<p>I've heard again and again how grades and ECs and hooks are the key to success in a competitive admission pool. I've heard essays sometimes make a tie-breaker, etc. But I havent really heard much about the power that Teacher/counselor's recs have on admission decisions.</p>
<p>How important are techer/counselor recs in admission? Are they used just as a tie-breaker or do they have as much power as an outstanding EC/research?</p>
<p>They are among the most important part of the application. Scores and grades can all be the same numbers from thousands of applicants. It's only in the essays and in the rec letters that the candidates come alive for the ad committee. I am a teacher and many admissions officers have come to our school saying that our letters are maybe the most important part of the application. Maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but believe me, a school is very interested to hear what students' teachers have to say about them.</p>
<p>Wow. Hopefully you are right, because I really think that subjective evaluation matters as much (sometimes more than) as objective numbers and scores</p>
<p>not too much, because most everyone's teacher's recs are gonna say the same nice things, unless you know the teacher really well</p>
<p>I can easily see how a recommendation can say something bad about you that doesn't come through on the rest of your application, but I'm a little less certain of how that works with something good, especially since I suspect adcoms are deluged with recs saying that this student is one of the finest scholars we have ever seen at this high school.</p>
<p>A better approach would be to solicit a letter of rec not from some teacher whose class you aced, but one that you're relatively competent in and work hard to obtain that level of competency. This latter rec will actually serve you better than a meaningless glowing review.</p>
<p>That's the approach I took. The teacher even warned me that not everything will be glowing, but I told her that I wanted to get in on my own terms; if they don't know the real me, they shouldn't accept or reject me. </p>
<p>Luckily it's worked out so far, lol. 3/7 schools accepted. I know this streak can't last, as 2 of my reaches are still up in the air, but knowing that this letter may have helped me out is a great boost to my confidence.</p>
<p>They are very important. Once you reach a certain threshold, your scores and GPA will hardly matter anymore. What distinguishes your application from similar applications is your ECs, essays, and recommendations. Also, if you are applying to any BA/MD programs, a good teacher recommendation can go a long ways.</p>
<p>
[quote]
not too much, because most everyone's teacher's recs are gonna say the same nice things, unless you know the teacher really well
[/quote]
Not necessarily true. Teachers are very honest in their recommendations.</p>
<p>OP:
One other suggestion, make sure to waive your right to read the recommendation. When your teacher writes candidly about you, he or she will be better able to reveal who you truly are in that letter. You don't want the teacher to be worrying about whether or not you'll be upset or if you'll think the letter is not good enough. Let them relax and write what the really feel. (If you take this approach, make sure to ask teacher who KNOW you.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not necessarily true. Teachers are very honest in their recommendations.
[/quote]
but if you ask the teacher if they can write an excellent recommendation, why would they try to snub you?</p>
<p>And even if they write something negative about you, why would it be the end of the world? I think an honest recommendation that fully covers everything including some not-so-excellent parts is more valid and better than a recommendation that is clearly generic and template-ish but with higher checkmarks</p>
<p>
[quote]
but if you ask the teacher if they can write an excellent recommendation, why would they try to snub you?
[/quote]
You would be surprised. They won't "snub you," but they will just be honest. I'm guessing you have not applied to college yet? If so, on the teacher recommendation forms teachers are supposed to judge you on various criteria. They'll be asked to judge you on something like "leadership" with the following rankings, "below average, average, good, very good, excellent, outstanding, best in career." Just to let you know, teachers you think like you are not going to mark excellent, outstanding, and best in career unless they actually mean it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And even if they write something negative about you, why would it be the end of the world? I think an honest recommendation that fully covers everything including some not-so-excellent parts is more valid and better than a recommendation that is clearly generic and template-ish but with higher checkmarks
[/quote]
I'm not saying I disagree with this. In fact this is essentially what I said in my previous post.</p>
<p>i think that in general, if a teacher has something bad to say about you, they will advise you to ask another teacher for a recommendation. thats what happened to some people i know at least. they dont want to screw you over by being honest</p>
<p>wow...i always thought they were unimportant. fortunately i was able to get two absolutely AMAZING letters, one from my football coach highlighting my personality and the kind of person i am (personally i think thats more important) and one from my AP Physics teacher telling them what kind of student i am. Plus im sure my counselor wrote me a great one (i know her pretty well) but i haven't gotten the chance to read it. that makes me feel really good about my applications to my "reach" schools or whatever you call them.</p>