College Advice For Juniors: Seeking The Right
Recommendations
The
high school year ends soon, so Juniors who have not already lined up their two
teacher recommendations and laid a sound foundation for their counselor
recommendation might want to act now, because the best time for most teachers
and counselors to concentrate on writing is during the summer, when other
obligations diminish or disappear. Because students are asking
professionals to do additional work on their behalf—writing letters that will
be read by admissions officers like me at Drew University, as well as
colleagues in other colleges—it’s worth thinking well before asking (and
reflecting on how to say a proper Thank You!)
A
few basics on how recommendations work:
· Each applicant is
expected to have ONE counselor rec, ONE or TWO teacher recs and—at most—ONE
other rec, but only if it sheds a different light on the applicant.
· The ALL CAPS emphasis
is because those of us who read applications as part of our living have NO
INTEREST in reading more than four letters about anyone.
Now, some thoughts on
the Counselor Recommendation:
· Most students attend
public schools where counselors are absurdly overburdened with caseloads of
hundreds of Seniors. Even the best of them have trouble finding time to get to
know individuals well.
· If this scenario is
yours, help your Counselor by scheduling a meeting to share your college list,
resume, and likely major. In short, make sure your Counselor knows you, your
life outside the classroom, and what you hope to achieve in the college
process.
· Even at smaller
schools, the more your counselor knows about you as well as your hopes, the
better equipped he or she will be to write the best letter possible for you.
· A detailed talk is
especially important if you might apply Early Notification, Early Decision, or
Early Action, because the letter will need to be written in late Summer or
early Fall.
· Where the “letter” is
concerned, I have seen one long, strong paragraph do a fine job of describing
and supporting an applicant. We do not need to read more than a page to glean everything
we need to know to make sure you are who you say you are.
Now, some thoughts on
Teacher Recommendations:
· If you have a definite
major in mind, one that is the result of a thoughtful process of
self-evaluation and, ideally, internships for extended exposure to the reality
of the field you are considering, be sure to select at least one, if not both,
teachers with your major in mind.
· In this way, Pre-Meds
need at least one Laboratory Science recommendation; Engineers need Calculus
and/or Physics; Business majors need Math and/or Economics (if offered).
· Those who are truly
Undecided are well-served to get one letter from English, History or Foreign
Language, and the other from Math or Science. To be able to work with both
words and numbers/formulas is be right/left brain intellectually ambidextrous;
such flexibility of mind gives those of us reading applications a good feeling
about your chances for success in college no matter which path will ultimately
be yours.
· Above all, choose
teachers who know you well and want the best for you. When you ask for their
help, do so respectfully, with no sense of entitlement, and ask them what you
could provide to help them help you. A usual list of such things would
include your resume, college list, likely major, and first deadline, so they
know where you’d like to go, what you’d like to study, and how soon their
letter for you will need to be ready.
· Finally, tell each
recommender WHY you are applying to each school on your list. Doing so will
demonstrate thoughtfulness on your part, and it will allow the teacher to
tailor the recommendation to the type of school to which you are applying.
Now, some thoughts on,
if warranted, a fourth letter:
· Only consider one more
letter, which is extra work for both the writer (and a reader like me), IF
there is a perspective on who you are that no one in your school can provide.
· Examples that warrant
an extra letter include: An employer if you work a lot outside school and have
significant responsibility (e.g. you are trusted to open and close the store or
at least handle cash); a member of the clergy if you spend a lot of time
serving your faith community (attending services is not enough); a coach if you
have a special athletic or performing arts talent (particularly one developed
outside of your school, perhaps in summer programs about which your September
to June counselor may not know much.)
· Do not seek an
additional letter from a well-connected friend of the family unless the person
writing knows you (not just your parents) well, and you are clear you will
follow up on this extra support by enrolling in the institution to which the
friend is writing.
· Admissions Officers
are not interested in obtaining the autographs of well-known people on letters
about applicants whom the writers may never even have met.
· That said, if someone
who knows you well is well-connected to a specific institution, that is part of
how the world works, so thank the deity of your belief system as well as the
person who is taking the time to support you. Then enroll where they have
helped you.
Two last things to say
about Recommendations:
· These letters exist as
corroboration. I read applications for Coherence: Do all aspects “hang
together,” so that I can do a 360-degree review of the application and see the
same human being no matter the vantage point? Seek recommenders who know you well enough to reinforce
what you are communicating about yourself.
· Be sure you say and do
things to indicate that you are sincerely appreciative of this extra effort on
your behalf. Sooner or later, find a personal way to say or show Thank You.
After three decades in secondary
education in the United States, Caribbean and Europe, Chris Teare is now Senior
Associate Director of Admissions at Drew University in Madison, NJ.
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