Letters of Rec from non-teachers

<p>Hello, CC!</p>

<p>I’m really involved in meaningful (to me, anyway!) ECs with adult advisors/mentors that know me quite well, especially as a leader. </p>

<p>For schools that require letters of rec, is it typically acceptable to submit a letter from an advisor like the ones described above, or is it required that the letters come from a teacher?</p>

<p>Some of the schools I’m applying to (such as Western Washington University) don’t require any letters of recommendation. Would it be alright in that situation to submit a letter of recommendation from one of these mentors?</p>

<p>I think that a letter of rec from my mentor at an environmental science camp/education program that I volunteer at each semester would be specifically helpful for my WWU application, as I’m interested in the Environmental Education program. </p>

<p>Any tips or assistance would be much appreciated! <3</p>

<p>If a school requires LORs, look at their website to see if they have any special requirements. If none are listed, LORs usually must come from a teacher in an academic subject (see the CA Teacher form for a definition of academic). In such a case, you could have your mentor send a supplemental LOR hardcopy to the school.</p>

<p>If a school does not require any LORs, then you could still have one sent from your mentor.</p>

<p>My general rule of thumb is 1 more supplemental LOR than the number required is acceptable.</p>

<p>For the supplemental LOR, be sure your mentor includes information about you so that the school can match the letter with your application: Your full name as on the application, HS name and location, your date of birth, and a student ID # if a school has given you one.</p>

<p>Would colleges accepting the common app (any school from USC, NYU, Brown, etc) look down upon LORs written by Extra Curricular Advisors? Does the age of your advisor/educational experience ever come into factor? Do the colleges even know your writer’s background? </p>

<p>I have one written LOR by my Apush teacher, and one by my counselor. Both of those are personal, but a lot of schools require two teacher recommendation letters. From the classes I’ve taken, I feel there isn’t another teacher who knows my character THAT well. Thus, I was considering my advisor for an officer team I’m apart of for a community service organization. She has offered to write me an in-depth and personal letter.</p>

<p>In my application, I will be detailing this organization greatly, because of the extensive dedication I have put into it, and the magnitude of how much we’ve raised. I’m the international coordinator in which I created a project to raise $70,000 dollar for two NGOs. SO, do any of you know if it would be feasible? </p>

<p>Much appreciated,
Thebay</p>

<p>No, if a school requires Teacher LORs, one from an advisor does not qualify. </p>

<p>As I stated above, first you need to consult each college website (even if they use the CA), because they may have specific requirements.</p>

<p>Then, the CA Teacher Evaluation form states:</p>

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<p>So, any teachers from non-academic subjects or any non-teachers would have to be supplemental LORs, as they do not qualify as Teacher LORs.</p>

<p>And if a non-CA college doesn’t specify?</p>

<p>What is their wording? If they ask for a teacher, then an advisor/mentor will not do.</p>

<p>I don’t have one in mind specifically. I guess I’m just assuming that there are colleges out there that would accept a general LOR.</p>

<p>Please don’t waste peoples time with hypotheticals.</p>

<p>thanks entomom</p>

<p>I don’t see why being rude is necessary, but thank you for the other advice. Much appreciated!</p>