Thanks, @MommaLue.
In our case, the problem wasnāt as much that only teachers were allowed. It was that the āotherā category wasnāt permitted. Both S20 and S22 have a recommender that didnāt fit into any of the given categories and had to be included under āotherā. In S20 case, the recommender was related to his EC. In S22 itās related to his volunteering. For example, UTD allows only teacher recommendations.
(edited)
NOT all schools require counselor LOR. We homeschool, and I see the guidance side of the common app as well. For the record, the GC sees which teachers are assigned to each college application. They donāt see any additional recommenders, only how many were assigned to each school. They also see if the teachers have submitted the recommendation letters but cannot access the LOR themselves.
Thank you, that is helpful. Did you happen to notice a trend that ones who didnāt permit āotherā were larger schools, perhaps to reduce their volume?
I havenāt really tried to figure out if there is any pattern or not. Reducing the volume sounds like a valid reason to me.
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What is everybody doing about non-varsity/JV high school sports? Iām a bit annoyed by the Common App options for athletics, though never thought about it before, as my older daughter was always varsity. Current applicant is consistently C team for a couple of sports, but they are a big part of each year, and she is actually a team captain this season, despite her lack of fast times. 
They are not club sports. I guess putting them under āOtherā is where they should go, but it does not seem right.
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@songbirdmama , yes he was able to take the ACT about an hour away. He was an alternate but was admitted. Tried to make it easier on him by spending the night nearby. He did not feel great about it, but hopefully helps his super score at least.
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I was wrong about all the schools requiring counselor recommendation!
I just checked S22 list, and while ALL the schools ALLOW counselor recommendation, 4 out of his 5 schools currently added to his common app do not require it. All 5 of his schools are public schools either flagships or near the top one (I have no idea whatās even considered a SUNY flagship)
I will go and edit that part of my previous post if itās still possible. Sorry about the incorrect info.
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I just asked S22ās college app counselor about this. For some schools, it appears the counselor contact is for getting needed info only: high school profile, transcript, etc. Not looking for the counselorās recommendation.
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@GoodGrief16 You canāt add it to the Activities section? There is an athletic/sports sections, I believe. You just input non JV/Varsity sports. We did the same for club/comp sports as a separate item.
There is another section for you to upload additional info and S21 uploaded his resume which had much more insight in some of the activities than space allowed in the Activities section. That could be another option. AOs look at the entire application, albeit in very speedy manners.
HS counselors provide that very important information about rigor. Donāt know if that is considered a ārecommendation.ā
The only options for sports in the drop down menu are for high school varsity/JV (a single option) or for club sports. She is not either varsity or JV for competitive purposes for two of her sports, though the practices and amount of competition is the same. She ended up putting it down under āotherā and specifying that she is team captain, despite her slow running times 
These sports have been a consistently big part of her falls and winters throughout high school, so somewhat annoying to see them seemingly disregarded in the menu
Is your son interested in Northeastern at all? Itās not far from BU. I hope you have a great whirlwind trip!
Touching base with the AO is a good idea if possible. Maybe brainstorm a couple of questions ahead of time. Preferably something not right on the website.
We have a similar situation with S22. Devotes an inordinate amount of time to his one school sport but just not the star athlete so has always been JV. Also has two sports that are non-competitive, outside of all organized sports, in which he is a true expert. The problem is he never liked competing or being in competition sports so choose to just hone his abilities and skills on his own. I guess heās paying for it now because thereās no good way to document it.
Thatās not a part of the LOR but part of the school report that includes the GPA, rank, curriculum, transcript, etc.
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I think that being a star athlete has had its day, lol. (Apologies to star parents out there. :)) I think your son sounds awesome and I love that he did that - if he writes his essays authentically to show what he cares about, he could be a more desirable member of a college community than the starting forward (whatever they are called).
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Getting on the road this morning for a whirlwind tour of Va schools- Wm & Mary, W&L, and Richmond! Each offers in person tours, so although we have seen some before in the summer, this will be a much more informative visit!
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Good luck. We hit a couple last weekend and it really helped seeing students on campus.
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@songbirdmama , great schools to see in VA. I went to W&L and my sister went to Richmond. We toured W&L about a month ago and it was by far the best tour of the 8 weāve visited, but we may have been influenced by the fact they actually let us in buildings! That was when the vaccinated felt more secure, so not sure what they are doing now. But Iām sure it will be a fun trip!
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They finally announced NMSF and our school got 10 (including my D22). More essays in orderā¦ I wish we could be done with them already!
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Congrats. She may be able to reuse her common app essay. Thatās what S22 did
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