<p>Does anyone have any advice on how to solicit a recommendation from the head of the school?
I am one of the smartest kids at my school and the dean knows me pretty well.
Its sounds like its all good, but heres the catch.
My school is a relatively new charter school with an undeveloped high school (only about 120 students max) and a lot of people love the middle school but drop out and go back to public schools for high school.
However, when students ask the dean for recommendation forms to prep schools, he is notoriously famous for giving them back 2-3 weeks after the deadline. Most people think its because he doesn’t want people to drop out.
Can anybody think how I might be able to get a good recommendation from him by January 15?
Thanks!
Oh, and I hav not given him the forms yet.</p>
<p>I think that you should call the schools you’re applying to just to notify them and maybe ask what the circumstances would be. I doubt that they will change your deadline, and you shouldn’t ask for them to do that, but at least they’ll know. </p>
<p>Maybe they can send your principal a letter notifying him of all his late recs (the school can probably search up all the recs from that principal), and thank him for prospectively sending it in on time this year? I’m sure you can politely ask someone in the Office of Admissions to send him a letter.</p>
<p>If they can’t, the only thing you can do is keep checking up on him. “Casually”. Note the quotations - they mark “sly thinking.”</p>
<p>Thanks… hopefully “checking in” on him will work. :)</p>
<p>FWIW, I think it is highly unlikely that an admissions officer will reach out to an applicant’s school to follow up on required material. These offices are completely innundated with countless pieces of paper per applicant. Notwithstanding the burden this would create due to the lack of manpower resources, it’s simply not their job. It is assumed in the application process that if an applicant wants to attend a school, the document management process is the responsibility of the student and the family.</p>
<p>Checking in seems much more feasible. Be sure to ask in person for the recommendation and follow up perodically via friendly emails, inquiring about the status. My son had a similar circumstance last year (procrastinating principal) but you’d be surprised what a follow up in writing will accomplish. There’s something about written documentation that springs some people into action. Good luck.</p>