<p>But if your teacher did show you your recommendation, and you are not satisfied with it, there's not much you can do, is there?</p>
<p>I waived my rights to see my recc's from both teachers... one because she specifically requires it (she's the kind of teacher who WOULD check the bad boxes if she thought you were second-rate) and the other because I figured he would want me to... But to my surprise, he showed me a glimpse of it afterwards, and it was really long (which was nice) and really cheesy (which was good/bad). </p>
<p>I almost preferred not to see it.</p>
<p>I really don't know exactly what adcoms want, but who does, really? But here's my bit of experience with this:</p>
<p>My school had me (and a bunch of other juniors) apply to this summer program, and we needed 2 letters of rec. from teachers. So, I asked my sophomore English teacher and my freshman World History teacher (who also runs an EC club I'm in). They let me read them (they couldn't really have stopped me, exactly, since they just printed it out and I handed it in to the counselors...) and my English teacher's was a LOT better than my history teacher's. Ms. History said great things about me, but Mr. English's was a lot longer, more detailed, personal, and well-written. So, even if I take Ms. History's AP World History class next year, I know who I'm going to ask to send in a college rec for me...</p>
<p>Two of the teachers I asked for recommendation letters actually immediately handed them to me to proof--one actually gave me a copy to keep. Both were teachers I had a very good relationship with, though.</p>
<p>88... the letter is the most important thing. It should be personal and with many examples. A teacher should not just say that you are responsible, they must say why they say it, talking about how you RESPONSIBLY did so and so. The writing should be like from a teacher talking to a teacher. It must be copy-paste mistake free. Many teachers have model reco letters and they sometimes send the same ones for different students applying to the SAME UNIVERSITY. The checkmarks must agree with the letter and not the other way around. The letter doesn't have to explain "why" each checkmark. A teacher that loves you should avoid putting all "like few seen in my career" or all "excellent" because it looks biased, even though they think they're doing you a favor. The Addcoms will simply say "ok, he loves this kid, we get the message" but that doesn't measure your quality, which is what they really want. Waive your right to see the letter, always. The trick lies in the choice of teacher. So, in the end, a GREAT reco letter is one that raves about you and is very personal and explanatory, showing that the teacher REALLY knows you, has plenty of PROOF to say what he says, and admires you so much as to not do a copy-paste reco, and instead, sit down and actually write one for you.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you feel the need to read the letters your teachers wrote about you (besides the fact that you're curious), you probably don't trust your teacher and shouldn't as him/her to write it anyway.</p>
<p>letters of recommendations in high school are jokes anyways</p>
<p>I'd rather get a recommendation that is honest than one that is clearly biased and happy... I think adcoms appreciate an honest recommendation</p>
<p>I have a question. </p>
<p>In one of my letters, my teacher did not address or sign the letter itself (she didn't include a "To Whom it May Concern", or Sincerely, Teacher X) nor did she sign the flap of the letter. When I asked her to sign it, she merely said: well the colleges know that signing the flap is the "teacher's preference". Is this a bad thing?</p>
<p>At DS1's high school, the recs the teachers write are sent to all schools on one's list. Wouldn't dream of asking for different letters for different schools. He also used the same teachers for all his apps. </p>
<p>His GC had wanted him to use a teacher (in one of his intended majors) who had given him a B in a very tough class. DS and the teacher didn't have much of a personal relationship; there was mutual respect, but not much chemistry. I think the GC wanted DS to get the rec form this particular teacher to "account for his B." DS's reaction: It was a great class, I learned a lot, I want XX to write my rec instead, and I am not going to apologize for a high B. He had two supp recs that more than covered his level of knowledge in the subject area.</p>
<p>I see lots of insecurity here about recommendations. The entire college app process involves throwing parts of your innermost self to the wolves of admissions officers -- there is no reason to be more worried about a teacher's rec than your essays. It won't be the first or last time someone says something good -- or bad -- behind your back. Choose wisely and let the process take its course.</p>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>Someone above said that the college counselor's letter doesn't carry as much salt as the other letters. I hope this isn't true because my counselor has taught me in two English classes and we've had a good rapport for years now. Does anyone know how much this recommendation counts in relation to the others?</p>
<p>i don't get this whole writing rec's thing...what's with the checkin boxes? and how do u know exactly what the teacher's gonna right? that it's not just gonna be some mediocre stuff like "oh she's a hardworker, very enthusiastic"???</p>
<p>someone please explain?</p>
<p>msa, what I've always been told is that while adcoms will read everything in your file, only include extra recommendations if you think they will each add a truly unique perspective. I would almost guarantee you that having 5 teacher recommendations in a packet that asked for one is overkill, and will not endear you to the adcom. Plus, the odds of one teacher saying something negative increases fivefold.</p>
<p>I saw mine because my teachers showed me..at my school most people apply instate and the letters of rec are electronic, so most teacher don't have any/much experience with mailing out letters and such..
