<p>Hey guys, um a few questions about teacher and counselor recs. Overall, my teachers and counselor know me as someone who is hard working and dedicated, but I haven't formed exceptional relationships with any of them except maybe one teacher. I'm expecting 1 decent to good rec and 2 bland ones. I'm sure they'll say stuff like academic achiever etc. but I'm not expecting rave recs. Junior year is winding down. How badly is this going to hurt me in the admissions process, and what can I do to improve upon the situation?</p>
<p>Well, you have a problem if the university will ask you for 2 recommendation letters from them</p>
<p>Don’t you need recs from 2 teachers and 1 counselor?</p>
<p>bump for original questions</p>
<p>some schools only need one TR.</p>
<p>I won’t say bland recs won’t influence your admission. But it won’t hurt much since you are a dedicated and hardworking student</p>
<p>Ah, well, that doesn’t sound good.</p>
<p>Bland recs don’t really hurt, but they don’t help either. And kids like you that do have the recs that reave about them will get ahead. A bigger concern, one you may not even be aware of, is to make sure the letters you get are positive. When you ask for a letter and sign the confidentiality waiver, you have no right to ever see what the person wrote. In the book “The Gatekeepers” in which the author spent a year inside admissions at a top LAC there was an example of a rec that said
The student did not get in. It is both allowed and necessary to ask your teachers if they can write a favorable letter for you or if they suggest you approach someone else. Any ethical person will give you an honest answer. If it is to ask someone else, don’t argue, and thank your lucky stars you asked!</p>
<p>Alright, that post was helpful beyond belief mikemac. Thank you so much. I’ve been a bit squeamish about the subject of asking teachers if they’ll write positive recs. It has just seemed like an impolite thing to ask.</p>
<p>Also, it seems like lots of people on cc is getting amazing recs and still getting rejected.</p>
<p>bump !</p>
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</p>
<p>Kids writing “Teacher recs: Excellent” on a chances post does not mean they have outstanding recs. In most situations, these kids don’t even see their recs, and they assume based on what a good student they are that teachers will automatically write stunning recs. Not always the case, especially since teachers recs really shine when a student has taken time outside of class to communicate with the teacher personally. Being a good student is not enough.</p>
<p>Even though my D teachers new her well, this is something that helped her. She emailed the teachers for the recs in the summer before her senior year. The teachers were very impressed that she did this, that one even mentioned it in her rec. She also emailed them her personal statement and resume. They had half the summer to work on only her rec, and did a great job of making sure it was personal.</p>
<p>bump !</p>