<p>Does anyone here have teachers that let them read their recommendations? Or do you read them anyway?</p>
<p>Those recommendations typically are not very respected by adcoms.</p>
<p>Adcoms have no idea whether students have read their reccs.</p>
<p>If the application asks, you need to waive your right to read the recommendation letter. AdComs don’t look kindly on letters that were possibly read by the student.</p>
<p>I know for a fact, many teachers let their students read their letters of recommendation. When you “waive your right” it means that you cannot ask to see the letter (i.e., you don’t have that right). However, if the teacher offers for you to read it over, then that’s a gray area in my book.</p>
<p>Yeah. I thought there were two types of recs like Jason says. Am I wrong??</p>
<p>Waiving your rights only applies to requesting to see the recommendations at the university while you are attending, after you’ve been accepted</p>
<p>btw, how do you guys go about asking your teachers to see the rec anyway? to me, it seems like it would be an awkward and inappropriate thing to ask…</p>
<p>If your teacher offers, take him up on it. If not, don’t push it.</p>
<p>ah I wish my teacher would offer…</p>
<p>suck it up and hope for the best, i guess.</p>
<p>“to me, it seems like it would be an awkward and inappropriate thing to ask…”</p>
<p>You are right. A few teachers offer to show reccs. Most do not. Many would refuse to write a recc at all if one asked to see it.</p>
<p>Far better to ask a teacher if they would feel comfortable writing a recc for you, and then to remind them in writing of your accomplishments in their class and in activities that they advise. Also let them know what you wish to accomplish in college, where you’re applying and how you chose those colleges.</p>
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<p>This is great advice, and I have heard others say the same thing.</p>
<p>However, how exactly do I go about bringing these accomplishments/plans to light? “Here is my resume so you can write a better recommendation”? Because in their eyes, shouldn’t the recommendation be honest in the sense that they are only writing about what they know as candidly as possible? It just seems awkward to give them “material” for basing their words in the recommendation… Shouldn’t that have been accomplished during my relationship with them?</p>
<p>I definitely want to share/remind them of my plans and relevant accomplishments, but I don’t know how exactly to bring them up in a non-opportunist way.</p>
<p>Regardless of it being in “bad taste”, I think that it is in the student’s best interest to be able to see the recommendations. The application process is something that could potentially affect the rest of your life. If a teacher is going to hinder my chances, I’ll go elsewhere. Sure, you might say that this defeats the purpose of the recommendations, but I’m sure a lot of the teachers these days don’t really know what applicants are up against.</p>
<p>"However, how exactly do I go about bringing these accomplishments/plans to light? “Here is my resume so you can write a better recommendation”? :</p>
<p>They don’t need your resume. The teacher isn’t supposed to regurgitate what’s on your resume. The teacher is supposed to write about what the teacher personally has observed in your work and behavior. Consequently, providing the teacher with copies of excellent tests and reports that you’ve written for that teacher’s class, and also reminding the teacher about your accomplishments in activities that the teacher advises would be appropriate. Keep in mind that you’re much more likely to remember such details than is the teacher, who has hundreds of students.</p>