Hey guys,
I am receiving a letter from my private english tutor back when I was in primary school. How should I mark her as a recommender
OTHER RECOMMEDER or COACH?
I found that ‘coach’ means sometimes a private tutor, but I am not sure if it does not only apply to sport coach?
Can anyone help me, please? Thank you in advance!
You want to use a recommender from before your high school years? Can she speak to your growth in the past 4 years? I’m not sure I see the value added to this additional rec, but if you think it’s important, it really does not matter how you classify it, although “other” is probably closer.
I agree with skieurope. Colleges would prefer you dont even use 9th or 10th grade instructors. You’re proposing reaching back even beyond that? I’m sorry but there’s nothing he/she could say that is of use to colleges.
I don’t see where you’re applying to college, but they’re interested in you today and over the past few hs years.
What’s the purpose of this letter? Primary school is a long time behind you.
We are keeping in touch since then and did the project together, that is why.
Thank you so much. I’ll mark her as Other Recommender
You seem to have missed the advice from us: we are saying you should NOT send this rec letter in. This is the classic “watering down rec letter” which adds nothing to your case and only takes away time from the admissions officer’s time reviewing your other materials. Also submitting a rec letter from someone who knew you academically when you were single digit aged will call into question your judgment. I understand that English isn’t your first language and this woman must be a vital tutor for you. This doesn’t matter.
Do what you want however.
What project, something current and meaningful to the colleges?
They don’t admit you based on someone from your past liking you. Or someone you “stay in touch with.” If this is about some colleges that barely read letters, basically auto admit, that’s one thing. But the rest of them can, as T26E4 says, look for your judgment and understanding of what matters. And what doesn’t and can cloud the picture of you.
Anyway, you either get our point or you don’t.
I get your point. Thank you a lot.
I was thinking about adding her, because my other recommenders knew me only for 1 year or the most 1.5
That is why I thought her rec would be meaningful, because she knew about my grades from Middle school and high school and my ECs. Also, the project was the Olympics of Creativity in which she was a ‘mentor’ of my team. I thought that her rec would be meaningful because she would write about my non- academic side.
Now, after your comments, I am reconsidering it. Do you think it may make my college app worse?
The colleges I was thinking of adding her to are:
Washington & Lee Univeristy
Union College
Skidmore College
Reed College
Princeton University
Occidental College
Cornell University
Babson College