<p>hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm using the common app, and my teacher just filled out the teacher rec today... the rec itself is great, but the part where he actually has to write txt is a little short... he basically wrote one passage about academics and one about personal qualities... the whole essay takes up about 10 lines... is that too short? how long were ur teacher recs???</p>
<p>Um, can't answer that but can I ask if teacher recs have to be hand-written or are they done online?</p>
<p>The content is more important than the length.</p>
<p>BTW, most people never see their teacher recommendations.</p>
<p>well... of course thats always true... but for instance, how long was ur teacher rec??? I always kinda thought that a rec would be about at least a page... so thats y I'm kinda confused now</p>
<p>I never saw my teacher reccs.I do know, however, that I got into Harvard even though one teacher gave me a negative recc. Despite my doing well in her class and on the SAT IIs related to the class and despite her agreeing to do the recc, she told Harvard that I wasn't Harvard material. </p>
<p>She let me know this after I was accepted! BTW, I majored in her subject and graduated with honors. I also focused my interview on research that I had done for her class-- research in which I went far above and beyond what was required, traveling out of town to do the research. Years later, I was named a "distinguished alum" of my h.s. due to achievements I made after college graduation. Too bad the teacher probably was dead when that happened, but I digress....</p>
<p>Anyway, if you want a good recc, it can help to give teachers a memo reminding them of outstanding things that you did in their classes and even attaching copies of excellent papers or tests that you did. Unless your teacher is like mine (who apparently had an ax to grind because I was liberal, she was conservative), s/he will appreciate the reminders because it will help your teacher write a more specific recommendation. This is what people usually do when getting recommendations for business situations and graduat school. Savvy students also do this for college reccs.</p>
<p>um... I'm quite shocked about ur teacher... sry to hear that... maybe she was mad becos she never made it to an ivy??? anyways u gotta be a genius if u made it with a bad rec...</p>
<p>well here's my situation: my teacher filled out the teacher rec with me today, in school... it took about an hour, and its very positive, like "best few ever encountered in my career" but the txt is REALLY short, like 10 lines short... he only talked about academics and personal characteristics... but on the other hand, u dont need every teacher to talk about the same stuff, do u? if my gc talks about my ecs, that should do as well, shouldnt it?</p>
<p>I would figure it would do well, I mean it is more about the quality that quantity, hmmm though let me see if I remember, my math teacher's had been about three paragraphs but that's because he wrote a whole paragraph on AP Chem [random story] and my Spanish teacher's was about the same at three paragraphs or so, and with the school's header it was practically the page, though I don't think you should worry about it.</p>
<p>puh... now I'm relieved... btw... did u get in??? I'm pretty sure that my gc and other teacher will write more... like maybe a page... wut did ur math teacher write about, besides ap chem, ^^...?</p>
<p>I'm gonna play devil's advocate here. Doesn't a short rec mean that the teacher doesn't have much to say about you? I mean, a short but good rec is nice and all, but it doesn't seem like they can say that much about you in that amount of space besides "He's smart, works hard, good kid."</p>
<p>Well since math is the only true talent I have, he basically focused on how it comes naturally to me, and how I appreciate the challenge of his class, and that I'm willing to help others in the class and that I'm not grade conscious.</p>
<p>oh really... so it was actually pretty specific? well my teacher just kinda talked about random skillz like how I do in class, how well I analyze and stuff like that...
did ur teacher give a "top few ever encountered" rating? is that actually common or do most teachers just settle with oustanding?</p>
<p>ummm, from what I can remember both my teachers checked down the list of top few I encountered.</p>
<p>hm... its probably pretty common... wut a pity, I thought it was special, ^^... oh wut the heck..</p>
<p>It's probably only from the exclusive private schools where students get recommendations that are a page long. At public schools and many less exclusive private schools, due to teacher workloads, they don't have the time to write that much. Places like Harvard know about these differences, and take those differences into consideration when reviewing recommendations. One isn't penalized for going to a school where the teacher basically just has time to handwrite 10 sentences, not type a full page.</p>
<p>I have been on national and statewide scholarship committees, so have had the opportunity to see teacher recommendations and to see the differences. </p>
<p>If you want the best recommendation possible, it's vital to give the recommender the kind of memo and attachments that I suggested earlier. It is very time consuming -- an hour or more -- to write a recommendation that provides specific information about a student. Teachers may also have to write recommendations for as many as 50 students a year. Consequently, the more help you give, the better your recommendations are likely to be.</p>
<p>very good points... I'll make a portfolio for my teachers, with everything in it...</p>