<p>Hi! I was invited to join the SET (from the CTY program) and I always ignored their emails until I realized that they can write recommendation letters to high schools. I was wondering if anybody had any experience w/ this and whether or not these will help?</p>
<p>The schools require recs from present English teacher and from present Math teacher. If the school requests other recs, it’s your prerogative to decide who is your best strategic bet to write a rec for you. </p>
<p>Don’t send the schools more recs than they request, unless it’s SIGNIFICANT. I don’t know what SET is, but I wouldn’t be impressed w a generic rec written by someone who doesn’t know you or didn’t teach/coach/advise you personally. From the sounds of how u ignore their emails, you don’t really know these people at SET.</p>
<p>You only have a few rec bullets. Shoot them wisely.</p>
<p>I think qualifying for SET is a big deal (scores over 700 on any section of SAT during 7th grade sitting) as it means you are academically advanced. I read somewhere that SET-qualifiers are something like the top .01 percent of all students within a given age cohort.</p>
<p>However, I also side with GMT that a generic recommendation letter written by someone who doesn’t know you is meaningless. Unless you have time (which I don’t think you do) to cultivate a relationship with one of the SET advisors over the next few months, jaust cite your SET status in the awards section of your application….the schools will know what it means.</p>
<p>That said, don’t think that simply being SET will be enough to gain admission to a selective school…there are plenty of bright kids who apply every year. Good luck!</p>
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<p>BTW, I would not “ignore” the SET invitation…enroll yourself and take advantage of the benefits you’ve qualified for.</p>
<p>Qualifying for SET is much more significant than the “typical” talent search program recognitions. I would mention it in the awards section (spell out what SET stands for and mention the actual score(s) that you earned). I would not assume the schools all know about the program or what it entails. They may well lump it into the regular talent search box, which it clearly is not.</p>
<p>I would not, however, ask them to fill out a recommendation form. If they have a letter explaining how few children attain these scores, I would include that or ask them to send one on your behalf. Like the posters above, I suggest finding someone that knows you well and can write a strong recommendation based on your individual strengths.</p>
<p>Congratulations on gaining admittance to SET!</p>
<p>Thank you for the input!
@SevenDad and Pops2017, thanks for mentioning that I could put it in the awards section, I never thought of doing that.</p>
<p>Definitely join SET. My son likes the magazine they send out. It is a great accomplishment. But I would not have them send a letter to the school unless you participate in a program and know one of the staff personally. Put it in the awards/achievements box.</p>
<p>I agree with the idea of putting SET into your list of activities/awards, etc. A letter from CTY is really not going to do any more for you than a simple statement about your qualifying scores. My son is a SET member, but we think of it as a relatively small accomplishment- a reflection of how he did on a single test one day. Admissions officers are usually much more impressed by ongoing activities that show commitment to particular interests. Good luck!</p>