D23’s teacher asked her if she wanted to read the LOR she asked him to write. This struck me as odd, since she asked several other teachers as well who did not offer to let her read what they wrote. I understand that they can have access to these if they attend a college where this is part of their student record, but how common is this when they are still in HS? She asked me what I thought she should say, but I’m at a loss. Of course I’m curious, but 1. he is a newer teacher to the school and 2. there doesn’t seem to be any school protocol so I’m reaching out to this wise community.
My D waived her FERPA rights for the common app. If your D has done the same, I’d suggest telling the teacher that she waived seeing the recommendation.
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As did mine. I suppose she could tell him that. But given the chance to read it, wouldn’t you be curious?
Mine did not read any before/during app process, but D21 did have two teachers send them to her (unsolicited!) at the end of senior year. One she had suspected was very positive because they were very enthusiastic when she asked them to write it…but we were pleasantly surprised it had a “best in over a decade “ statement with many other memorable things . No idea if we will ever see D23s, and thats ok but of course I am curious.
If they’ve waived their FERPA right then the LoRs won’t be part of the record. The student will get to read the admission office’s comments, ratings (if applicable), etc. but not the LoRs.
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For sure I’d be curious! But, ethically I would still advise her to politely decline.
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Good to know, thanks!
No way should a teacher offer it and a student should politely decline if they are offered.
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When it comes to teacher/professor recs, there are differences of opinion and different teachers handle it differently.
One thing that never changes: the applicant should ALWAYS waive their right to see it. I refuse to write a letter for anyone until they’ve waived their rights (I send them a tactful email explaining how it works and then they waive).
Some letter writers opt to show the letter to the applicant anyway, totally outside of the system. Some teachers show all the students their letters. Some only show the letter to select students.
It’s uncommon at the HS level, uncommon at the undergraduate level, and increasingly common as you go up academic levels.
As a prof, I’ve showed LORs to only 2 of my undergrads (for med school). They had done research projects with me for several years, and I wanted them to know how great I thought they were. I emailed them so they didn’t have to read it in front of me. They both were very touched by the letters and told me so later. They of course got in because they are awesome.
When I write letters for PhDs who are applying for postdoctoral positions or other jobs, that’s when I usually start showing the letters. This is common in my professional field. Almost everyone shows their letters to job applicants at that career stage (and higher). It ends up being a nice gesture and it’s so validating to hear the nice things people say about you at that stage.
If I were a high school teacher, I would not show students their letters. Maybe if I felt like a student really needed to see it to make an actual difference in their life, I would consider it once in a blue moon. If my son’s teacher offered to show him his letter, I’d tell him to decline. But I don’t think it’s an automatic bad thing, just not what I would do.
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It’s not unethical for a student to ready a LOR that the teacher offered to share.
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As you said yourself, perhaps, if a teacher offers, they think it will meaningful to the student and the parent shouldn’t second guess that motivation.
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I would feel awkward about it as a student- they waived their FERPA rights and aren’t expecting to see this. Plus, if it’s a glowing letter would there be a sense of obligation (e.g. I need to always show gratitude to this teacher) for the student that would carry throughout the year…?
If they feel like they need to say something that isn’t “no,” perhaps ask the teacher to save it for them for after graduation.
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One of my oldest daughter’s teachers shared it with her. Neither of my youngest’s did. Nor did either counselor.
I see nothing wrong with accepting a teacher’s request to review/fact check a document about the student.
For my older child, a teacher asked her to review it. My daughter had, of course, waived FERPA but the teacher insisted that she read and be comfortable with it before she finalized it.
It was useful for my daughter to have seen it because it was better written and more specific than expected. My daughter knew that it likely should be her first recommendation used.
Along those lines, a guidance counselor IS allowed to read them. If you trust the judgement of your GC and have multiple LORs, the GC could make that choice for you, too.
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This is why I told my son he had to fill out the sheet that the common app provides for your letter writers to have information about you.
It’s also why I require anyone for whom I’m doing a letter to send me something like a CV or resume. I often have to end up asking them additional questions as well. I don’t have to show them the letter to ensure that everything is accurate.
One trend that I HATE, which I’ve only seen at PhD level and above: the letter writer asks you to draft your OWN letter, which they will then edit and sign. I absolutely hate that and I was mortified when I was asked to write my own once. It was awful. When that same person asked ME to write a LOR for them some years later, I was nice enough to not ask the same of them! I really hope that trend doesn’t trickle down to HS. That would suck.
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My kids also waived their rights to see the letters.
We did, however, hear back some verbal information from coaches, Principals and counselors.
Principal about our son (while we were at the Athletic Scholar Awards): “He’s received some really strong, exemplary LOR’s. He should be proud, but you should be prouder.”
Different Principal (4 years earlier) about our eldest daughter: “Wow, I didn’t realize that her biotech internship had her directly working with the PI. They really like her at the UC.”
Counselor re middle daughter: ~“You have a great and kind daughter! The staff knows that they can trust her for anything. She has a number of unsolicited LOR’s from teachers in her college file.”
They didn’t have to say anything and I asked each child if he/she wanted to know what I was told and each said, “no”.