Hey guys I really have a problem. I hopeyou guys have solution to it. Anyways this is the problem. My family moved to US and I am going to start Senior year here because my mom got a job here. I have recommendations(waived on common app) from my 2 teachers and my old counselor back in africa. The problem is I have 2 Counselors now. In common app it states that the counselor must be the one u have now, but I really don’t want to lose my old counselors recommendations because he knew me deeply and told me they were unbelievable. Also my new school has naviance which is another problem? How can I still send my teacher and counselor recommendation through common app? Should Istate that my current school is my old school on the common app so that I can send my old recommendations and inform my new counselor of my “accident” so that she can contact my schools and inform them? Thx
So I meant " I started senior year here"
Go talk to the new counselor. Find out if they would be wiling to include the note from the old counselor in their rec. For example, ‘Old counselor described Joniman as x, y, and z. Although Joniman has only been with us for a few months, I can already see a lot of x, some y and even a bit of z.’
To even consider this displays a serious lack of judgement, if not character.
Nobody asked you to judge me. A " No" would have been sufficient. And this a serious problem for me. I really don’t know a solution to it so if you have a solution just tell me as long as it’s efficient
Well, @Joniman, as somebody who did give you a solution (#2)- and who had the same thought process as @NavalTradition I would say that this is a useful exchange. It gives you an idea how students jumping straight to a dishonest solution are likely to be perceived, and it gives other people on CC an idea both as to how you approach problems and how you reply to people who call you out on it.
You should not lie on your application. Which is what you are proposing. I agree that asking your current GC to include comments from your previous one is a possible approach.
Talk with the counselor at your new school about the best way to handle the extra recommendation. You are not the first student to transfer to that school as a senior. They know how to deal with this sort of thing.
@NavalTradition and @collegemom3717, I really am not the kind of person you are suggesting I am. If it seems like that, that is the just a misconception. My old counselor was so cool and I know he wrote me a letter that would bring my application to the next level. If i can do anything to change that I would do it. We are not talking about lying here, that is dishonorable, I am talking about looping the system. My old counselor already submitted my school reports and recommendations from my old school, my new counselor would just have to talk with my old counselor about sending the remaining mid year and final reports and any other additional information through naviance or mail. Right? There is no lying there my current school, as stated on the common app, would be my new school but my old counselor would have already submitted some of the forms even though my school counselor on the common app is my new counselor,
Your old counselor already submitted a school report for you, even though the application instructions explicitly asked for your most recent counselor to do the paperwork? Sigh.
Please understand that this situation might be perceived as you trying to hide something. For example, there could be disciplinary issues at your new school that you didn’t want colleges to know about… stuff like that. There might also be concerns about your school report being forged, given that it didn’t arrive through the proper channels.
I’d recommend you loop your new counselor into the conversation and coordinate with him on how to proceed. It may be prudent to have your new counselor submit a new school report to show that you have nothing to hide.
I have been on my new school for 1.5 months. So I bet any teacher cant write me a good recommendation. Me and my counselor had started my common app in 11th Grade and he sent the school report(I don’t see how that’s wrong). Now I’m in the US and I clearly stated that my new school is My New School and My counselor is My new counselor. I Also found something on the Common App FAQ:
Which counselor to invite?
You should invite your current counselor as he/she can provide your current academic information. Your current counselor may need to contact the former counselor for previous transcripts or other needed information. If your former counselor has already submitted some of your school forms online, your current counselor will need to contact him/her to work out a submission plan for your remaining forms. If your current counselor decides to submit the remaining forms on paper, please remind him/her to contact your schools and inform them of the change. If either of your counselors have questions, they can contact us through the School Forms Support Center. [ - ]
So I don’t think there is a problem what do you guys think @b@r!um.
Or anyone else
I think this is confusing to us on many levels. One, the old Common App was replaced on 8/1 and any previous accounts had to be replaced. At least this is my understanding. Maybe you were at your old school after 8/1?
Not sure about every school but Cornell for example allows supplemental letter. Why not have the current counselor explain the situation and submit the other recs as supplemental? It might require some leg work but perhaps the safest bet is to contact your schools directly?
Let me clear this up. I moved from Africa to the us when i entered 12th Grade. I moved on August 31 here. The common app, my counselor, submitted it somewhere in August or September before I entered my new school on the new common app. So at that time technically my school was the old school and there is no prob right. And did I interpret the common app FAQ correctly. Can my new counselor send the remaining info herself because she is my counselor now on the common app.
In which case @Joniman, the answer is pretty much the same: you did what was right and true at the time you did it, and now your new counselor picks up the reins. Have you even been to see your new GC?
But understand that (as written) this:
says something very different.
You are desperate to get the old recommendations in from your old counselor. Several people have told you how to do it in a direct, no messing around way. This is not a rare situation- GCs deal with this situation regularly. They usually want you to do well and are happy to work with you. Go talk to her or him.
In the US, we don’t do what you call, “looping”; that’s another name for lying.
Learn your lesson now: Saying that your current counselor is your old counselor, to make yourself look good, is not being truthful. Students move into their high schools all of the time; it’s not anything unusual. You must be completely honest on your applications. If they find out any part of your application is untrue, you risk being expelled, having your admission rescinded, or worse, having your degree rescinded. They are not very nice about it because then, they make sure other schools know about it by putting your information in a database for other colleges /universities to see how unethical your actions have been.
Plus, using the “old” recommendations will reinforce that you are an international candidate, which would have you competing with the international pool, which is harder for admission than the local high school applicants.
Speak to your guidance counselor at your US school, or, if necessary, the director of guidance.
You’re not the first recent immigrant to apply. There’s a system in place— you just have to find out what it is.
I’m still as an international because I have an A-1 Visa.
Yes, you are an international applicant because of your visa status, but if you graduate from a US high school, your application will be evaluated somewhat differently than a true international.
How different? I have alwasy been confused about how internatinoal kids who graduate US school are evaluated. Are they compared to other international students who also graduate US high school?