<p>Are teachers to mail in the letters of recommendation or do I pick them up and put them in the mailbox myself?
What do I put as the return address, my high schools address or none at all?
If for my freshman, sophomore, and junior year I had a counselor who knows me well, but during my senior year, I have a different counselor, who do I ask to fill out the secondary school reports?
Must I mail in the letters of recommendation in 9X12 envelopes or are regular envelopes fine? I saw on Stanfords application they would like 9X12 envelopes. Also, for Stanford, should I print out the mailing labels they provide and tape them on to the envelope?
Is it better if I waive my right to read the letter of recommendation?</p>
<p>It depends on the practices of your high school -- talk to your GC and ask how they like to handle it.</p>
<p>Also, if colleges esp larger ones have specific application requirements or preferences, eg labels etc you should try to follow them as much as possible since it helps to speed up the process for them and makes it less likely that items received on a piecemeal basis get lost or misplaced at their end. It is generally standard and common courtesy for the student to provide stamped and addressed envelopes to school GC and teachers who may be doing hundred of these at some schools--but that would depend upon your school. I'd also say that typically colleges prefer that you waive your right to read the letter of recommendation since this is a better indication to them that they are getting a more honest and objective recommendation if it has not been read by the student in question.</p>
<p>If the college you're applying to allows for it, I recommend getting the rec yourself and mailing in a copy. This way you can bug your teachers less by having them do it just once and, importantly, it gives you a chance to review the rec. We ended up throwing one out that was written by a HS history teacher when we discovered his writing skills were at about the second grade level!</p>
<p>i am applying to uc berkeley; should i apply as a general major and then switch to business once im in or just apply as a business major.</p>
<p>-when must i send transcripts to UC's, at the end of the 1st semester?</p>
<p>-when do i send my sat and act scores if the uc deadline is nov. 30 and i am retaking the tests in december? </p>
<p>-does anyone know what bar code to affix on this form for university of souther california? and the form says teacher or counselor, which is better to pick? .</p>
<p>-also, if i am applying to stanford and columbia (as reaches of course), should i put my major to be undeclared or economics, since that is the closest thing to business? </p>
<p>-i am applying to these private universities: university of southern california, stanford, columbia, university of pennsylvania, and new york. the last post said i SHOULD read my letters of recommendation. for which of these private universities should i waive my right. also, since one letter might not be that great, how many letters of recommendation should i get, like backups? 2 or 3? i was thinking only 2 but maybe 3 letters of recommendation would be better (if i were to NOT waive my right to read them)</p>
<p>-thank you for all replies</p>
<p>here is the link to the USC form: <a href="http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/docs/admission/forms/Form5.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/docs/admission/forms/Form5.pdf</a></p>
<p>You should waive your right to see your letters and hope for the best IMO. Of course if a teacher offers to show you the recommendation you should look. When schools ask for two teachers that's all they want. If there is someone who knows you in another capacity (such as a job or nonschool volunteer activity) and can add positive information about you I think that would be fine. My understanding about Berkeley is that the business school is one of the impacted schools so you should try to get in now. If you wait it will be dependent on the grades you get at Berkeley and whether space opens up. However you should ask someone who knows more - it's one of the reasons we nixed Berkely as out of staters.</p>
<p>cindyay:</p>
<p>UCB's website indicates the deadlines. They'll want the final transcript after your senior year - not your 1st semester one. I believe the December SAT is the last one they'll accept.</p>
<p>Regarding teacher or counselor - I'd say pick whoever you think would give you the best rec which is usually whoever knows you best. At many public schools the counselors barely know the students but sometimes they do. </p>
<p>Check on the individual college's websites regarding whether the recs should be sealed. Also discuss it with your school counselor who may be able to answer some of these questions you've asked. </p>
<p>I don't know your stats but regardless, all of the colleges you listed are at the very top end so you should make sure you also apply to some match and safety colleges as well just to be safe.</p>
<p>I am, they are Cal Poly and UC Davis.</p>
<p>Return address should be the school address.</p>