<p>Dartmouth is the one Ivy Leauge school <em>notorious</em> for requiring a peer evaluation - so how should a friend go about writing one? What is the ideal format, what topics should you include, how long should it be, and how can you really make your friend stand out?</p>
<p>Darmouth applicants - how would you want your friend to go about writing your recommendation? What would you want them to include?</p>
<p>Any advice, tips or comments are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>The person who wrote mine made it feel very personal, he included stories from school and even talked about our days in middle school. I'm not sure how far you go back with the person you are writing it for, but it seems like you know the person better if you talk about the past. He highlighted some of the better parts of my application without just listing them and added a personal touch. Include some details that help bring the person "alive" to the admissions officers. They already know your friend's stats, so work on describing the person more in depth.</p>
<p>Don't get too stressed out.</p>
<p>Every person I've talked to has said that the actual skill of the writing has no bearing on how they consider it. Just get them to tell a couple of nice anecdotes.</p>
<p>I read mine, I admit. I wouldn't dream of changing it or asking someone else to do it instead, but I was kind of apprehensive about it. It was only a half page long, and I suppose I was just being overly paranoid. My friend said really nice things about me, and it's definitely tactfully unexaggerated, and he even told a nice anecdote, but I guess I jinxed my expectations when I started wondering what I would write if I had to write one about myself.</p>
<p>I still feel confident about it, however.</p>
<p>My original peer evaluation was written by someone who makes Hemingway sound verbose. My GC told me to get another one from someone who writes more than seven word sentences. So I ended up with two peer evaluations. Random story</p>
<p>I'm starting to worry that I should have been more concerned with the writing quality of the PE.</p>
<p>Yeah, except I told you 3 posts ago that it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>Every person from Dartmouth has said that they're just looking for a different perspective.</p>
<p>Gawd.</p>
<p>Don't be a jerk about it, Ghaleon. We've all heard that the quality doesn't matter; a badly written rec. will not hurt us. That doesn't mean that a well written rec. won't help those of us who aren't exactly golden-applicant material.</p>
<p>I think writing style is important...my friend wrote one for me and I cried after reading it! If you can emotionally move or touch the adcom, it's all good.</p>
<p>No, I asked directly if a better written one gives an advantage over a poorly written one. She said no. The revelations not given in your teacher recommendations were what gave advantages.</p>
<p>I asked if a tilt from writing quality would ever happen. She said only if they absolutely, 100% tied.</p>
<p>Well, let's just think about this logically here.</p>
<p>What is the point of good writing? To communicate a certain message more effectively. When you say "John is a curious, passionate writer" vs. "Never have I encountered a more curious, more passionate writer than John in my entire teaching career," perhaps you are trying to say the same thing, but they come across differently. Which student would you take? Perhaps one sentence is minor, but if a whole rec. were written like that, I'd certainly take the better-written one. After all, the revelations in that one are more exciting, more believable than a bland laundry-list of accomplishments.</p>
<p>Of course when you factor in the fact that peer recommendations make little impact by themselves, it's true, your friend's good writing has very little clout. After all, they're deciding whether or not to admit you, not the friend. The admissions counselor was probably trying to reassure you that she doesn't expect your friend's writing to be on the level of a guidance counselor's or a teacher's. She just wants it to be honest. And isn't that, after all, the essence of good writing style anyway?</p>
<p>interesting points of view. whilst honesty and <em>freshness</em> probably are the most important factor, i do feel that quality of the writing can influence the adcom. at best, it will make statements about the friend seem more plausible, and at the very least it will make their reading job easier. :)</p>
<p>would you or did you include a little paragraph about your relationship with the applicant? eg. "Sarah is my good friend, and she has always been loyal and has never let me down."</p>
<p>Yes, I would include a couple sentences describing your relationship first. Just include how you met, how long you've known each other, and how you interact now. It can even be incorporated into the recommendation (ex. "When Sarah first dumped red acrylic paint on me in the first grade, I never would have imagined that the scrappy, energetic, mischief-maker and I would become best friends.")</p>
<p>I don't know about the "never let me down" part... it sounds a little teen-bopper to me. Save those for later in the recommendation, and give specifics!</p>
<p>When you say "John is a curious, passionate writer" vs. "Never have I encountered a more curious, more passionate writer than John in my entire teaching career," perhaps you are trying to say the same thing, but they come across differently.</p>
<p>While sentence number 2 on the surface may seem like the better sentence, it everthing else the adcom reads doesn't live up to the second sentence then the recommendation as a whole loses credibility.</p>
<p>As stated the adcoms are not going to view the writings of a 16/17 year old in the same light as a teacher or guidance counselor. </p>
<p>I think that they are looking for consistency, and how you are as a person. At this level every teacher is going to write that you are a stellar student but they want to see another side of you. While your teacher may see you one way in class, your friends see you as you let your hair down. If your teacher believes that you are conscientious and always willing to lend a hand to help someone out and your peers feel the same way about you or say something like </p>
<p>"the one thing that I really love about Jane is while she may be one of the smartest people I know, she does not flaunt it. I am always happy to see Jane because she is always going to have a kind word, or says something that will make me laugh, and people love to see Jane coming we feel good by just having her around". </p>
<p>it will add consitency to your character.</p>
<p>I think that they are looking for consistency, and how you are as a person. At this level every teacher is going to write that you are a stellar student but they want to see another side of you. While your teacher may see you one way in class, your friends see you as you let your hair down. If your teacher believes that you are conscientious and always willing to lend a hand to help someone out and your peers feel the same way about you or say something like </p>
<p>it will add consitency to your character."</p>
<p>EXACTLY.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Don't stress out about the peer evaluation. In the book A is for Admissions a former Dartmouth adcom says it almost has no bearing and only in 1 case in 3 years did it actually affect a person's decision. In that one case the person's "friend" said how much of a cheater the person was which resulted in the person being denied admission.</p>
<p>my friend said he called me a dawwwwwwwg and homey and some out rages terms only he could understand. but it's already in the post office now :( nothing i could do.
he also said i resembled a negative figure of william hung at school :(
i guess i am not getting in!</p>