<p>I go to a large public school and the 'waive your rights' issue has never been addressed by counselors or teachers. Unfortunately, I chose not to waive my rights--never really thought that it would be viewed as deceitful or illegitimate. Although I don't know any admissions officers personally, I can't believe that something so stupid could ever make that much of a difference. I may be wrong, but it seems like people are reading a little too far into this, for I have a hard time seeing an adcom putting a big red x on a letter because you checked the 'wrong' box.</p>
<p>The thing is teachers can break the rules and allow you to read the recommendation even if you do waive your rights. The right to read your recommendation only applies after it's sent to the college, not before. Any scenario where the teacher lets you read your letter before it's sent is breaking the rules.</p>
<p>Mr. Jones is a little too easily intimidated.</p>
<p>Well, I waived my rights to two of them. And one of them, my teacher showed it to me and I said "okay" and mailed it. The other recommendation letter, I only opened it after I finished mailing all my college applications.</p>
<p>The third one I did not waive my right. Because I told my teacher what I was looking for, I didn't necessarily want praise. I wanted her to tell the adcoms how she knew me when I was a freshman compared to now. I was looking more to demonstrate growth. That was about the criteria I gave her, I read over her letter that she wrote and mailed it.</p>
<p>I get many requests to write rec letters for medical students applying to presitigious residencies, and the competition is uber intense. I also read tons of rec letters on applicants to our particular program. The issue of waiving or not waiving applies regardless of what level of education/employment you are seeking and will reoccur for you pretty much throughout your life, so quit complaining about it and just realize this.
I have only had 1 medical student ever refuse to waive his right to see my letter and I am required to document the waiver status on every letter that I write.
This was one of the most difficult letters I have ever written for several reasons. First and foremost this student was not a good one and had some sense of entitlement the whole time I worked with him.
I second guessed each and every sentence that I wrote, hoping that my evaluation would not be misinterpreted or misconstrued, resulting in legal action being taken against me.
I gave him a favorable and honest, but not glowing letter. The fact that he did not waive his right to view the letter would make any residency application committee immediately sit up and take notice and they probably felt that my letter made him falsely look better than he really was, not the honest one that I wrote. In other words, the only thing they could assume is that he was actually worse than my letter indicated,which he was not.
This is exactly what earlier posters have been trying to say, but I hope I expressed it differently and in a way that helps you understand that it really is not a good idea that others know you saw the letter before it goes out!</p>
<p>Not waiving your right is a matter of confidence and legitimacy. It's really the only way they can indicate on paper that the recommendation is honest -- because if the student has seen it, then the recommendation's veracity has been compromised, and it carries much less weight.</p>
<p>So really, you're not going to know what your recs are like unless the teacher shows you off-the-record.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the best recs are the ones that provide lots of examples. The type that just say "So and so is a good student and had top marks" doesn't say much. It's the kind where they can reveal your passions through anecdotes and examples that show a one-of-a-kind uniqueness. Because that's what the admissions officers are looking for. A bright student who is set apart from the rest. The more you're able to establish yourself as outstanding (in the literal sense of the word), the better.</p>
<p>Simply having good grades and getting a rec isn't going to be enough. You should get recs from the teachers who you have a closer relationship to. The better a teacher knows you, the more they will be able to write, and the better the rec will be. You can really tell the difference between an excellent rec and a so-so rec, and it usually comes down to length and anecdotal evidence. I had good luck in the admissions game and the recs definitely helped. I was shown my recs after I sent everything off, and they were FULL of examples and little stories that outlined who I was as both a person and student.</p>
<p>EDIT:
I also wanted to add something that's a little funny but also equally important. Make sure the teacher can write. I reluctantly had to change one of my two rec-teachers after applying ED to another school because after I was shown the rec, I was a little surprised. One of my recs had been from the CompSci teacher, and even though I was close to the teacher and had all sorts of examples that set me apart (making my own chat programs, vertex-mapping/graphic engine work, file management software, network programs, music programs, etc), none of it was mentioned despite the fact that few people my age would be able to produce that kind of work. It was just a generic so-so recommendation and it had all sorts of spelling and grammatical errors. She literally wrote it in 5-minutes and enveloped it as I was walking through the door. I could still see her word processor open on the computer. She didn't give the rec to me until virtually the very last minute.</p>
<p>You really want to make sure the teacher knows how to write and will spend time really thinking about your accomplishments and manage to put them down on paper. It should also be someone who will get the recs to you in a timely manner. Last-minute recs are not going to be nearly as good, and it is going to stress you out if you're trying to get your applications in order before the deadlines. If the teacher is someone who is just going to speed through and forget to mention any highly relevant details, and/or misspell things and use poor grammar, then consider other teachers for recommendations.</p>
<p>Also, more does not always mean better. Keep the teacher recs down to 2-3. After that I think the officers will pretty much get the point and understand what kind of student you are. Making them read multiple recs is going to hurt, not help. Try to diversify the recs if you can. Get one from a math/science teacher and another one from a social sciences/humanities teacher. I've spoken with the admissions officers about this before, and they all say the same thing. They advise this because it shows a breadth of skill and ability. Some people are very heavy in one area but not in the other, but having recs on both sides of the coin will show you're a diversified student who can tackle anything.</p>
<p>My daughter did waive her right to see the rec, but her teacher gave her the letter to read and tell her what she thought of it. It was wonderfully gushing (what can I say, my daughter is "truly" stellar!) There were a few typos, missing verbs or pronouns, and repeated use of the word "truly" (like over 10 times in the letter). We pointed out the typos for her to fix and I told her to tell the teacher that her mom was wondering if she could take out a few of the truly's. This was an AP humanities teacher who really knew her well and she changed it for us! I found it all rather amusing.</p>
<p>I don't know whether to call it an "opportunity" or a "catastrophe." S is in the 4th year of language. 3 years of same instructor (her english is not so good), she left and this is the new instructor's first full time position out of school. S asked the instructor to write a rec and suggested consultation with prior teacher, who is still in the area. S HOPES that the combination of new's youthful enthusiasm and prior's familiarity will produce a great rec. </p>
<p>And to top things off, GC is new to the school this year.</p>
<p>Needless to say, our fingers and toes are all crossed. But S did waive the right to see, as recommended.</p>
<p>In the event of a new GC, you can always contact the old one.</p>
<p>My old GC left senior year, so the new one didn't know too many people all that well. However, I contacted my old GC and he wrote a recommendation for me anyway as a supplemental rec, and it was arguably the best rec I sent.</p>
<p>Having read recs in other capacities, the ones that stand out were those that went into specifics. In fact, I had acronyms for the vast majority of positive recs I read: PBG, LOAFS = "positive but general, lots of adjectives few specifics." I read a lot of recs that were very effusive, describing the candidate in very glowing terms and using near hyperbolic adjectives, but that was it. If the writer couldn't give me a concrete example of some of those adjectives, either a specific project or paper that they especially displayed their talents, I tended to not put as much weight on the recommendation. Think about it, if you are truly that awesome and great and described as such, wouldn't the writer be able to come up with at least one specific example? Also, I really disliked the listing of extracurricular activities that many people included in the letter. If they weren't able to expand upon them (such as direct contact because they were the adviser or coach for an organization), then it added nothing that I couldn't have gleaned from a resume or the activities section.</p>