<p>So I am gearing up to start working on college apps and I have come across letters of recommendation. I have a few questions in regards to this:</p>
<p>1) I want to know where do LOR's tend fall in importance in regards to essays and EC? are they the most important of the 3 or the least?</p>
<p>2) Colleges want who to write the LOR? I know most want one from a councilor and a teacher but I was wondering if I could get an additional one from someone from one of my EC's (my boy scout leader for 11 years) that really knows me and my leadership abilities.</p>
<p>3) For my teacher rec I have two in mind and I was wondering if the 2nd counts as a teacher. In my school, I am on student government. We meet daily during Homeroom so it is not techincally a class for I do not get graded for it. Can the teacher in charge of student government (who has a great relationship with me) write a LOR even though she isn't one of my academic teachers.</p>
<p>4) When it comes to getting to know my councilor, I have a feeling it would be an equal waste of our times for me to schedule an appointment with her to talk about my day when she could instead be writting other letters and sending transcripts for other kids. Do y'all highly suggest that I do just go in from time-to-time to just chit chat or is it better to go in for more academically centered questions?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>1) it all depends on the college but I have found that selective colleges weigh essays and LOR’s as very important and EC’s on the same level if not just below.
2) yes, you can get an additional letter of recommendation, but keep in mind that not all colleges allow this. Most do, but some do not.
3) This teacher would not count because he/she is not your teacher and did not teach you in a classroom setting and therefore cannot attest to your academic qualifications/capabilities . This person could write an additional LOR, however you may want to stick to one additional letter. Two at most.
4) I would go in for chit chat as well as academically focused conversations. I noticed that LOR’s from guidance counselor’s are very important during my sophomore year and so I began to do both, and now my guidance counselor loves me, and everyone in guidance knows me very well. </p>
<p>P.S. Half of the schools I applied to required two teacher recommendations and one counselor so you should seek out multiple teachers. Good luck!!(I am assuming you are a junior?)</p>
<p>Thanks Jazmine! Your advice was very helpful! and Yes I am a Junior at the moment. I didn’t know you could do “additional” LORs! That helps me out of my pickle! </p>
<p>Even though it is a little unfortunate I cannot go with that teacher, I got another two in mind who should be equally as great.</p>
<p>Don’t go overboard with the extra LORs, and don’t skip any of the required ones. The phrase you hear out here is “the thicker the file, the thicker the student”. Admissions committees have SO many applications to review. Sending in a lot more than they request will not endear you to them. So one or maximum 2 extra letters could be sent to most schools, but generally will not make up for poor or missing recommendations from core teachers.</p>