Three weeks back, I asked two of my teachers to give me an excellent recommendations for the college application. Today, one of the teacher handed me the recommendation along with the academic resume (which I had given to him). The recommendation is on letter size white paper, not official school letter head, not in a sealed envelop.
My questions are:
- I have read the recommendation, but would like to know where it stands on the excellent-Great-Good-bad chart. How can I find that out?
- Is it the right way to write a recommendation? I was under the impression that it should be in a sealed envelop.
Should I ask him to write again and send it to the colleges directly?
I am in my junior year.
You should ask him to send his letter of recommendation through the common app (electronically). I am assuming that you are a junior- you can request your teacher rec writers starting in August when the common app opens for your application cycle.
If he really wants to send it through snail mail, he can.
There isn’t really a “chart” to compare it to. You also shouldn’t share this rec with anyone else.
When you use your common app, you will see that you can sign the FERPA waiver saying you qwaived your right to read the rec. If you don’t sign this, colleges will be suspicious of your LORs. Under FERPA, a teacher can allow you to read the rec but they don’t HAVE to.
ok…Thanks @yonceonhismouth! I will check with him about it. I will also check common app to have an idea.
Does it needs to be on an official letterhead?
I would recommend letterhead and the LOR should be sent by the faculty directly to the university (not now, around when you submit your app) or should be given to the college counselor at your school to be submitted along with other materials next year. If you must accept the letter now and hold onto it, you are also correct that it is better to have it in a sealed envelope with some sort of signature or stamp on the back to prove you haven’t opened the letter.
Thanks @iwannabe_Brown! I will inform he teachers about it. I guess, counselor keeping it with him looks like a great option.