<p>I know this won't affect my application in any way, but I'm just curious as to what makes a stellar, glowing recommendation.</p>
<p>What are some key phrases or words, etc.?</p>
<p>Also, is it usual for a teacher to check off "one of the best in my career" for all of the boxes, or is it more usual for him/her to check that box off for just a few categories?</p>
<p>I'm not allowed to look at my recs, but, as I said, I am curious (and getting anxious as I await Dec 15)</p>
<p>hahah, a glowing recommendation, seemingly, would describe a student who has been singular in that teacher's career, and has had a significant impact on that teacher's life or teaching.</p>
<p>A recommendation doesn't have to be glowing to get a candidate into Harvard.</p>
<p>It's all part of the puzzle that's your case.</p>
<p>What about for the "one of the best in my career" boxes vs the "top 5%" boxes?</p>
<p>i got a lot of best checks i no. and from my math teacher he gave me all best checks so....hope it helps
although all of my checks were either 5% or best for the other app</p>
<p>The check boxes don't make a heck of a lot of difference, unless they're unusually low. What makes a recommendation great is anecdotal evidence illustrating whatever point the recommender is trying to make, plus a sense that the recommender actually knows the applicant pretty well.</p>
<p>95% of the recommendations that come in assert that the candidates are kind, trustworthy, smart, loyal, tolerant, and so on. Far fewer back those claims up by explaining exactly how these traits manifested themselves in this candidate. The ones that do are invaluable to a reader; the ones that don't are sort of like background noise -- they don't raise red flags, but they don't give you a reason to admit, either.</p>