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scoop
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 05:39 pm |
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| My daughter is a junior. She would like to ask her AP English teacher to write a college recommendation when the time comes. Since she would like a junior year teacher that knows her well, we figure she may as well get her name in there early before the teacher gets loads of requests next school year. Should she wait until the end of the school year? Last edited on Wed Apr 9th, 2008 05:41 pm by scoop
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MaizeBlue
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 06:59 pm |
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| I write 12-15 recs each year and really appreciate being asked early. 2 of my juniors have already lined things up with me. I'm sure your D's English teacher won't consider this an unusually early request. Your D will probably feel very organized and relieved having made early arrangements.
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Chedva
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 07:30 pm |
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At d's high school, they asked that teachers be contacted in the spring of junior year. A couple of teachers were already "booked" by May. My d asked one of her favorite teachers in early April. If she had waited longer, she would have been out of luck, since a week after she asked him, he announced that he was moving out of state. He promised to write the letters he had already committed to write, but wasn't taking on any more. He wrote her such a beautiful letter (he sent it to her) that I have no doubt helped in her admissions results.
Asking early is better than asking late!
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 09:09 pm |
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My S2 procrastinated about asking for 3 teacher recs for summer programs. Then, when he finally mustered up the courage to ask, his favorite teacher -- the one who was sure to give him a glowing rec -- said that she wouldn't write it until he had filled out a two page form from the counselors' office. The form asked for his academic record, extracurriculars, athletics, volunteer hours, career goals, etc. The other 2 teachers never bothered with the school form, btw.
Moral of the story: ask early, and be prepared by finding out if your school uses a similar form!
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scoop
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 10:23 am |
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| Thank you. Good point about the form. I hadn't considered that she would need to have all that info together before the end of this school year.
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Deja
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 04:59 pm |
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Good question.
My son has two teachers that he would like to ask for recommendations. Both are retiring at the end of this school year. If he asks them for recommendations now, then what happens when the recommendation letters are not on the Common Application form for next year? Do schools still accept these recommendations for the Common Application?
(Or is the 2008-2009 Common Application already out?)
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Chedva
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 05:17 pm |
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My d's teacher (the one who left after her junior year) sent her the letter and a copy of the previous year's Common App form. She (okay, I) then photocopied as many as necessary and mailed them off.
There was no problem and every school accepted it.
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Deja
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Posted: Thu Apr 10th, 2008 05:23 pm |
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| Thanks, Chedva. That was what I was thinking he could do; give a copy of this year's Common Application Teacher Recommendation form for the teachers to fill out. Glad to know it worked out, and that some college didn't pitch it out because it was the previous year's form!
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sat Apr 12th, 2008 12:34 am |
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I agree with Chevda. The Common App recommendation form doesn't usually change substantially, so don't worry too much if you have to use this year's form. My son had a favorite teacher who was leaving at the end of last year, so he asked him to write his recommendation before he left. Since the Common App isn't updated until July, he just used last year's form. It was not a problem. I think most colleges pay more attention to the written letter, than the form itself.
(One note: In July, the Common App will be announcing a system that will allow recommendations to be submitted electronically next year. However, it is a safe bet that sending "paper" recommendations will still be OK).
Last edited on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 12:36 am by CarolynLawrence
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scoop
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Posted: Tue Apr 22nd, 2008 11:44 pm |
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D went to see the AP English teacher after school today. She said the teacher was really taken aback by her asking so early. She even asked her why she was so early and D said that she knew teachers got a lot of requests and sometimes had to only do a certain amount. The teacher said she could write as many as necessary and did not have a limit. D said she then felt awkward about it. I told her that at least she will be remembered for being prepared
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 12:45 am |
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| Tell your daughter not to worry about it. It could be that the teacher is just tired from writing recommendations for this year's seniors (many teachers are actually STILL writing recommendations for scholarships and such, even now). I would suggest that she touch back with the teacher closer to the end of the school year, and be prepared with a neat folder that includes a list of the schools she is planning to apply to, the necessary forms, and the self-addressed envelopes. She should also work on putting together her resume for the teacher, if she doesn't have one yet, as well as some talking points she'd like the teacher to mention or remember about her. It probably would be good to reassure the teacher that she doesn't actually expect her to be mailing the recommendations out until the fall, however.
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scoop
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 01:02 am |
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Thanks. I believe she did indicate this was for the fall. Should she find out whether the teacher prefers to have this info over the summer or in the fall? I'm finding that D is one of those kids who has little interest in getting a list together at this time. I think part of the reason is that she really feels she wants to go to the school she attended this past summer for pre-college. She can't muster up any interest for schools that are not art/design schools right now either, though she is willing to look at info if I gather it!
If I hadn't read here that many kids are simply not ready now, I would be freaking out. She will probably have a short list of art schools by the end of the year, but we won't have visited any liberal arts schools until the summer. So kids wait until they have a final list or can she do it in two steps?
Ok, here is a question I feel silly for asking. When you do the addressed/posted enevlopes, do you use a legal size where the letter will be folded or a larger manila envelope where it will be flat?
She has her resume pretty much together since she had to organize all that stuff for the honor society application.
Last edited on Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 01:24 am by scoop
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MaizeBlue
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 01:17 am |
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scoop ~ I prefer a legal size envelope for 2-3 sheets of folded paper. The large manila ones are simply a waste of postage for your D and a wee bit cumbersome to a teacher who likes to take small piles of work home  .Last edited on Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 01:19 am by MaizeBlue
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scoop
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 01:23 am |
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| Thanks! That is what I was thinking but my mind was getting overcrowded with details.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 06:12 pm |
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MaizeBlue wrote: scoop ~ I prefer a legal size envelope for 2-3 sheets of folded paper. The large manila ones are simply a waste of postage for your D and a wee bit cumbersome to a teacher who likes to take small piles of work home .
