The Role of Teacher and Counselor Recommendations in College Admissions

There are many components to compiling a successful college admissions packet. Sometimes it seems that all of the paperwork is only there to weed out lazy students who cannot be bothered to complete the necessary forms, or to drive those who simply cannot keep up with all the parts completely insane. There is the questionnaire, the short answer forms, the lengthy essays, and the transcripts that need to be sent in. On top of all of that, students also need to procure at least two recommendation letters from their instructors and their counselors. Though these may seem extraneous, especially after noting all of the other materials that college admissions officers must look through, teacher and counselor recommendations actually play a fairly important role in the admissions process.

Recommendation letters serve as a way for college admissions officers to get to know you better as a student. Though your grades and classes are important, admissions officers also want to see how you function as part of a classroom and as part of the school community. The best way to do so is to read what your instructors and counselor have to say about your personality, attitude, and skills. In 2009, a majority of colleges and universities indicated that counselor and teacher recommendations are one of the most important deciding factors in deciding which students to accept after first considering grade point average and overall scholastic performance, according to the College Board’s College Admission and Enrollment Statistics. Admissions officers may use recommendation letters to break a tie between two equally qualified students, and also to thin out the number of potential candidates at competitive colleges. This means that your recommendation letters may be the final factor in determining whether or not you will be accepted into your dream school.

Knowing all of this, it is important that you begin cultivating meaningful relationships with your instructors and counselor as soon as possible. Make it known that you are a hard-working student with admirable traits so that he or she will be able to pen a well-written and worthy recommendation letter for you. When you approach your instructor and counselor with a request for a recommendation letter, give to them a stamped and addressed envelope as well as a short write-up of things you would like for them to mention. The reality is, school faculty members see many students every day, so you may need to give them memory joggers about what you have done that makes you an excellent student. This way, if your acceptance is hinged on what your instructors and counselor have to say about you, you can feel confident that your recommendations portray you in the best light possible.

Did you enjoy this article?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 9:52 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.