But I waivied my right, saw them..and I'd say they are OK..while they are very flattering and all..they aren't VERY detailed, one is more than the other..but even then the only specific details are the ones I gave..dissapointing, but oh well.</p>
<p>I have to say that both of my recommendation letters were absolutely amazing. I had my Student Government advisor write one of mine, and he actually read it to the entire Student Government because I guess it meant so much to him and was proud of me? He cried while he read it... it made me cry also. I've known him for four years through SGA and I have done a lot of things in the school and community, and he made a lot of detailed anecdotes to the projects I've started, things I've done...he even described me as "dynamo". I was extremely flattered and sort of embarrassed when he read it to the class, but I'm very grateful and lucky to have a teacher like him who would write such a great letter.</p>
<p>My other letter was by one of the most notoriously eloquent English teachers at our school. She is practically a legend and there is actual competition between students to get to her first to write recommendations. She was very eloquent indeed but did a little bit of rehashing of my resume...but it was still very nicely written and a page long. I did a lot of peer-editing in her class and I also put in extra effort in entering essay contests and I ended up winning a few. Her class was probably my favorite last year, and it really did help me get a "5" on the AP Lang exam. The best thing about her letters was that she personalized each one with the university for which she was writing it. Before I got my recommendation, I gave her a list of all the colleges I was applying to and a paragraph or so on each one on the subject of why I wanted to go to that particular college. She somehow incorporated my reasons for applying into the letters and they really turned out terrific...I could tell she spent a lot of time crafting them, and I'm really grateful.</p>
<p>I think my best advice is to start thinking about rec letters far before you ask for them. You should do things in class that stand out...give the teachers something fabulous to write about! I think my SGA advisor put it best: after reading my recommendation to SGA, he said "Now I hope I will be able to say equally great things about all of you underclassmen by the time you are seniors." What he meant was: I hope the rest of you go out there and do things so I won't run out of things to say about you. If you do this, you shouldn't have to worry come senior year about "who to ask" for teacher recommendations; it should be a no-brainer. Do what you love, do things that stand out, and things will fall into place.</p>
<p>My private school has everyone waive their rights. My GC thinks it really makes a difference....a college can't trust that a recommendation is honest if they know there's a chance that the student has read it.</p>
<p>My tip for getting a GREAT rec is to ask a teacher who knows you on many levels. Don't choose the teacher whose class you get the highest grades in but who you never talk to outside of that class.</p>
<p>My best rec was from a science teacher who taught me for 2 years, was my class dean, and worked with me on school plays. </p>
<p>I think extra letters are okay, but only if they bring something new to the table. Having letters from 2 different French teachers probably isn't a great idea. I applied to NYU Tisch, and they only require one academic letter, but I sent in an extra one from my drama teacher...it helped me get accepted ED!</p>
<p>That requirement to waive the rights is stupid. I don't want to go to be accepted anywhere that has stupid rules. You're not allowed to read the recommendations until after they are already sent to the college anyway, nobody lets the students read them before they are sent.</p>
<p>I got some really nice recommendations. I was lucky that I got along with 3 people. That's all it takes, getting along. I wasn't a good student, but they could see my potential by talking to me.</p>
<p>They where honest about my flaws... they said I was quiet, had no confidence, ect. But they also talked about my "staggering" art and even my sense of humor. One teacher said I had earned the respect of my classmates but I think that's debatable.</p>
<p>Linzoy: u need to consider the position of rec writers, school administrators and admissions offices. </p>
<p>Teachers & School admins: they may want universal waiver requirements to facilitate honesty and integrity. They represent the school ABOVE ANY INDIVIDUAL STUDENT and want to have an unblemished reputation w/colleges. Why is that stupid? </p>
<p>colleges want waivers in place so that they can get the most honest recs too. Granted that the huge majority of recs are glowing but I'd guess that the handful of lukewarm or negative writeups -- each have waivers signed. And I can promise you that those were immensely useful to the receiving colleges in their decisionmaking. How frank would those handful of lukewarm/negative recs been if not for the waiver?</p>
<p>Or do you think the colleges aren't entitled to negative write ups?</p>
<p>In a few years when you're in the position to hire employees -- you call up an applicant's previous employer and inquire -- and you only get confirmation of the dates of employment, guess what? They are SCREAMING to you that the employee was a dud. But they can't say so for fear of litigation.</p>
<p>The law only says I can see my recommendation after it has been sent to the school. It doesn't say I can see it before it is sent. And either way, no teacher is going to let their students edit the recommendation, because they would lose all future credibility.</p>
<p>Linzoy: we'll just have to agree that our perspectives are different here. The point of the waiver is that the writer feels 100% immunity from it ever being read by the student. It frees the writer not from forced editing from the student -- but even from uncomfortable feelings or at worst: vindictiveness and litigation. </p>
<p>Student: "Emm, Mr. Jones. Can I have a look at the rec before you send it"
Mr. Jones: "I'm sorry, I'd rather not"
Student: "WHY?!? (glaring eyes, hair standing on end)"</p>