Online school and recs

MirandaKH
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:41:38 +0000

Hey everyone. I currently attend an online school and it’s time (er, probably past time) for me to start getting my recs. However, I’m worried about the quality of the recs my teachers and counselors can give considering it IS an online school and they don’t actually know me personally. I was thinking of getting a supplemental rec from my skating coach who knows me really well and is more than willing to write me a great rec. However, I’m not sure if colleges would accept it since she is not part of the faculty of my school (although her daughter does the same program, so she knows what it’s like) and I am also not a competitive skater. I’m not sure if they really care about what my coach has to say unless I’ll be playing hockey or something for the school.

Do you think colleges would let me submit a supplemental rec from her given that I do attend an online school? Would it be like a homeschooler submitting an extra rec? I know one of the schools I’m applying to will take it, but some of the other ones (like NYU) seem to be a bit more reluctant to do any extra reading considering all the applications they get.

Also, has anyone else had this experience? If so, did the recs work out okay anyway?

One last thing - my school DOES have me fill out this little survey about myself for teachers and the counselor to use. It asks me what I want admissions officers to know about me, what 5 adjectives best describe me, stuff like that. How exactly is this used? Do they just basically use what I say and throw in their own experiences or what? I would ask my counselor, but she wont even return my emails right now.

Thanks in advanced for even reading this long post. I’ve pretty much been on my own with college admissions and it’s freaking me out a bit. My parents insist that it’s better if they let me do my own thing, and my counselor has been no help at all (like I said, she doesn’t even return my emails for the most part). This site has been a huge help though :)