Regarding Recommendations

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Applying from Canada, from a crappy public school in the middle of nowhere, my teachers haven't written a letter of recommendation for a school in their lives. I've read my Counselour and teacher recs, and I think they were good, but I really have no idea how they should be.</p>

<p>How long are recommendations usually? How personal is the counselour rec? My counselour really doesn't know me well, and her rec was just a laundry list of things and qualities that my teachers told her about.
My 2 teacher recs are significantly longer, and very personal. (I picked my 2 favorite teachers, who know me very well)</p>

<p>Thanks for enlightening me</p>

2

<p>As for the counselor rec, it can range from vague (for those public schools where there is one counselor to like 500 students) to very personal (i.e. a private boarding school where you meet with the counselor a few times each semester). There is no rule as to how long a letter is and should be...several pages can be very excessive though. Your teacher recs sound good so that should be fine. The admission officers will figure out your circumstances from your app and won't view you negatively if your counselor rec is like crappy and a paragraph long.</p>