<p>Hi,</p>
<p>From previous posts, some people have been saying that their LOR are "amazing." Assuming these people are smart and waivered their right to see the LOR, how can a student convince their teacher to let them read the letter?</p>
<p>Please give advice because being able to read your LOR is a huge advantage; if its bad, ask another teacher.</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>well, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve read them. I haven’t read any of mine, but all three recs (teacher and counselor) were written by people I have known both personally and as teachers for a minimum of 3 years and I know that they have very high opinions of me and are very eloquent writers. Therefore, it’s a safe assumption for me to deem my LORs ‘amazing’ imho.</p>
<p>however, I know at my school, you’re allowed to ask the teacher who writes your rec to see it, and they have the choice to agree or not. It just depends on the teacher, honestly.</p>
<p>on a sort of unrelated note, you could skip the whole worrying/screening process by simply asking teachers you know will give very good recs.</p>
<p>wait why is it smart to waive your right ?</p>
<p>^^^it makes you look more genuine, teachers can give more honest feedback without worrying about what you think, etc.</p>
<p>My S’s LOR teachers just provided him with a copy. He didn’t solicit them. The one from the math teacher was expectedly awesome and the one from the English teacher was very good, in a totally different way.</p>
<p>so should i Solicit mine for a copy?</p>
<p>This topic has come up often here and there are threads on it. You can search on waiving recommendations or something similar and you will find it. The general consensus is that colleges do not take your recommendation seriously if you do not waive your right. </p>
<p>If the teacher is interested they will give it to you on their own. Asking for it may not be in good form.</p>
<p>I agree with what’s been said. Ask for LORs from teachers/coaches with whom you have good relationships and you trust to write something positive. Waiving your right to read the LORs demonstrate that you trust your recommenders and they actually mean what they’re writing. My teachers all volunteered the LOR they wrote for me- I didn’t ask at all.</p>
<p>^^^ really?</p>
<p>Hmmm… I think ill solicit mine for a copy. There are 5 teachers in the school in which I have a decent relationship with. All the other teachers I solicit the crap out of because they already hate me.</p>
<p>I never read my letters, but I was able to ask my GC to read them and tell me if there was anything bad in them. So I got a little paraphrasal. It was better than nothing.</p>
<p>When you ask for a rec, just state that you are looking for someone to write a great letter for you and if they are willing to do so. Give them room to politely decline so to avoid a bad/boring letter.</p>
<p>Um … well, the teacher may show you the letter even if you waive it lol … duh.</p>
<p>To avoid the awkwardness, I asked all my teachers if I should sign the waiver. Most of them said something along the lines of “go ahead” or “If you want” so I did. I’m sure that they would’ve said something if they wanted to show me in the multiple opportunities I gave them. </p>
<p>Why do you want to see them anyway? Seeing them won’t change anything much, will it? It might actually make you even more anxietous about the application process.</p>
<p>haha, i would actually love to read my letters. but, yeah, it probably would make me more anxious :</p>
<p>Don’t ask your teachers to read the LOR – if you’re that insecure about what they have to say, you probably shouldn’t ask them anyway. If they give it to you on their own accord, then lucky you, but definitely don’t ask for it. It might almost come off as rude. One of my teachers offered her letter to me, but I declined knowing it wouldn’t have made a difference whether I read it or not (not like she would have changed it).</p>
<p>Basically, you just need to be sure to ask a teacher that you have a good relationship with, because then you know they’ll write something positive.</p>
<p>At my school though, the teachers generally just give you a copy of the recommendation when they’re finished. One of my teachers even sent me a copy before she submitted it and asked me to read it over and suggest any changes that I wanted her to make on it.</p>
<p>My teachers came to me with copies and asked me to read them. It wasn’t really to give me an advantage. They just saw it as a way to thank me for the work I’d putinto their classes.</p>
<p>Hmm… My point is that if there are inconsistensies in LOR, I will simply have another teacher write one. I will plan on asking about 4 or 5 teachers for LOR but only use say… 2 of them depending on their quality.</p>
<p>I waived my right and never asked my teachers if I could see the recommendations but one of my teachers still gave me a copy of the letter she sent them. I know that both of my recs were excellent because I was accepted as a QB College Match finalist so they must have been good recs especially considering the rest of my application.</p>
<p>At my kids´ small school, it is unthinkable for teachers to show their recs to students. The GC reads them all and has said she will not let a bad one go through, but I think it is also policy to tell teachers not to share the recs with kids that sign the waivers (almost all). It would set a precedent, and some would wonder why one kid got to see his recommendation (that might be oustanding) while another one was not offered that possibility. I think the consistency is good and it makes teachers more comfortable and candid.</p>
<p>what if candid isn’t what Im looking for?</p>