<p>I've heard the same thing about waiving the right to see the rec....it's best to waive. For son, it wasn't too hard to select the two recommending teachers because the report cards are narrative.....so he had a good idea of what his teachers thought of him beyond the grade itself. I can't imagine being a student with no relationship with any of my teachers and asking for a rec. </p>
<p>Son received an outside rec that was signed across the flap when given to him. He was told by his GC to give it to her, she was to open it and decide whether it was of value to an adcom. Before seeing it, she indicated that if it was too generic (no specific details) she might not use it because it wouldn't add anything. Luckily, her feedback to son was that it was extremely specific and even recalled a specific situation and the recommender's reaction to son's managemnt of the situation - internship related. She stated that, in order to draw attention to the rec, she would extract an attention grabbing quote from the additional rec and insert it into her own rec, then refer the reader to the additional rec for more info. So, though he never saw the rec, he knows it was good and will be used. </p>
<p>It's interesting that Carolyn noted that the teacher had been to workshops on writing recs. Again, this goes back to the fact that the effort the HS puts into the college app process is critical to positive results for the student. As college admission becomes more and more competitive, so should the high schools sending the recs.</p>
<p>Original
I really like the policy that your GC uses. My S only saw the essay part of his math's teacher's recom, because he asked for help with spelling and editting. He was the only one to ask Econ teacher, because he studied with him at HS then at CC. No idea what anyone said, but would have been nice to let GC suggest the best 2:3.</p>
<p>In all three cases so far the teacher has given a copy of the letter to my son for his review in case factual errors were made. In two of the cases, the teachers had noted some activities that my son no longer participated in. Who knows what the final letter really looks like, although I would assume that it would be like the one we've seen, only corrected factually.</p>
<p>D's school mandates that students waive their rights to see any recs. You have to hand in the addressed envelope and a waiver form to the teacher for each rec you are requesting.</p>
<p>another thought...
My son asked several more teachers for recommendations than required. He was applying to several different schools, and felt particular teachers would be better for particular schools. He checked the box, so they remained confidential. While he did not know what they said, he felt, for instance, that his math/science teachers should be included for the more tech. schools, but at least one humanities teacher recommendation should be included in the LAC type schools. As a result, the GC had many letters in his file, and actually picked out the best ones, unless we specifically asked him to include a particular letter for a particular school. This only makes sense if the letters are generic (and not written to a particular school).</p>
<p>I have a question.... I was recently notified that I got a full-tuition scholarship at one of the schools that I applied to. However, I'm still applying to several other schools. I told my teacher about the good news today, but now my dad is mad because he thinks that the teacher would be fed up with having to write so many rec letters when I've already been accepted to one school. The thing is, that school was on the bottom of my list, so I still want some scholarships from the schools that I actually like. Will my English teacher (who really likes me) be annoyed at having to write to many new recommendations? (I really don't want to be so much of a bother, but he is one of the people who know me best AND knows how to write very well, so I still want him to write the rest of my letters.) Please help! Thanks!</p>
<p>Because the rec forms need to be filled, and not all rec forms ask the same questions or in the same order. But the narrative part can be re-used, certainly.</p>
<p>But back to the original question...lol...will he mind writing them? He's been really busy lately, and I'm sure that he has tons of recommendation letters for other students to do.</p>
<p>I'm sure your teacher realizes that you want to keep your options open and that, although you have secured a full-ride at one college, it may not be the college you end up going to. He has nearly two months to write recs for you, so that should be okay.</p>
<p>It doesn't sound like he needs to write more than one rec letter for you....as Marite explains, the narratives are the same. Does your school use the standard rec forms from the college or their own? If they use their own, they don't even have to fill in more than one rec for ALL of your applications....just make copies. Even if they don't have their own rec form and use the college's form, the narrative doesn't need rewriting (copy and paste).</p>
<p>gf, I've never heard that a teacher will mind recommending you for more than one school....and I don't think there's anything to worry about anyway because you only need one narrative.</p>
