on sending the wrong predicted marks and all of this other wrong info. Yale is my num. one choice ad iv worked so hard on my app and I just can't blv that she would do this I mean I just don't understand why!!
I don't know if it would be appropriate to write Yale and tell them about this situation
.
Sorry if I sound like im ranting but im so enraged and I really don't know who else to ask as u all seem to b the pro's on stuff like this..
If you can help me I would really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Elodie, Take a deep breath, all 6s is magnificent and if you get all 7s wonderful. I don't think this will make or break you. Four teacher recs will not matter and if one teacher sees you as "good" let it go. So be it. You shouldn't have seen your predicted marks or your recs. That is a no-no by your school to show you your predicted grades. Under no circumstances write to Yale. Let it go. They will let you know if something is missing as they already have. The application process is stressful. You do what you are supposed to do, follow the instructions of the schools, check and make sure they have received everything. It sounds like you have done the work you need to do by being a top student. And now, It is out of your hands.</p>
<p>Elodie:</p>
<p>I have argued in another thread that we cannot always assume that a GC's less than positive comments about a student are inaccurate, but this does not seem to apply to you because parts of your application package are inaccurate. And it is not possible to ignore this knowledge. So what to do?<br>
You could try suggesting that a whole new package be sent, with the complete rec from her, rather than just the first page; with an accurate transcript (you understand that some courses seem to have been mislabeled); and new, updated recs from your teachers (ask them to include your predicted IB scores in their recs).</p>
<p>If that does not seem feasible, show her the email from Yale and ask her to send a copy of her complete rec and a new (and accurate transcript). You might also ask your teachers to email their recs directly to Yale with their own prediction as to your IB scores. Make sure they include your name and date of birth so that the emails can be filed properly.
Finally, on the discrepancy between the GC's predictions and your teachers, it is a judgment call and one cannot really challenge it. But adcoms will take everything into consideration and we can hope that your teachers' faith in you will carry the day.</p>
<p>You will most likely apply to other colleges as well; this is a good chance to ask that recs be updated to reflect newer information. Good luck!</p>
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<blockquote> <p>I didn't even ask her for this rec yet she for some reason sent it of…and to YALE!!<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>With many schools, you don't have the option of NOT having the GC write a recommendation--it is part of the school report the GCs fill out. So her having filled out a rec for you is something you have to live with. She didn't do it just to sabotage your application.</p>
<p>Transcript inaccuracies occur more often than they should. A word to the wise to any student applying to college--check your transcript first by getting an unofficial copy and making sure it is accurate. </p>
<p>Predicted grades?!!! What kind of nonsense is that?! I can see putting in a mid-term grade if one if available. But predicted grades? Why would anyone put any credence in predicted grades? If your application is otherwise good enough for you to squeeze through the crack in the door that is Yale SCEA (and it is a very small crack), it will be the real first semester grades that Yale will be looking at.</p>
<p>I do agree with Marite that the GC letter is just one little piece of the puzzle.</p>
<p>The predicted grades are for the final IB exams.</p>
<p>Yes, the predicted grades are critical. But you say you had 'official' predicted grades - I don't quite see how the GC can simply fill in her idea of the predictions. You are in a bind because obviously you should not have opened that envelope - I do think that if Yale has any query, the admissions officer will contact your school. As I remember from previous posts, you are in a very new, very small school; so I wonder if in some ways your application to an Ivy is a first. We are in a somewhat similar position and I would urge you to use all your diplomacy and negotiating skills and work closely with the GC. As overseas says, all sixes is nothing to sneeze at. Are you also applying to UK unis? If so, you must really get the school to clarify what your predicted grades are.</p>
<p>The GC doesn't do the predicted grades herself, they are done by each individual teacher, who then gives them to the GC.</p>
<p>IMHO the only issue you have here that you can (or should) deal with is the transcript error. Ask to get a copy of a your official transcript - then bring the error to the attention of the registrar and have it fixed. All the other issues are not yours to deal with!</p>
<p>I do not know how many times I have said this: DO NOT EVER TRUST YOUR HIGH SCHOOL!</p>
<p>As far Elodie ... I disagree that she should accept this situation without action. She should ask her parents to have an IMMEDIATE meeting with the principal of the school and voice their dismay about the frivolous actions of the school. Your parents should require the school to call YALE at once -via the principal- and have the principal send a letter correcfing the errors. The parents should also ask that this GC not be allowed to contact Yale in any form or fashion. She not fear retaliation in taking those steps, as her parents should warn the schools that they will not simply sit idly when the future of their daughter is being jeopardized by incompetent school officials. </p>
