I am brand new to the college admissions process, and have a question:
I am going to be applying to around 10-12 schools which require 1-2 teacher recommendations, each, and a portion of these schools are Ivies.
I go to a small school with 9-12 teachers, and have already selected the two teachers whom I would like to have write my recommendation letters. I don’t really know how to word this, but is it a good idea to send the same two recommendation letters written by my two selected teachers to all of these schools (with the names of the schools changed, of course)? Or should I ask multiple teachers to write brand new recommendations for each of the schools I am applying to?
I have absolutely no idea as to how the Common App works, so please help me out with this. Thank you!!
Typically your teachers will write a letter of recommendation without any school names mentioned, so they can go to all of the schools on your list. The student is not the one who sends the letters of recommendation - colleges prefer that students have not read their letters of recommendation because it allows the teachers/guidance counselors to be candid and truthful. Sending the letters of recommendation and the official transcript is typically handled by someone in your high school, like a guidance counselor. You will probably sign a FERPA waiver through the common app - from the common app website - “Waiving your right lets colleges know that you do not intend to read your recommendations, which helps reassure colleges that the letters are candid and truthful. Some recommenders may refuse to write a letter for you unless you waive your rights. Check with your counselor or teachers to see if any of them follow such a policy.”
Kids request a letter from teachers… our kids ask for 3 and guidance chooses 2 of those three, to prevent us from being overloaded. Don’t sweat the requests— we expect to receive them. This is part of our job.
We write the letters. (in my school they were due in June, but in many schools this happens in the fall.) I had to hand in a hard copy on letterhead, and upload each onto Naviance.
On or after August 1, the Common App resets. So at that point, I’ll log on, and upload each kid’s letter to their Common App. (I’ll also fill out the questionaire that the Common App asks of each student.)
-In my school, EVERY kid waives the right to see their letter. I wouldn’t bother to write one otherwise. There’s no point in spending the time crafting a strong letter if the reader is going to assume that my words were colored by fear of an issue with parents because of what I wrote.
But here’s the big picture: you’re new to all this, but your school isn’t. I suspect that when you return to school there will be a series of emails/ memos outlining what to do and how to do it.