Recommendations

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>I am applying to MIT from Germany and I have only little idea about the application process. In particular, I am unsure about the procedure for the recommendations. I guess I give my teachers the form and they are supposed to fill them out and send them in, right? Well, there is a line at the beginning of the form</p>

<p>"To the applicant:
Sign your name if you agree to voluntarily waive your right of access to review this recommendation."</p>

<p>OK, so they want to know if I reviewed it or not. My question is: does it matter? Is it better to sign?</p>

2

<p>Always sign it! What you're saying is that you have faith that your teachers will write good recommendations and you're not worried they might write something bad.</p>

3

<p>not true!
if you WAIVE YOUR RIGHT to see your recommendation- it means that you will never be able to see it or use it again. I know for sure I do not want to bother my high school teachers when i need a recommendation for scholarships or other programs early in my college career.</p>

<p>therefore if you dont waive it- its understood that you will only ask for it when you need it for academic purposes and not to just read it for the heck of it.</p>

<p>i've spoken with many admissions counselors on this topic, and they agree w/ me.</p>

4

<p>most ppl sign it.... it means tht the college will not give u accesss to it .....</p>

<p>However most teachers choose to send in a copy of reco to the students themselves.....</p>

5

<p>It doesnt mean whther u have reviewed it or not but means that u would never have rights to the reco if u waive ur rights</p>

6

<p>aw5k...I'd waive your right. I believe your teachers can still show it to you if they wish, and if you have a nice teacher they will be more than happy to write you additional recommendations. </p>

<p>Put yourself on the EAroster in the MIT forum!! =)</p>

7

<p>So if it is not in order to review it or not - why would MIT put this line in there? I mean what's the sense of it? </p>

<p>So most people agree I should sign and waive my right?</p>

8

<p>I think most recs have that line to sign. It's just saying that you have confidence that your teacher will write good things about you. If you demand to see your rec, your teacher might not write the best rec possible, and the adcoms might get suspicious.</p>