<p>My high school has poor counseling. Its teachers don't know to use school forms, and they also don't really know to write proper recommendations.. So I am planning to write it on my own..</p>
<p>I had applied williams last year also, but then I was rejected. Last year my recco was written by my teachers. So I just wanted to know two things:</p>
<ol>
<li>Will college find out whether the recco is written by the student or teacher?</li>
<li>Does college have the record of its applicants of previous year?</li>
</ol>
<p>I am very afraidto write recco on my own..BUt i am compelled to do so because i dont want to send the recco full of grammatical errors and faulty parallelism. </p>
<p>I would love to hear advice from all of you.</p>
<p>In my opinion: If you get a mediocre recommendation from your counselor, you may get rejected. If you misprepresent yourself (lie) and you get caught, you will be rejected.</p>
<p>You see, there are lots of international kids who get in regardless of the quality of their teachers’ recommendations – it isn’t about grammatical errors but about what they say about you (i.e content). Colleges are aware that international teachers lack the background in English that American ones have so they weigh in those recommendations accordingly.</p>
<p>Also, you make it sound as if you were denied admission because of your teachers. Shame, shame, shame. You can (not saying ‘should’ – I do not know how principled you are ) write your recommendations yourself but if that doesn’t yield a favorable outcome this year too I hope you will understand that college admissions isn’t about one weak part or the other. Remember, you are evaluated holistically. So the admission decision, whether favorable or not, is also dependent on the holistic part. </p>
<p>As for your second question, some colleges do in fact keep past year applications for a certain number of years (you know, to ease the process of transferring for some kids who would want to attend that school later). I am not sure about Williams but you should ask them. I don’t think I can give you a concrete answer on the first but I think it is going to depend on the readers’ ability to gauge whether or not the reco was written by a teacher (they probably can because they read thousands of applications).</p>
<p>But I am not trying to blame my teachers for being rejected last year…I am just trying to make everything proper, and its ONLY A PLAN to write reccos on my own… I wanted to know whether such acts would be fruitful or not… Anyway, Thanks for the information</p>
<p>Please do not try to gain admission deceptively. You may not get in so definitely have a plan B. Nothing gained dishonestly will be positive for you. Very few students get in that apply to Williams because it is such a small highly selective school. But there are other very good schools around the country.</p>
<p>This process can drive us all crazy; there is so much we can’t control. I know you are hurt and upset by the results of your first application, but you know in your heart that you should not fake your teacher recommendation or you wouldnt have asked. </p>
<p>Faking your teacher recommendation is wrong. It is intellectually dishonest (exactly the kind of student Williams doesnt want.) It is plagiarism. If it ever came to light you would be kicked out of Williams and/or have your diploma revoked. A beloved MIT admissions director lost her job when it came to light, years later, that she had lied on her resume for her initial entry-level job there. It is also forgery and illegal. It may be mail fraud as well. It is also perjury. You sign a statement that everything on your application is honest, true and above board. Lastly, the chances of getting caught are high. If the letter looks or sounds even slightly like it didnt come from your teacher, Williams will toss you in the reject pile without a second thought.</p>
<p>**
What you CAN do. . .**
. . . is meet with your teacher and your guidance counselor. Talk to them about why Williams is your dream school, explain the forms and what Williams and other top LACs are looking for in a recommendation. Dont tell them what to write (teachers hate that) but do give them a copy of your resume and remind them what you loved most about your high school experience, about the teachers class in particular, and about what you were most proud of in your time with them. Tell them what youve been doing and plan to do during your current gap year. Tell them your dreams and enlist their help. </p>
<p>Trust your passion for Williams to come through in your second application but just in case start researching other awesome schools (reach, match and safety) that you can also love. They are out there. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I’m going to go with MomofWilliams on this one. That really isn’t the way to go about things; speak to your teachers about your concerns, don’t take matters into your own hands. How would you feel if, last year when you were rejected, the spot that would have been given to you was instead given to a student who constructed his or her own recommendation? Not too great, I assume.</p>
<p>Besides, the costs of doing so far outweigh the benefits. You sign the Common App, stating that all of the things you have written are true; if it’s found out that you wrote your own recommendation, you’ll have more to worry about than getting rejected from just one school. </p>
<p>I would recommend looking at other schools that interest you; perhaps another liberal arts school in the same area, if the geography appeals to you.</p>
<p>Oops – misspoke above; one thing it is not is plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas as yours. This is the opposite – presenting your ideas as someone else’s.</p>
) write your recommendations yourself but if that doesn’t yield a favorable outcome this year too I hope you will understand that college admissions isn’t about one weak part or the other. Remember, you are evaluated holistically. So the admission decision, whether favorable or not, is also dependent on the holistic part. </p>