<p>Hi,
My D is a senior applying to Rice. She lives in Colorado but spent her 9th and 10th grade years at a British school in the UK. I've asked her old school if they would agree to do a LOR for her, which they have. But they're looking for a bit of direction on what they should address. D and I have visited Rice and spoken to admissions people at different venues, the most recent being a large college fair in Denver. We've asked a few times, whether or not and if so, what would they want from the old school. The last response that was more than non-committal was that a school profile of her British school would be nice. So do I tell the British school people to focus more on what their school is like or what she accomplished there in two years, or both?
Any ideas would be really helpful. I would like to answer them this week so they have time to craft their response.</p>
<p>Is the old school able to provide a school profile/report separate from a LOR? I’m personally not sure that it is that important to know the reputation of the 9th/10th grade school as compared to the 11th/12th, but if Rice wants that, see what you can do to provide it.</p>
<p>Any LOR for any school should be about the student and how they performed in the classroom, outside of the classroom, outstanding intellectual talents, outstanding character traits, etc. It shouldn’t be about the school.</p>
<p>Most colleges though do prefer that LORs are from 11th/12th grade teachers, as the 9th/10th grade teachers (particularly in your situation) don’t know the student who would be entering their school (college), as kids change alot in those last 2 years. So I personally think that the 9th/10th grade teachers LORs should be “supplemental” in addition to LORs from the current school.</p>
<p>Thanks crazymomster. (love the name!)
D is having her main LORs done by current HS teachers. The thing that I worry about is that with the different curriculum, one can’t really make apples to apples comparisons and I’m afraid she’ll suffer for it. For example, British schools don’t do Honors or AP classes, from what I’ve seen. At her British school, they take the same classes with differentiation in “set” levels, but the classes are labels “English” or “Maths” rather than “Honors Geometry” versus “Grade Level Math”. Their focus is passing exams at certain levels (think OWLS and NEWTS from Harry Potter). Her current HS transcript shows the classes she took and what her progress grades are. But I want to try to show that those years are part of a different system altogether and provide some insight on what that system is and how it worked for her. So this is our attempt to flush out her earlier years and put together a picture of how she challenged herself in early years (moving to another country notwithstanding) and what she made of the time there. It may not help but I’m thinking we should at least try.</p>
<p>Recognize that schools such as Rice are very familiar with other school systems (especially something like the British system).</p>
<p>Perhaps your D could write something in her essays or additional info.</p>
<p>It sounds like you want a school report more than a LOR. I think it should be sent separately, more like info coming from the guidance counselor, not a LOR. But again, I think that Rice will know about the British system.</p>
<p>It will definitely help if the school can send a profile through the GC. I did my schooling abroad in the British system and, while Rice did know about the system, our school did some things differently. I also did not have a GC, so my school principal went ahead and filled out the reco and talked about me and about my school.</p>
<p>Keep the LOR about your D as much as possible and try to get a GC recommendation that describes the school and the variation in academic climate.</p>
<p>@Antarius. Her British school doesn’t have a GC so that’s part of the head scratching that we’re doing. Right now the process is starting with her Form Tutor and they might possibly have the Headmaster, we’ll see how they decide to do it. We don’t feel we’re in a position to dictate to the British school who should write this. I did send them a “brag sheet” as we did with D1’s GC here just to jog their memory and acquaint the Headmaster (who started after D1 left the school) with my D.</p>
<p>I’m glad I won’t have to go through this with D2 who’s a freshman right now!</p>
<p>Got it. As for who writes it, if there is someone who you feel may be able to fill in the role of GC best, request them. It sounds like the school is being cooperative, which is always a major plus. </p>