<p>Could someone explain to me what exactly this means/is used in the college app process. I'm currently filling out an app and there is a section about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, asking me to check whether I want to waive or not waive "any right of access that I may have to this recommendation form". </p>
<p>What's the point of waiving? Or not waiving? Will either impact the admissions decision? Do most people waive the right?</p>
<p>At my school, the counselors advise us to waive our rights. Their reasoning is that an application carries more weight if the only people to ever see it are the counselor and the admissions officers reading your application. If you waive your rights, you can't go into your file once you enroll at a school and look at what your counselor/teacher wrote about you.</p>
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At my school, the counselors advise us to waive our rights. Their reasoning is that an application carries more weight if the only people to ever see it are the counselor and the admissions officers reading your application. If you waive your rights, you can't go into your file once you enroll at a school and look at what your counselor/teacher wrote about you.
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<p>they told you that because they don't want you to see the horrible things they wrote about you</p>
<p>Nah, don't think so, because they told the ENTIRE SENIOR CLASS that and I highly doubt they look down on all of us THAT much.</p>
<p>that's part of their plan and you're just giving in.. fight the power</p>
<p>I actually don't want to know.</p>
<p>First of all, it's assumed that most students pick teachers that are going to write them good recommendations. I mean, who picks someone who's going to say crappy things about them? The only people who would actually feel the need to look at teacher recommendations after the fact are people who need an ego boost.</p>
<p>And as for counselors, their recommendations are more fact based. I mean, half of a counselor recommendation concerns your course load, which you would know.</p>
<p>I'm not necessarily advising the OP to waive his rights, I'm just saying what we're advised to do at my school. But if you only would look at the recommendations sent to the school you got into, wouldn't it be safe to assume that decent things are in there?</p>
<p>Thanks, srgirl6--you're definitely right about the app carrying more weight if fewer people see it.</p>
<p>Of course, if the teacher or counselor lets you see it beforehand, then you can waive it and enjoy the best of both worlds.</p>
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First of all, it's assumed that most students pick teachers that are going to write them good recommendations. I mean, who picks someone who's going to say crappy things about them?
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Sadly, this happens a lot more often than you'd think. Many HS kids are too intimidated to ask a teacher whether they'd be willing to write a STRONG rec for them; instead its just "Ms. Smith, can you write a rec for me?". The problem is that just because you got a good grade or positive comments on essays, it doesn't mean the teacher thinks highly of you. I know someone who was on the alumni scholarship committee for a well-known U and they regularly received letters of "rec" for the full-tuition scholarship that raked the kid over the coals. </p>
<p>In the book "The Gatekeepers" in which a reporter for the NY Times followed the admissions committee at Wesleyan (a top LAC) for a year is a real-world example of a bad rec.
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There were times, I must admit,that I thought Tiffany might have taken a stronger interest in mastering the material in our course. When I saw that Tiffany was a National Merit Semi-Finalist I was a bit surprised. While clearly bright and competent, I had seen in Tiffany neither an exceptional skill for testing nor a particular affinity for the subject.
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This could have been avoided if the teacher had been asked if they would write a strong rec. The student did not get in.</p>
<p>You should ask the teacher if they're willing to write a strong rec but you should still waive your right to see the rec. It is a red flag if a student does not waive that right.</p>
<p>It is nonsensical not to waive one's rights.</p>
<p>Especially, especially if the teacher lets you see it.</p>