Recommendations!! Help please!

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey guys! The applications will be out on august 1 and I'll be applying to Princeton SCEA IA. However, I have a few questions to ask. </p>

<p>I have been playing table tennis since childhood and am registered with my country's table tennis federation. I am ranked at No. 14 for U19s and have won several national competitions. However, I am not sure if our TTF provides any sort of acknowledgment for it. The rankings are not released on the Internet. So I'm not sure how to include my extra-curriculars regarding my achievements in table tennis in my application. Should I just mention it on my app and tell my GC and teachers to include it in their recommendation letters? Or should I ask my coach or chairman of our TTF to write an additional recommendation letter verifying my achievements (I've met the chairman several times and he knows me personally). I am facing a dilemma atm. While the additional letter will verify my involvement in table tennis 'officially' and will save the admissions office the headache of calling my school etc. to confirm the extracurriculars, it might increase the workload of the ad officers as the website states 'Please don't send in extra materials if you think they won't significantly add to your chances of admission'. So should I get an additional recommendation letter written or should I just go by the conventional practice of having my GC and teachers mention it in their recommendation letters? P.s what is the primary purpose of recommendations? Is it to verify your e-curriculars or just to have an insight of what people around you think about you?</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a bunch for taking time out to read everything! And I'm sorry if the question is stupid or the post is very long </p>

2

<p>I think you just self report your table tennis accomplishments. It would also be a good idea if the GC talks about it, not the teacher, though.</p>

<p>Here is some borrowed info:
Letters of recommendation are important to admissions officers because they provide contextual interpretation of your academic performance. Writers share critical insight into your work habits and learning style as well as your ability to respond to challenges and setbacks. They can help explain irregularities in your academic program and/or performance and shed light into key factors that define your learning environment.</p>

<p>In addition, the letter might reflect your character in general.</p>

3

<p>Although for MIT, the information is applicable for your case as well</p>

<p>[Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</p>

4

<p>The Princeton table tennis club should be able to provide you guidance on your application, as they’ve done with other applicants in the past.</p>

<p>PS:
If you change your settings so I can send you email, we can discuss further.</p>

5

<p>Who knew table tennis could be such a big thing? see who’s at Princeton
[Princeton</a> University Table Tennis Club](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/~puttc/]Princeton”>Princeton University Table Tennis Club)</p>