<p>I’m applying as a Government major for Georgetown University Fall 2010. The teacher I asked to write my letter of recommendation ended up writing the most generic recommendation I’ve ever laid eyes on. I don’t know if this is because I was the most generic student he’s ever had or if he’s the kind of person who just isn’t very descriptive. Kind of upsetting since I sat in the front for two semesters and talked with him about the Lakers, Tony Blair and Arlen Specter before and after class. ANYWAY, in light of this development I have a question.</p>
<p>Would Georgetown consider a SECOND letter of recommendation from OUTSIDE my major area in the admissions process? I feel my English professor could write a much stronger assessment of my skills and my nature. I think that would be kind of excessive though. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>While we’re at it, let’s chance this jazz.</p>
<p>Latina from California</p>
<p>HS Stats
Public
Top 4% of graduating class.
3.76 unweighted GPA
SAT (lmao): 1700
ACT: 29
APs: Euro (4), English Language (3), Human Geography (4), US History (5), Biology (3), Micro and Macro Econ (2 on both)
Academic Decathlon 11th and 12th grades. Two gold medals and one silver medal in the District competition.
Secretary (11th), President (12th) of Film Society.
Work experience at Vons Supermarkets.
Volunteer work with Obama campaign</p>
<p>College Stats
Community College
3.84 GPA
Volunteer work with Obama campaign
Work experience with Fund For The Public Interest
Internship with the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles</p>
<p>Usually 1 supplemental LOR is acceptable as long as it very strong and addresses something that your other LORs don’t. Since you other LOR is weak, it likely won’t hurt to send another.</p>
<p>1) It doesn’t matter if the recommendation letter is outside your academic focus.</p>
<p>2) Honestly, recommendations don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. A bad one will definitely hurt, but a good one is dime a dozen. I don’t recall a recommendation ever altering positively the way I felt about an application, though I do recall many occasions in which a negative recommendation pretty much dinged the applicant.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with fh, particularly when it comes to LORs from college profs and other professionals that a student has worked with. At the college level, profs often don’t even write LORs for people that did not excel and they have the power to write very strong endorsements. While not as important as grades and cousework, they are none-the-less part of the entire admissions package.</p>
<p>It’s cool that you respectfully disagree, but given that I actually am speaking from experience, your disagreement has little credibility to it.</p>
<p>The issue with recommendations is that, after you’ve read about ten applications, they all look the same. Of course, recommendations are important, but my previous post qualified that their unimportance is felt in the “grand scheme of things.” A good recommendation will hardly set you apart, and a bad one will definitely put you out of the running.</p>
<p>To what experience do you refer? Are you actually privy to admissions committee proceedings? Are you an admissions officer? (I don’t mean any of this sarcastically or cheekily, but rather sincerely. If you have direct admissions experience, do let us know.) Your statement presupposes that entomom lacks experience, and I don’t know how you would know that…</p>
<p>In any event, I agree with you as it relates to freshman admissions (i.e. letters from high school teachers who often aren’t in a position to judge academic viability in students). Letters from high school teachers are unlikely to have a significant impact on admissions. But even then, it’s a package, and to neglect one part because it is of less importance is tactically unwise. In an increasingly competitive arena, students need every advantage they can get, which includes letters.</p>
<p>Again, I have to agree with entomom on this one. To say that they’re unimportant or have negligible weight in the admissions process is just false. They are subordinate to grades and test scores, but are still a component of the package. While a lukewarm or even moderately enthusiastic letter is unlikely to make or break an applicant, a stellar recommendation (or equally bad one) is definitely enough to tip the scales either way. A recommendation from a college professor carries substantial weight because the professor is in an excellent position to determine whether or not a student is academically viable at a similar institution and is essentially a peer of most admissions committee members.</p>
<p>I realize that medical school admissions are a different game entirely from undergraduate or transfer admissions, but the basics are the same. I asked my dad, who is a medical school admissions officer, about this and he said that recommendations are VERY important and give you a greater sense of how the applicants interact intellectually and personally with faculty members. They tell a great deal about applicants and often make the difference between acceptance and rejection.</p>
<p>Reread both of my posts. I didn’t say that they have negligible weight, nor that they’re unimportant intrinsically. I said that they are relatively unimportant. Obviously, they’re important in the sense that they’re necessary conditions for an acceptance. But necessary doesn’t imply that they have tremendous weight in the process.</p>
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<p>You seem to think that “excellent” recommendations are a rarity. There are thousands of applicants with 3.9+s from four-year colleges across the nation, and every one of their professors thinks that they’re the best. How many “excellent” recommendations do you think would come from that? A lot. </p>
<p>In fact, in my experience, I can say that of all the recommendations I read, 90% were excellent, 9% were lukewarm, and 1% was bad. </p>
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<p>I don’t really agree with this. Med school admissions is a different animal, even on the basics. For instance, an interview is (I believe) almost essential to getting an acceptance. In transfer or even freshman admissions, that is not the case.</p>
<p>To grasp the transfer admissions process, one must grasp the competition. There are so many applicants with 3.7+s, most of whom have great SAT scores, and some of whom have great high school records. These are all “good” things, but they are just more of the same. You don’t get an advantage by having good grades, scores, and recommendations; rather, I’d say that they’re the minimums for putting you in the game. The advantage over your competition comes from distinguishing yourself from your peers. How do you do this?</p>
<p>1) Life experiences
2) Unique academic experiences
3) Certain special activities/jobs/etc.
4) Unique/compelling aspirations
5) Substantive demonstration of passion
6) Intellectual maturity
7) Unique interests</p>
<p>With the increasing competitiveness of transfer admissions, the process is no longer about good grades… and all the standard fare. Just like, say, admissions at Harvard, there are too many qualified applicants and not enough spots. The “excellent” recommendation (which, mind you, almost every single competitive applicant has) doesn’t serve to distinguish an applicant one bit. </p>
<p>Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule. I’m sure a professor could write a really good rec that would wow an admissions officer. However, in my experience, I never saw one. They all just read the same.</p>
<p>At least we can agree on one thing: While the relative weight may be in dispute, it would still behoove students to get the best possible recommendation possible.</p>