Teacher Rec Letters - Assigned?

Applying to College
1

<p>Each year, my school assigns two teachers to each student to write letters of recommendation. Students fill out a sheet with their top five teachers and the counseling department narrows it down from there. The counseling department assigns you two teachers, tells you to fill out a form, and you turn the form in to the teacher before summer. Some teachers have you fill out an additional form or sit down with you like an interview. </p>

<p>My question: does this happen at most schools? It seems that this could become a real disadvantage for some students in the admissions process if they do not get their top two teachers. I think they do it so one certain teacher does not have to write fifty letters of recommendation, but what if a student who would have had a great recommendation from this person slips through the cracks and only gets a so-so recommendation. This could be a real problem! I’m just wondering how other schools work. What do you think of this process?</p>

2

<p>That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. </p>

<p>Defeats the whole purpose of a “recommendation”.</p>

3

<p>That’s absolutely terrible. People might have to get recs from teachers who never really taught? The idiocy.</p>

4

<p>I’d just go unofficially to your two favorite teachers who adore you and ask them to write it nevertheless… off the record of course…</p>

5

<p>I would second the above suggestion. I think it hurts the admission process more than it helps.</p>

6

<p>Make sure that you meet with both teachers to provide them with the supporting material they will need to write a meaningful letter.</p>

7

<p>Wait a minute – it starts with the student naming 5 teachers. Maybe guidance knows which of the five would be best – maybe it is a public school and teachers just dont have unlimited time. Maybe guidance knows getting recs from a gym teacher and an art teacher arent the right choices for many kids.</p>

8

<p>This happened at my school. We only had 30 kids in my graduating class and they insisted on assigning ONE teacher to you (you couldn’t have more than one). A FORM LETTER was made and they literally just plugged in adjectives and your activity titles. On top of that, the teachers all made it sound like it was a huge burden.</p>

<p>It was absolutely ridiculous. Luckily I asked two teachers in “secret”, which I’d suggest you do.</p>

9

<p>^Yes. My school is a private school with about 150 kids per class. I know the letters are not form written, but I’m not quite sure why the schools does everything for you. Teachers are actually given lists of students they will be writing recommendations for, so being “secretive” is a little difficult. I don’t really have to worry because I like the teachers who were assigned to me and I think they will write me great recs, but I think lots of kids will slip through the cracks with so-so recs.</p>

10

<p>And they thought that me going to an underachieving public school was bad… </p>

<p>I was the first person to fill out the Common App in years… I was the only one asking for a recommendation… So much for a paying private school, eh?</p>

11

<p>clinegirl - My D attended a competitive private with about the same number of students. A similar procedure was utilized. The GC selected recommenders from faculty who had taught each student. Other than receiving names of the recommenders, students we completely uninvolved in the process.</p>

<p>In the school’s defense, it had an excellent record of getting students into competitive colleges.</p>

12

<p>^Yes, people do get into good schools from my school as well (for a West Coast school, we send a few to Ivies and other top 20 schools).<br>
I think it would be interesting to see if teachers sat down and chose students they want to write recommendations for. I don’t know if my GC goes off only the student form or whether they go to teachers and ask. It’s an interesting process…we’ll see how it turns out!</p>