<p>In general, I know that it is not feasible at many high schools, but families should fight the bureaucracy of high schools and question high school that want to handle the complete packages. While it remains true that you cannot see the letters of recommendations, be especially on the lookout if the teachers insist to handle in ... their ways. On the other hand, EVERYTHING that has to do with grades IS under your control. It is YOUR responsibility to check your grades before AND during the process. It is of paramount importance to notify the school that, while the responsibility to send the grades is theirs, this information is YOURS and that you have the right to check the transcript that is mailed. Have your parents notify the school that they want to see the transcript BEFORE it is sealed to verify the ABSENCE of anything that is not requested. For instance, make them remove ALL mentions of PSAT or other preliminary scores from other non-sense organizations such as NETB -or whatever that McGrawHill test is called. This inforrmation can ONLY hurt you through inaccuracies. You should notify your high school in writing that the officials CANNOT share PSAT, SAT or ACT scores. The school will not take any responsibility for errors and it will be your burden to explain discrepancies. So, it is better to avoid the issue altogether. If they insist on supplying the information, threaten to contact the College Board or ACT.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>The predicted grades are for the final IB exams.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>But aren't these final IB exams taken in May 2006? And you say it is critical what guess the teacher makes NOW for some test you are going to take in 5 months? Frankly, your teacher can't predict if you'll even be alive in 6 months, much less be accurate about how you'll do in a test.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But aren't these final IB exams taken in May 2006? And you say it is critical what guess the teacher makes NOW for some test you are going to take in 5 months? Frankly, your teacher can't predict if you'll even be alive in 6 months, much less be accurate about how you'll do in a test.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Despite the difficulties of prediction, it is standard practice for colleges to request such predictions for IB candidates. (IB exams seem to be cumulative, covering multiple years of preparation, and official actual scores are only available after the end of senior year, too late for admissions purposes. This puts them at somewhat of a disadvantage compared to students from schools with AP programs, since many students will have at least some actual AP scores before senior year to include on their applications.)</p>
<p>My guess is that IB teachers develop pretty good track records at predicting scores. IB tests are generally the result of multiple years of preparation in their respective disciplines, as I understand it. Understandably, colleges will apply the standard "grain of salt" in their interpretation, but a teacher who is consistently and systematically "off" in his/her predictions will find that future predictions are more heavily discounted.</p>
<p>In any particular student's case, the teacher's "predicted" grade may be a better indicator of the degree of mastery than the student's actual grade, since the actual grade can be distorted by things like illlness ofn the day of the test, etc.</p>
<p>For that reason, the teacher's prediction may convey valuable information to the admissions committee, even if turns out not to be ex post accurate.</p>
<p>Maybe I'm missing something, but my impression is that elodie's curiosity led to opening the package. Real mistakes were spotted, but how can elodie correct them without leting HS know that the file was opened?</p>
<p>Eloise can't. Predicted grades are handled by the IB Coordinator of a school. I know since my son had to have predicted grades sent to a scholarship program last spring way before he took the exams. The grades were faxed by the IB Coordinator. Neither I, a teacher at the school and a parent or my son were allowed to see the predicted scores. I asked about it out of curiosity and was told by our coordinator who has been doing this at many international schools worldwide that predicted can't be given to the student/parent although some schools allow this practice. It is against IB regulations and she goes by the book. When you take the IB it is totally different than a regular transcript program. The kids get regular semester grades but there are also predicted grades that can be sent ahead. Since Elodie is overseas her school may not manage things like a typical American International school and that is where she is encountering problems. They are not trained to do things in the manner that most folks are familiar with. Yale, I am sure deals with many situations like this. They will check if they are interested in an American Egyptian with outstanding grades, and a different take on things. They will not be dissuaded by irregular counseling services. I do concur that the transcript needs to be tweaked. She could do that by not letting the cat out of the bag by requesting to see an unofficial one and then saying" my goodness, there are some mistakes here, my Biology is HL not SL" and having the GC send a corrected one off to Yale. But if predicted grades are on the transcript I would be totally and completely amazed. They are a separate issue. But then what do I know.</p>
<p>P.S. IB exams are given in November and May. So Elodie may have already taken her exams. But results will not be available for a month or so. The school where I work which is in the area has them only in May but there may be others here that take them at this time of year. The November exams are mainly for the southern hemisphere schools or retakes as far as I know. But here again, I am not certain on this.</p>
<p>One of the reasons that the IB requests pre-test predictions is to protect the IB and the student in the event of an unfavorable result or an aborted exam. This actually happened at our international school. Because of political upheaval families were evacuated from the country around the time of the IB exams and many students were not able to take the exams. For the American kids it didn't much matter for college admissions, but for kids applying to European and Asian schools it was disastrous.The predictions were critical.</p>
<p>As far as Elodie's dilemma: I'd take the issues one by one.
