<p>I guess my question is what kind of recommendation by teacher, counselor, etc. would med program admission officers look and say Wow this kid got some amazing recs that fit what we are looking for here at blah blah blah I would like it if people could provide with me some SPECIFIC phrases and keywords, etc. that your counselor would put on your rec. For example, I know that if your counselor said, Bob is extremely devoted to medicine or something like that, but thats not very good and doesnt make you stand out at all, and I hope I can find some better and truly great lines or phrases that talk about the students abilities, personal qualities, etc. that would look great for med programs, not just for ivy shools like Harvard.
To start, I think I have a pretty good one: Bob is a warm-hearted and caring towards others, and treats everyone around him with extreme respect, as if they were his patients.
Also, if you want to write about an activity (clubs, volunteer, whatever) in your suggestions, feel free to do so, although its true that it wont work for every student.</p>
<p>To people who applied to or is applying to med programs, think about this as if you could literally write your own recommendation and send it in you would write your recs to your best abilities to get in, wouldnt you? MAKE IT STAND OUT!!! MAKE IT SPECIAL!!!</p>
<p>I strongly discourage and disapprove of putting words in your recommender's mouth, especially if they don't accurately describe you as a person (see: lying). Seriously, there aren't any real "keywords" that'll make the admissions officers salivate and go, "BINGO LET'S ACCEPT THIS PERSON." Strong recommendations come in all shapes and sizes.</p>
<p>You have your own essays that will allow your best qualities to shine through. Take advantage of those. Then let someone else offer another perspective which will, more often than not, make your application 3-dimensional and much more convincing. Plus, your teachers may write phenomenal things about you that you never would have thought to mention yourself.</p>
<p>A counselor rec is pretty much required everywhere, and assuming you only have one counselor, you don't have much choice here. Just make sure to talk with your counselor more so that they know about you and your goals.</p>
<p>As for teacher recommendations, pick teachers that taught classes where you did something worth writing about. Don't pick a teacher, from a class where you showed up everyday, did your homework, and got an A. In that example, you are a generic student, nothing special. Pick a class/teacher where you overcame some adversity to achieve.</p>
<p>In my example, I picked my math teacher/cross country coach who witness my vast improvement in both academics and athletics.</p>
<p>One more thing to remember about recommendation letters in general is that, a good rec is the result of a good relationship. If you have maintained good relationships (ask for help after class, talk in hallways, etc), then you are likely to get a good recommendation letter.</p>
<p>Hmm, I don't know if I missed it, but where does it say that sophwhiz is going to tell his/her GC or teacher to put the statements in her letter of rec? For all you know, maybe all he/she is asking is to get a basis for what a good letter of recommendation for one of these programs has. If you don't want to answer what he/she is asking then don't, but don't keep pointing to a certain post. I agree with Temeraire that you should let your recs be unbiased but that's not what SophWhiz is asking. If you are so against answering his/her questions about the recs, then why don't you tell us what phrases we can put into our essays?</p>