Is the peer rec “required”? On the website it says optional, but is it something that if missing will cause the rest of the app to be thrown out or not taken as seriously? I’m sorry, but all of my friends are really dumb and I would not want anything coming out of their mouths to be associated with my application. The other top students in my (small) class are also competing for spots at top-tier colleges and I would be too worried asking one of them for help fearing the uncommon but ever looming prospect of sabotage. What can I do? Is there something extra, like CMC’s video response that I can use in place of a peer rec? As always, thanks for any advice!
It would be a mistake to not submit the peer application.
find a friend, regardless of how smart you think they are, who has known you for a looooong time and can speak about your qualities. And ask them to write this for you.
They wont screw it up.
Dartmouth wants to know what kind of person you are, and who better than a friend to let them know?
Absolutely submit the peer recommendation. Optional is not truly optional if you want your application to be viewed in the same light as the others. You are focusing I feel, too much on the word “peer”. Dartmouth simply doesn’t want yet another recommendation from someone who is in a supervisory position like a teacher or coach. If you doubt the ability of your friends look at a sibling, cousin, neighbour or co-worker. Someone in your life that can provide some insight into who you are and what will you bring to Dartmouth’s community.
My daughter’s peer recommendation came from a younger classmate, a year behind, but not a close friend. The classmate spoke about those things she knew about my daughter. It was a narrow, focused recommendation but it gave insight into my daughter that was beyond “she’s an excellent student”, “she’s a leader”. She wrote on those things that she thought made my daughter unique and why Dartmouth would be fortunate to have her. Dartmouth must have liked what they read as she was admitted as part of the Class of 2019.
Thanks, guys. I’ll probably ask one of my best friends. Do you know if it’s okay for me to coach her a little bit about what to put in it, or a good reference document I could give her?
why dont you give her a “cheat sheet”?
about the things that you want her to tell Dartmouth about you!
The peer recommendation should be written from the heart about what kind of friend and human being you are.
^^ Truth. I flat out teared up when I was allowed to read what D’s friend wrote about her. There are things your friends know and see that are beyond the ken of parents and teachers.
You want your peer recommendation to be unique and by coaching or providing a reference document it is defeating that purpose. When we toured Dartmouth and spoke with faculty and students and listened to conversations around us we came away feeling as if Dartmouth was but a larger version of my children’s school. They attend a small, private preK-12 that celebrates each student’s differences. Our students are encouraged to actively engage their teachers, to challenge and to back up their positions. “Teaching to the test” does not exist. Students are engaged in the community and with faculty and one another both inside and outside the classroom.
Dartmouth was like that but magnified 1,000 times over. A school that wants individuality and questioning and applauds the student that looks around and says “How can I make a difference?” wants to see YOU. Not you and your accolades of perfect grades or test scores but what makes you stand out, your passions. The problem with providing coaching is that you have then stifled the writer’s natural voice. Instead of telling that fabulous story about you and a bowl of Froot Loops the writer is forced to write about your hard work at the Soup Kitchen. Your work at the Soup Kitchen is admirable but quite frankly I’d much rather hear about you and that bowl of Froot Loops. Anyone can be that hard worker at the Soup Kitchen just substitute a different name but the Froot Loops story is all your own.
My daughter’s peer recommendation included my daughter’s religious beliefs, theatre and riding camels and herding goats in a Central Asian country among other things woven into the narrative. Dartmouth can see on your application what your grades are, your test scores and what clubs you participate in. They need someone to show them what is unique about YOU. Your application will be one of tens of thousands. This is the opportunity to make certain that you are memorable. You want your reader to set aside your application with the thought that smithemi97 is what we need more of here. I can’t wait to hear more about them!
@saffysmum wow, thanks! Very comprehensive, haha. Also, @AboutTheSame thanks for always having input for the Dartmouth threads!
Unless these are shared experiences between your D and the peer recommender, perhaps the peer imho is not the best person to write about this, she is merely telling more than showing who your daughter actually is. The peer recommendation should have a few anecdotals about them in the telling of who your daughter is.
@sybbie719 Was your comment meant for me or as advice for @smithemi97 ? If it was meant for me then I will draw your attention to my first post where I said Dartmouth accepted my daughter and she is a member of the Class of 2019. She will be starting classes on Wednesday. Her recommendation letter was as unique as she is. Simply because I didn’t list each and every item that was included in her peer recommendation does not mean that we made a poor choice in the selection of writer nor that they didn’t share any of the experiences that were explored. Her letter spoke volumes as to who she is.
I decided, based upon our experience of being in this position last year, to offer my opinion to smithemi97 on what was successful for us. I chose to focus and go beyond the typical advice of “find a good friend”, “get someone who has known you a long time” neither of which is particularly helpful to a student who has a sense of urgency on how to make themselves stand out from 20,000 applicants all vying for 1,000 places. Dartmouth chooses to define peer as anyone who is not in a supervisory role of the applicant. That opens the possibilities up exponentially as to who can be used to write the recommendation: sibling, co-worker etc.This is a chance to showcase the applicant’s individualism which I feel is better served by not offering up the same platitudes of how kind, generous, hard working etc the applicant is. The students at my daughter’s school have an entire semester class devoted to nothing more than writing college applications. Nothing is sent off without the college counselor, Academic Dean and Head of School first reading it and making suggested revisions. My daughter’s peer recommendation letter received no suggested revisions which says a great deal about the young woman who authored it.
I remember the urgency, the desperation, the looking for help anywhere and everywhere last year by my daughter for “inside” information. Your straight A grades, your perfect or near perfect test scores, your elected position into clubs does nothing to distinguish you. You know there are thousands of others that have the same qualifications.You want to know how did someone manage to secure that Golden Ticket. How did they against all odds manage it ? My advice was based upon this.
I totally get what you are saying (I too have a kid that attended and graduated from Dartmouth).
You are absolutely right; you will have sat scores, transcripts and teacher recs that will talk to what you can do. My point is not to simply get a person to tell about who you are but in their own words show who you are, what makes you unique and what makes you a good fit.
I just doublechecked with my son, who’s a '19, because I didn’t recall him getting a peer recommendation last year. I was right, he didn’t! So not to discourage anyone from getting a peer recommendation–in fact it sounds like an excellent idea to go that route–I’m just saying that when they say it’s recommended but not required, they apparently mean it.