@makemesmart: “Our first and only experience with IB program, DS really loves it, but the rules! Gosh, we were hoping he could do Econ as his social studies, but they are only counted as electives, so it is a no!”
I am 100% unfamiliar with the IB program, so I must ask a question.
With Econ being the elective, is it added into the gpa the same way as an approved Social Studies/History course?
I just asked my kid about the placement of his AP Econ studies into next year’s schedule and he told me that it, too, is an elective, but that he is not required to have a history course for next year. I actually hadn’t known that.
@hs2020dad My DS applied to competitive summer programs - rejected from 2, 1 waitlisted, and 3 decisions haven’t come out yet. Last year he was waitlisted and finally accepted to another competitive program. The applications were very time consuming with LORs, essays, and resumes. I do believe he’ll be better prepared for actual college apps.
This brings me to a question about recommenders. How many times is too many to ask the same person for a LoR? The recommenders have been very generous with their time and effort so I don’t want it to be overly burdensome by continually asking. I guess it would depend on the person. S tends to ask the same people - favorite science and math teachers or music instructor/director.
" How many times is too many to ask the same person for a LoR?"
Great question! I hope there is no such thing as too many times, just too short a notice/time to fulfill the request.
I want to believe a teacher who has a bevy of great letters of recommendations for my kid can pull and cull from those already written, match the tone and intent in commendation to the specific target of the LoR being written at hand, and with a little copy-and-pasting, make it work without too much effort such that it is onerous.
Great moment this evening in my household. My son sad sacked his way over to me, needing to lay his head on my shoulder and just lean in. There was a little moaning.
When I asked him how things were going and what was wrong, he shared, “Nothing. [The groaning was now elongated like a foghorn moving into the distance.] I decided to do the hard work of doing the hard work and made myself sit there and figure out a math problem that was really bothering me.”
I was so excited to hear that!: 'I decided to do the hard work of doing the hard work…"
I absolutely know that he is ready for what is coming around the corner.
@Waiting2exhale@SoccaMomma
I’m a teacher and if I’ve written for a kid, it’s not hard to update the letter several times. That said, it’s a lot of work to write in the first place, and it’s volunteer work, so I always appreciate kind words of thanks from students.
I’m a college prof and it’s a ton of work for the first letter and then just plain a lot of work for subsequent letters for the same kid. BUT it’s CODB and the letter requester can do a lot to make things easy vs hard, pleasant vs. unpleasant, hassle free vs big hassle.
Please make sure your DSs and DDs:
Make a clear request at least 3-4 weeks in advance. In person request is nice but frankly I will forget, so an email follow up is crucial.
Include all the relevant info, links, and instructions in the request email. If there is a link for an online form, send that. If I have to email or snail mail the letter somewhere, give me address. If the program is going to send me a separate email, tell me when it’s coming and from what address. HIGHLIGHT THE DUE DATE.
Provide any other info the letter writer requests in a timely way. For college kids, I ask for transcript (unofficial fine) and at least an outline or bullet points of what they are going to say in their application essay. A draft of the essay is better.
Thank the letter writer! Starbucks gift cards and small succulents not required or expected, but a genuine note of appreciation is, well, appreciated.
For my part, if I agree to do a letter, I commit to:
Put the due date on my calendar as soon as I receive the due date (see #2 above)
Actually write the letter myself. Tell DS and DD to be wary of letter writers who ask you to “just do a first draft for me so I know what you want me to emphasize.” Boo. Not cool.
Confirm that the letter has been submitted. I will forward a confirmation statement from an online portal or otherwise notify the requester that the letter is in so that they don’t have to pester me multiple times in the 2 days before it’s due.
@SoccaMomma thanks for that question about LOR - DS20 has the exact same problem/concern. He applied multiple and asked same teacher for LOR - but at the end he started feeling guilty to ask her over and over again (she has been great in giving the letters on time).
@Itisatruth - great tips for the kids to make this less time consuming. As a former college prof myself, I do realize how much time this takes. But having said that - many teachers in our public school completely forget about the latter part of your great advice (what they should commit). For couple programs that DS applied, he asked for LOR from one of his favorite teachers - one and half months in advance with a reminder email 2 weeks before (have to admit - I made sure he follow that timeline). Despite of multiple reminders in the last week, that teacher never submitted the LOR - we got this info from the program’s online app portal. These apps takes lot of work and some emotional investment from kids - imho a teacher should recuse himself/herself if they cannot do it for whatever reason or commit to the word.
Any tips on how to remind forgetful teachers courteously and yet get a definite yes/no answer? (is it OK if a parent involves in the request - I personally don’t like the parents/GC’s to involve since it might affect the quality of the letter).
@hs2020dad My S also requested both in person and in a follow-up e-mail (with all the links and info) one month in advance. Then he e-mailed one week before and again on the night it was due (since no confirmation via the portal arrived). When he saw the teacher the next day, the teacher said there had been a “problem” and he would do it right away. But it was after the deadline and we don’t know if the letter was accepted.
@hs2020dad - I agree parents should not be involved directly (can nag kids ) - we’ve had that problem from the other end, DS waiting and waiting and the teacher forgetting. I think repeated polite email reminders are good as the date approaches. But I don’t have a great solution.
My S is gearing up to request letters of rec. At his school one is supposed to ask before the end of senior year so that the teachers can write the letters in the summer. My S wants to ask his sophomore teacher (who loves him) but my concern is that colleges might expect a letter from junior year. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!
Hi all. Next week we are visiting a few colleges while on spring break. Any words of wisdom on what questions to ask, what to be looking for, best way to stay organized comparing colleges, etc. Any advice would be welcomed.
I’ll share what we have done to stay organized and also to get immediate impressions of each school. We did this for my D17 also. I created a Google Form, with questions we fill out in the car right before we pull away from the campus. Our rule is that we can’t talk about the school until the form is completed. This has been a great help, because you can capture everyone’s impressions right away. It also helps when your kid says “I didn’t like School X,” and you can say “Yes, you did, this is what you thought that day!” (Obviously, everyone’s thoughts can change as time passes, as you visit additional schools, etc.). The data from the form populates into a spreadsheet, so you can see everything all at once. We have found this to be very useful - hope it’s helpful for someone else, too!
@socaldad2002 We found the main college tours of minimal value (other than seeing inside dorms) bc so much of the focus and conversation is guide dependent and may not reflect the school accurately. Observing students on campus in general can offer an interesting peek to campus culture.
My kids have gotten the most from dept meetings and sitting in on classes. Understanding dept culture, UG research opportunities, student “major” groups or clubs/study lounges (and how those students interact), etc have been the factors that made them choose or eliminate different schools.
Keep it simple. I had a form to fill out on visits, but it didn’t happen for us. Take pictures. A lot of pictures. That helped jog memories best, for us, it seemed. Take some notes, but just for things that a really unusual, not things that are going to be the same at every college, or things that really wouldn’t change a decision (this is most things). Don’t bother noting that the college has a Quidditch team, for instance. If you are visiting because of a specific program, then I would have some questions/clarifications that you would want to figure out before leaving. Just be present and take it all in.
DD20 is asked to explain at least a couple of things she liked, as well as a couple she did not, on the same day she tours a campus. Those get written down in a notebook she keeps. The plan is to refer back to it for essays and decision time. Of course, she does sometimes record more than “a couple” if she really likes or dislikes a school. Her criteria is also written in the front and has been updated as it has evolved. Sometimes I write things down as we drive and she talks.
) - we’ve had that problem from the other end, DS waiting and waiting and the teacher forgetting. I think repeated polite email reminders are good as the date approaches. But I don’t have a great solution.