Do any colleges still accept mailed paper recommendations or are they all electronic now? I know you aren’t supposed to see the recommendations but damn I would love to see what people write before my daughter finalizes who to get recommendations from, she has a few good options, but I don’t know how capable they are of writing recommendations. So nerve wracking.
Each school lists how they will accept them.
But for a Common App school, that would be the most common way - as it’s a one size fits all.
Whether or not you could read a letter wouldn’t change the nerves of awaiting a decision. And it would be dismissed by schools if you saw them.
Best of luck to your daughter.
You absolutely cannot intervene here. At all.
Those letters (which, yes, are always submitted electronically except maybe in vary rare exceptions) are only of value if your daughter signs away her right to see them. If she doesn’t, no college will trust that the recommenders are being entirely candid. So unless a teacher voluntarily allows a student to see them (which happens very rarely), neither the applicant nor their parents will ever see the letters. Even if your daughter later requests to see her admission file – which she can do, at least at the school she ultimately attends – those letters will not be in the file if she has signed away her rights.
So talk to your daughter about which teachers know her best and can say the most about what kind of student and person she is. The ideal recommender is a teacher from a junior or senior core class, though teachers in elective subjects in which a student excels are good candidates for supplementary letters when colleges allow them. The writers don’t have to be teachers in classes in which your daughter earned As – sometimes, when a student works really hard and shows great dedication and grit in a class, that effort can give a teacher an excellent perspective on that kid’s character, even if the kid didn’t end up earning an A. As to whether a teacher is capable of writing a good letter, I suppose there are some duds out there, but generally, teachers of juniors and seniors are well-practiced at letter-writing. If they cannot write a positive letter (or if they don’t have time), they should say so up front. Unless a teacher has a reputation for writing lackluster or generic letters, you are probably going to have to trust that the ones who are willing to write are also capable of doing so. Bottom line: by all means, help your daughter figure out whom to ask, but that’s the end of your involvement.
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Thanks for your feedback. The hard part is my daughter homeschools. As of today her best recommenders would be her teacher from a weekend activity she finishes last year that she did for 10 years, the teacher she currently assists at the same place who adores her and says the best things about her but has only known her a few months, and a college adjunct that is related to the same topic and has told my daughter to let her know if she needs anything - the adjunct is no longer teaching at the college because the subject was dropped and the woman only knows my daughter from these two courses where the other two people can give more glowing reviews on her all around character. And the subject isn’t the one she plans on majoring but does tie into a lot of her extra curriculars. I would be so much less worried if she went to a public school and was relying on the teachers and guidance counselors for help.
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I recommend asking parents in homeschooling networks what their students have done about recommendation letters. I imagine that the college adjunct would be a good recommender (even if she is no longer at the college). Two courses would certainly be enough for a professor to get to know a student, and she can explain in the letter the circumstances of their acquaintance. Either of the others sound good, as well.
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Even back in the days of paper letters of recommendation, you wouldn’t have this option. I remember distinctly that the letter had to be sealed in an envelope with a signature across the seal to show that it hadn’t been opened (and read) prior to submission.
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