Is there a way to get hold of 2012 documents?

Colleges & Universities Harvard University
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I’ve just got my ‘German Abitur’ (lol, I’ve really got it recently, like half an hour ago) and now that I know my results, I’m really determined to apply to Harvard since I might have a chance of admission (if anyone of you is familiar with the German grading system, I got “1,3” - I was kind of handicapped though since I skipped 2 classes). </p>

<p>So, as you also know, Harvard requires teacher recommendations - documents online on “Common Application” and “Universal College Application”. However, right now, these homepages exclusively offer documents that are valid for an enrollment in 2011, not in 2012, of course. Documents for an enrollment in 2012 will be up in AUGUST. As a consequence, I have to wait 2 months longer to ask my teachers for their recommendations, but I’m afraid they won’t be able to keep me, my personality and my performance in mind as well as they remember me now. They’re only human and memories fade…</p>

<p>So, is there anything I could do? And don’t go for that “If you were such a stellar student, they will remember you even longer”-thing - I’m aware of that, but it’s only natural that as time passes by, memories fade, even though they’re still there. I just want to get the application over and done with as soon as possible to be able to focus on other possibilites. Please HELP!</p>

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<p>Ask them to write the recommendation letters now. Many applicants just attach a photocopy of the rec letter to each college’s standardized rec form. There is a section that the teacher needs to check off but he/she doesn’t need to include the narrative in the form itself.</p>

<p>Most students have a teacher write a single letter, Xerox it, and send it to each college that needs one.</p>

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<p>^^ T26E4: While some teachers still send in their recommendations the ‘old-fashioned’ way, the Common Application prefers teachers to send in their recommendation letters electronically. See: <a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/CommonAppDemo.aspx?src=T[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/CommonAppDemo.aspx?src=T&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>So basically, I’ve lost? :)</p>

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<p>No, you haven’t lost – you just can’t have your teacher do their recommendation as early as you would like. </p>

<p>BTW: The Common App has published a preview copy of the 2011-2012 application, but it has the words “PREVIEW” on every page, including the teacher rec: <a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012-11CAO_Highlighted.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2012-11CAO_Highlighted.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@gibby
Yea, I found the same documents. Wonder why they have a “preview” of a recommendation? As if a ‘new, special design’ really mattered…</p>

<p>I get your point, I’ve already thought about that: I let them write the actual recommendation letters 2 months in advance, and then give them the ‘formal’ sheet with these stupid boxes (e.g. ‘Quality of writing’, ‘Leadership’ evaluation and so on) 2 months later? Well, I guess that’s all I can do for now, unfortunately… Maybe I can provide them with an evaluation sheet of 2011 they can fill out and then copy when the ‘2012’ version is released. I assume that their content is quite similar.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, guys</p>

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<p>You could also ask your teacher what s/he needs to write your recommendation letter. Sometimes a teacher will have a series of questions for you to answer, such as “What have been your 2 – 3 biggest achievements in your academic life?”, “What are your best qualities (intellectual and personal)?” etc. You can also give your teacher your resume, a list of extracurricular activities, your essay’s (if you have written them) and your transcript, so that they can see your grades in other classes.</p>