However, from a counselor's perspective, trying to put recommendation forms, a letter, a school profile AND a sealed transcript into a legal sized envelope is maddening. As a counselor, I bless the kids who give me manila envelopes for their school reports. So, maybe legal sized for the teachers, but manila for the counselors.
Also, I strongly encourage students to go to the post office and buy blank postage-pre-paid cards. Address the postage side to themselves. On the other write "Dear XYZ College: I want to be certain that all of my application materials have arrived. Please drop this card in the mail when you receive this recommendation" and then note the initials of the teacher or counselor in the corner. This has saved more than one of my students when colleges have said a recommendation didn't arrive but they had the card to prove it had.
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MaizeBlue
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Posted: Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 10:29 pm |
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Over the years of reading about this topic on these forums, I've been amazed at the differing criteria schools have for compiling and sending paperwork to colleges, including the wide range of information that can be included on a transcript. At my highly regarded public school, the counseling office sends the student's transcript, with the school profile attached, in a student provided envelope with the counselor recommendation. The official transcript (with a raised seal) and profile are each a single sheet of paper. The counselor rec is 2-3 pages. Teachers send their recommendations directly to the schools. With our system, it would be wise to take Carolyn's advice regarding the inclusion of reply cards. (Always wise to follow her advice!)
I'm curious. What goes on your child's transcript from a public school? Our district's transcript policy allows only course names, letter grades (no +/-'s), credit earned, and unweighted GPA. Rank, test scores, discipline, attendance, awards, etc. are not listed. The counselor addresses such issues (if needed) on the rec form and letter.
Last edited on Wed Apr 23rd, 2008 10:32 pm by MaizeBlue
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Apr 24th, 2008 02:26 am |
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Maize, I think recommendations will get easier for teachers and counselors next year when the Common Application and the Universal College Application both start making it possible for them to be submitted electronically. Then again, I'm picturing having to look up each and every one of the many colleges for each student, so maybe not. (I know that Naviance also has some h.s.'s trying out a similar electronic submission program).
In terms of transcripts, I've looked at ones from several hundred different high schools at this point, and they are all over the board. Some high schools don't even have regular letter grades! About 40% or so of h.s.'s have stopped reporting ranks at this point (maybe a little more even). Some high schools work the profile information into the transcript (horrible idea in my opinion). Others provide a lot of explanation about the grades and what are honors courses. Many do include test scores -- and not just SAT and ACT scores, but state graduation test scores as well. A few schools show math and foreign language courses and grades from middle school (the UCs and Cal States like this if the student is using them to satisfy their requirements) Some even show written teacher comments! It's a real hodge podge, and I truthfully feel sorry for admissions people when they have to sort it all out. It must be a real headache at times.
But, I do recommend that ALL students and their parents request a copy of their transcript and the school profile early in Junior year to look at the "data" colleges will be receiving. It can be very informative. In my opinion, that's why all of the "What are my chances?" threads on various discussion forums are pretty useless - you need to see the actual transcript and school profile to put things in proper perspective.
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kdmom
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Posted: Thu Apr 24th, 2008 03:13 pm |
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MaizeBlue, my kids' public school transcripts were very similar to what you describe except that rank was also included.
My kids had to provide stamped envelopes for the teacher recommendations -- some of the teachers mailed them directly, some returned the sealed envelopes to the student. For the transcripts, the kids had to tell the guidance office how many copies they needed and provide blank envelopes. The GC then put the transcript and profile into the envelopes, affixed stick-on seals to the back (saying "official only if seal is unbroken"), and gave them back to the student. It was the students' responsibility to make sure everything got mailed out on time.
It seems like a reasonable system, except that the guidance office doesn't keep track of where the students are applying. They're not even aware of whether or not a student is applying ED. A little more oversight would be good, but I guess that's not in the budget. With ~400 students per counselor, these GCs are swamped!
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DesperateDad
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Posted: Thu Apr 24th, 2008 05:13 pm |
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M&B:
Our school transcript lists classes taken and grades, including +/-, and gpa (excluding +/-). GPA is calculated three ways: overall (every class); academic only; academic weighted, but weighted by UC-appoved honors courses. District does not rank. It's students' responsibility to self-report awards on app.
btw, scoop: a couple of colleges (UofChicago comes to mind) actually request paperwork be mailed in a 8.5x11 envelope, which I guess makes it easier for them to open and feed everything thru their copier/scanner.
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Thu Apr 24th, 2008 05:42 pm |
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I have used the full size manila envelopes are all correspondence that my children are requesting Teachers and GC to send to colleges. Our school gives the students special envelopes 81/2 x 11 for the GC documents. One for each school - our daughters had to put 4 stamps on each envelope, put the school's return address on the back and put the colleges address on the front. They included a postcard with the school's address on - daughters had to put the colleges name on the back in a pre-printed comment and put a stamp on the postcard./
For TR - the teachers had to be given a stamped (4) envelope with a single form (partially completed with students data), each envelope to have the college's name and the school name for a return address (we included a postcard stamped and addressed to our daughter for the college to return for each TR).
IMO the benefits of the larger envelope are many. First - it is easier for the Teachers to find, handle and remember to mail the envelopes, Second - the receiving college will have an easier time handling the paper (no folds etc). Third - it looks impressive and serious and maybe that helps give the Teacher a positive impression. 
BTW be sure to get envelopes with the pull off strips - Teachers will appreciate not having to lick envelopes.
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