1. Errors on the transcript
You should request an official copy of your transcript, "discover" the errors, request a corrected version and send it to Yale with an explanation.</p>
<ol>
<li>IB Predictions
If this information is commonly shared with the student at your school (it was at my son's) then you should get a separate list from the IB coordinator and see what your teachers commited to in writing. If there are indeed 7's along with the 6's you could send it to Yale as supplementary information, making no mention of the discrepancy.</li>
</ol>
<p>If the predictions are confidential at your school information then let it go. 6's are very, very good. Yale will be sufficiently impressed. At American colleges IB scores are no where near as influential as class grades.</p>
<p>My experience with OFFICIAL IB predictions are that teachers tend to lowball them to protect themselves. They may informally believe and hope that you'll get a 7, but what they send to the IB organization tends to be on the low side so they don't get challenged later.</p>
<ol>
<li>Unsolicited and weak recommendation
This is the tough one and the important one. Your English teacher is also your guidance counselor, right? And the recommendation that she wrote was in her role as guidance counselor, right? Since many colleges require a GC recommendation it seems to me that she was acting properly and within her rights. Now, whether her dissenting opinion was more or less accurate than that of your other recommenders, I couldn't begin to say.</li>
</ol>
<p>One point that concerns me, Elodie, is that you say you never waived your right to review your recommendations. This is not generally thought to be the best route, but since you took it, then it seems to me that you would be totally within your rights to open the Yale package and review it. </p>
<p>Are your recommenders and counselor aware that you didn't check the waive box? If yes, then why don't you just insist on reviewing your package? In doing so, you could bring this issue out in the open. </p>
<p>Please note: I really DO NOT recommend that you do this as I think it would make the GC vindictive on future recommendations, but since you've not waived confidentialilty it seems that you could technically confront her.</p>
<p>Ok first of all thank you for you advice - it was really helpful!
Second of all , i don't think you fully understand me. My GC did write the "school report" (which is the GC rec letter) and i have no problem with that
The thing is this same lady is ALSO my English teacher (yes the gc is my English teacher we r a pretty small school) and i had never asked her to fill out a SEPERATE eng teacher rec for me yet she did anyways AND she never told me that she did AND she sent it to Yale AND it was mediocre while at the same time contradicting what other teachers said.
Moreover I already had 2 recs one from my bio teacher and one from my hist teacher + a supplementary rec from a teacher in my old school in Egypt. So now ill have four recs!! Which im sure Yale will not appreciate!<br>
The thing with the predicted marks was this: technically students are not allowed to know their scores. TECHNICALLY... however we had parents- teacher conferences in October and my teachers basically told my parents that they would be giving me these predicted marks because i deserved them etc... and naturally my parents told me. Moreover, some teachers did tell us: "your predicted marks will be based on an average of last years final exam plus some other past papers..." So all of us KNOW what our marks are.
So the teachers then e-mailed their PM to my counselor. My French teacher knows very little English so she actually had me type up the email myself and i know that she gave me a 7..i TYPED it - not to mention that she also wrote it out on my progress report! My GC THEN typed up all the marks that she had received and got them stamped, signed and sent off to Yale. She either typed them up wrong or she FOR SOME WEIRD REASON decided to change them to something i did not receive just like she FOR SOME WEIRD REASON decided to send off an extra recommendation letter to Yale.
Iv told my parents and they are very angry!! my dad wants to go to school but i really don't want him to because i did a horrible thing by opening those envelopes + ill need other recs from GC and she hasn't done them yet..
altho i did not waive my rights she kept on telling me you cant look u cant look bla blabla and she would like hide them when i was in her office</p>
<p>o one more thing i forgot to mention: im applying to this uni in germany and they give scholarships based on sats and predicted marks! if my predicteds are not corrected then ill never get this scholarships + it just makes me mad that im not getting wat i deserve thats never a good thing u know?</p>
<p>What university in Germany?</p>
<p>Iub .</p>
<p>Cool. I have a couple friends applying there.</p>