Just curious. I need to ask my counselor and teacher for recommendation and I am worried that they would put bad things about me. Even a student’s reputation is not great, would they still write bad things about his/her?
I haven’t really heard of putting “negative” things on a LOR (that doesn’t mean teachers don’t), but a very generic LOR isn’t good either.
Counselors will, but teachers shouldn’t–they shouldn’t agree to write a rec letter unless they can recommend you.
Most students request recommendations from teachers that they believe they have a positive relationship with, so it is unlikely that if the relationship is positive that that the letter would not be. I would hope that letters are written based on what the recommender knows about the student rather than a bad reputation which may be less accurate.
Be up front. Ask: “I’d like to ask for a college recommendation from you. Do you think you can write a positive and endorsing rec letter for me?” If they say no or hesitate – you have your answer. Simple. They’ll be honest with you.
If they don’t like you they wouldn’t have agreed to write you a rec. it is not mandatory after all.
When I was a school teacher, I did get rec letter requests from students I didn’t hold in high esteem from time to time, but in those cases, I gently demurred and told them someone else would probably be a better choice. They invariably
got the hint.
Ethically, teachers should only agree to write a recommendation for students they can actually can recommend positively, but in practice, this doesn’t always happen. So yes, it is possible - but unlikely - that a teacher will write negative things about you in a letter.
That’s why you should ask a teacher if they can write a strong positive letter for you, and withdraw your request if the teacher says no or hesitates (or redirects you, as @marvin100 does).
http://questions. blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/qa-college-admissions/?_r=0 (take out the space)
According to this Q&A with Admissions Deans, rarely do teachers/counselors write negative remarks. That being said, it does look like, indeed, some do. Interestingly, the colleges seem to appreciate the slight critiques. After all, no one is perfect, and I’m curious as to whether some slight criticisms or ways for improvement can actually help an applicant. Either way, you want the letters to be distinguishable.
There’s nothing wrong with an overall positive rec letter including some critiques. As you say, no one is perfect. A great rec letter, though, will include specific anecdotes that illustrate specific strengths and present them in a very positive light, leaving no question that the rec writer considers those strengths to far overshadow any negatives.
Do teachers write bad things in letters of rec? Yes.
In “The Gatekeepers”,in which a NY Times reporter followed the admissions committee at Wesleyan for a year, is a real-world example of a bad rec. Obviously when the student asked for a rec she assumed it would be positive, but here is what she got:
I think that it’s probably more typical to write a bland letter than a bad one for a kid for whom there’s not much to say.
But here’s my question: Why are you asking for a recommendation from a teacher who can’t say good things? And, if there are no teachers who can say good things about you, exactly what are you hoping for?
I’ll try as much as I can to write a positive letter for any kid. And if I can’t, I’ll suggest he/she ask someone else. But if I’m the best they can do, and I can’t say much that’s positive, it will probably come through in my letter. Not by what I say, but by what I can’t in honesty say.
I’ll help you any way I can, but I’m not going to lie.