Most applicants don't make the most of their counselor and teacher recommendations (or, in admissions speak and for the rest of this blog: recs). You settle for good when you could have great. Good means that the recs won't hurt you in the process; great means the recs might actually tip the balance in your favor if you are smack dab in the middle of the pool.
Recs from counselors and teachers make a difference because these third party adults are trusted, independent sources of information about you. It is one thing when you report that you have been a great student leader. It is another thing when you report that about yourself, the counselor seconds it with an example of how your leadership in the junior class kept the class on a positive track after some negative event like the loss of classmates in a car accident, and the teachers third it with examples of how you demonstrate leadership within the classroom by asking probing questions and helping other students who are having a tough time getting it.
I'm not going to spend much time advising you how to get good recs, because I suspect you have already figured that out. Here's the basic advice you should have gotten.
First, you don't get to choose who does your counselor rec; your school assigns that to someone. Make sure you know who that is, connect with him/her, and follow his/her instructions.
Second, get teacher recs from teachers who know you, from whom you got a good grade (or turned around a nosedive), who have seen you perform well in the classroom, and who like you. If you are honest with yourself, you know who these teachers are. Ask them politely and in a way that gives the recommender a graceful way to say no, e.g., "Mr. Smith, I am talking with teachers about recommendations for college. I hope you would be one of my recommenders. Are you able to write a strong recommendation for me to college?"
If Mr. Smith says no, that's it. Accept it with thanks for the consideration. If you have a sense that the teacher is saying no because he/she can't write a positive recommendation, you should probe gently into why. Follow-up with a question such as, "Mr. Smith, I sense that you are uncomfortable giving me a positive recommendation. Before I ask another teacher, I would like to understand why that is so I can reflect upon it and address it."
If your teachers say yes, give them the forms (filled out and with postage), check in with them and then thank them. Not so hard, huh?
Because getting good recs is relatively easy and because you are SO busy during your senior year, most applicants get their good recs lined up and call it a day. But if you are willing to take a little extra time, you can take those good recs and make them great. If you make the recs great, you increase your chances of being admitted to your top choice school. So, if you are committed to maximizing your offers of admission, take these additional 3 steps and your recs will likely go from good to great!
Step 1. Prepare a "cheat sheet" for your recommenders.
Recommenders want to write a recommendation that will actually help you. Left to their own devices, they will be guided by the questions that the recommendation form asks and their own recollections. This means they may or may not address what is actually important to you.
If you've taken the time to outline your story (see Week 4 [1]), you know what parts of that story your recommenders can help you tell. Outline those points in bullet format on one sheet of paper that you include with your recommendation forms. Not sure what I mean? Here are some questions to get you thinking about the bullet points you might include on your cheat sheet:
Step 2. Ask early in a face-to-face, scheduled meeting to which you arrive prepared with a package to hand over.
Teachers and counselors write lots of recommendations. They are "extra" work for them, so the most courteous thing you can do is ask early, so that they can squeeze this extra work into an already hectic schedule. (Also some teachers limit the number they will write and observe a first come, first serve policy.)
A face-to-face scheduled meeting with the recommender signals that you are approaching the college application process with great seriousness. All too often, applicants let time constraints of a hectic life result in an "on the fly" approach. You ask recommenders in a rushed talk between classes or after school, a casual exchange following a sports event or extracurricular activity, or an email exchange. It gets the job done, but it doesn't make for great recs.
Come prepared to your meeting with the following package of information:
Give the recommender your package. Briefly refer to the cheat sheet and ask the recommender if he/she has any questions or needs anything else from you in order to complete the recs.
Step 3. Check in and keep the recommender current.
Recommenders get busy and they aren't necessarily paying attention to deadlines the way you are. It is both courteous and simple to check in and keep the recommender current with your progress/process. Just put the following check-in dates on your calendar and then do each:
They will not help you (and overkill suggests something off about you), so don't bother unless:
Having trouble working up the nerve to ask for a recommendation? Need a script for talking to the counselor? Encountered another problem with recommendations? Please post a comment!
Alison Cooper Chisolm [2] writes the series 52 Weeks to College [3]. She has worked in admissions at Southern Methodist University, the University of Chicago, and most recently Dartmouth College. She is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Virginia Law School. As part of the Ivey Consulting team, Alison works with college applicants and their families as they navigate the college admissions process. Read more about Alison here [2].
Links:
[1] http://www.annaivey.com/iveyfiles/2009/09/52_weeks_to_college_week_4
[2] http://www.annaivey.com/about/team#Alison Chisolm
[3] http://www.annaivey.com/iveyfiles/2009/09/52_weeks_to_college_week_1