My teachers gave my recs back

<p>i know penn says to give your teachers a stamped addressed envelope and ask them to mail them in. well, I did, but my teachers gave them back to me anyways. I was thinking if it’s better to just drop them in my mailbox, or put them together and mail them with a tracking number. They’re sealed, so I haven’t looked at them, but i don’t want it to look suspicious.</p>

<p>You aren't allowed to look at them?</p>

<p>it depends. you sign that thing that waive's your right to. i think everyone usually does. idk what happens if you dont</p>

<p>Oh...well...weird. My teacher said she was gonna give me a copy but I guess she read the waiver.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>i ended up having read all my recs</p>

<p>i didn't get to see my teachers' or counselor's recs</p>

<p>I saw one of my teachers...(it was awesome woohoo)...i think you really are suposed to sign the waiver...to make them happy...but its a stupid rule because you're probably gonna have other schools that don't care anywyas..and you'll see them in that case anyways</p>

<p>my friend katie decided not to apply to one of the colleges she originally planned on applying to, so she opened the counselor rec for that college. in the letter, the counselor started out by calling her katie, but by the end of the letter, he was calling her natalie!!!! she already mailed in all her other recs.</p>

<p>omg! bluehunnydue!!! im ussually pretty honest and i wasnt planning to look at my recs, but you bring up a great point! i suppose that teachers like that shouldnt be trusted with recs, thats why you pick one you know well and would be willing to spend a few extra seconds checking over their work. i had an english teacher in 10th grade whose rec i used to get into the national honors society. yeah, he had a template and all he did was change the names. it was funny because he sent out a bunch of letters for people in my class and one woman read all of them and most likely figured it out lol! bassically i would reccomend chosing a teach who cares enough about you to write a honest and polished letter.</p>

<p>oh btw: dont worry about that, im sure the adcoms can see that the gc was stressed and not as close to natilie (lol) as some of her teachers. im sure it wont hurt her to much, but it may call the gc's other info into account.</p>

<p>yeah, it's good that we can pick teachers, but we have no choice when it comes to counselors.
i have another friend (guy with a foreign name) whose entire counselor rec was written as if he's a girl. she's a fantastic young woman!!! luckily, he was able to read his and point out the little mistake.</p>

<p>I think the waiver jsut waives your right to see it, but if the teacher offers it to you, that doesnt mean you cant look. Its a fine line I mean. Also what does it matter unless they are changing it or anything.</p>

<p>The waiver is supposed to give colleges the reassurance that the rec is an honest one, not influenced by you being able to see it. It makes it more likely that the teacher can speak openly. But, if the teacher wants to show you anyway, that is their choice.</p>

<p>my teachers never offered to show me my recs...maybe it's just cuz they're writing so many others... i hope lol.</p>

<p>The thing you sign is waiving your right to see official Penn admissions office documents about you....the only thing with involving teachers is that little checkbox...where you can choose if you want to waive your right to see your reccs. I think this is mainly for teachers who will write a letter only under the terms that the student can't see it. Or if the teacher just really doesn't want the student to see it. I checked No, and I got to look at one of my letters.</p>

<p>Those of you who have read/seen your teacher recs, how long were they?`</p>

<p>Because I looked at mine and they were all about a page long. Is that too much?!?</p>

<p>my spanish teacher put my middle intial as K... and it is def A... and she mailed it off already...</p>

<p>they might think it was just a typo, but i suppose typos shouldnt exist in college apps. good luck.</p>

<p>uh, I didn't "wave my right" by signing the little thing on the app. I just left if all blank...I thought thats what most people would do, after all, whats the point in waving your right to read a teachers rec?</p>

<p>
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whats the point in waving your right to read a teachers rec?

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</p>

<p>It allows the teacher to write a frank, honest appraisal without fear of retribution.</p>

<p>I signed the thing but all my teachers and counselor still gave me copies and I read them. I was actually extremely surprised with my Math teacher's rec, it was way better than I had thought! He actually checked one of the top few in my career... :D</p>