<p>One of D's recommenders told her that she certainly hopes D gets into her ED choice so she wouldn't have to fill out any more recs, but she was totally kidding. I think teachers assume that they'll have to fill out a whole bunch for each student.</p>
<p>In our school, teachers ask that all requests for recs be submitted before Thanksgiving. They'd be very irked if on Dec. 15 or even later, they were suddenly asked by students to write 8-10 recs because the students did not get into their ED/EA school!</p>
<p>Our school does the following. Student's waive the right to see the teacher rec letters that are sent to their GC files. These are accompanied with the CommonApp Teacher evaluation form. Then the GC recommends to the student which ones to send out with each application. The college receives Xerox copies of these materials along with the transcript, GC letter and evaluation, school profile, an explaination of the class ranking/grade weighting used in the district and an 3 year summary of AP test results.</p>
<p>The typical turnaround time for the GO was typically one or two days after reciept of the student application. Materials for scholarship app was a bit longer because they did not have top priority.</p>
<p>Does your school use the CommonApp Teacher evaluation form for all applications? My S is applying to several colleges, only two of which use the Common App.</p>
<p>Typically no matter how many schools a student requires to, a teacher only has to do one recommendation letter. Usually scholarship committees and colleges will happily take a letter instead of the check-off recommendation forms. They also fully understand if the letter is written in "to whom it may concern" format.
I have been on national scholarship committees. A well written recommendation letter that gives specifics about a student from the recommender's perspective (i.e. doesn't just rehash the student's resume) is far more valueable than any check-off form.</p>
<p>It is not a big deal for a recommender to send additional recommendations even if a student has gotten a merit scholarship to the first place they applied. Most teachers who write recommendations have the good sense to keep a copy on their computer so that all that needs to be done is to print out more copies. I also have had to write recommendations for students and that's how I handled things.</p>
<p>As always is the case, however, it's wise and considerate to give teachers decent notice before asking for additional recommendations. During exam period, for instance, it can be hard for teachers to find the time to print out extra copies of a previously written recommendation. Be considerate.</p>
<p>It's also considerate to tell teachers immediately when you get scholarships, admissions from an institution that the teachers wrote you a recommendation for. Even if you will be applying to more places, it is a considerate thing to do. I used to be hurt when I'd hear about students' successes secondhand and weeks later after I had taken lots of time and thought writing them recommendation letters.Doing that is the kind of thing that would discourage teachers from going out of their way to give a student additional help. Not too many people are inspired to help people who seem ungrateful.</p>
<p>Matite-in almost all cases our students are able to submit the Teacher recommendation form from the Common Application. For instance I know that Both Columbia and Brown accept this from our HS. There are a few exceptions, mostly religiously affiliated colleges and a few public universities that a lot of our students apply to. If there is any question either the GC or preferrably the student will call the Admissions Office for confirmation. The GC also attaches a note explaining our district's practice, explaining why and including GO contact info in the event of questions.</p>
<p>Momsdream, the Guidance Office handles all paperwork associated with teacher recommendations/forms for the students. All the student does is submit a form for each application with the College name, address, fax/phone number and check boxes for each item required by the college. The student checks which boxes he/she is submiting and the items the GO needs to submit. The GO dates each completed box when it sends its info out so the student can check its status. It all very simple and efficient.</p>
<p>A friend told me a story about having his son go to see his file at an elite university where he was first wl'd, and later accepted (against high odds). What he found was a teachers recommendation that had a large X drawn through it, and which was a tepid recommendation, much to his surprise since the teacher had suggested to the student that the teacher do the rec.</p>
<p>It also explained why the regional adcom responded to the why-was-I- deferred call with "it might be useful to have more recommendations". Some teachers see themselves as truly informing a school about the students weaknesses. Most don't. IF your teacher does that, you are likely DOA. This student was colossally fortunate that the regional adcom liked him.</p>
<p>BTW, on the waivers, I have a feeling that they are not operative legally. I suspect that one of the reasons that not every school provides for it is that their counsel has informed them that their opinion is that the right cannot be waived, and that creating the impression that it is would create more problems. Obviously the schools differ on this, but that's my speculative theory.</p>