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Too Much Stuff To Remember...Jan 05 '01 Write an essay on this topic.As senior year is in full swing, many students forget how necessary applying for college the RIGHT WAY is. Too often people sit on their butts (I being one of those people last year) and wait for everything to fall onto their lap. One of the most important aspects of applying though is not just sitting on your butt typing away your application but going out to get recommendation letters. Sure, you could go to your first three teachers of the day and ask them to write out a quick letter saying what a great student you are but come on; college admissions counselors are not stupid and you should not go around thinking they are. So here are some tips that I did which helped me to receive scholarships, get into the school of my choice, and raise my self-esteem going into the most hectic four years of my life. Ask the teachers whose classes you excel in It may seem simple right? Wrong. Have you made a good impression in this class, did you turn your work in on time, do you stop by after school and talk with this teacher about your fears and concerns? If you answered no to any of these, you need to reevaluate asking this particular teacher to write you a letter of recommendation. Teachers who have written many letters of recommendation know what admissions counselors look for and that is a student who is active and willing to learn. So if you have not started taking interest in a class where you know the teacher can write out a good letter, start taking interest now and do not look back. One final note in this area, make sure that you get letters from at least one or two teachers that were current or past math, science, or English teachers. Many schools and scholarships require letters of recommendation from these types of teachers and it is a good idea to get a letter or two from them even if the colleges do not tell you it is "necessary." Translation of "necessary"- "Do you feel like going the extra mile to get into this college or get this scholarship?E Find teachers that are related to your major My major is public relations and luckily I had contact with many teachers related in this field. I had been in debate three out of the four years in high school and excelled at it, leading my teacher to write a wonderful letter of recommendation that made me blush for days. I also took a radio class that was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Not only did I get my DJ license, but I got an excellent recommendation from the teacher that had a doctorate. So if you are an English major or journalism major I suggest you receive two to three letters of recommendation from English teachers and your newspaper instructor; if you are going into general education I suggest you find teachers in classes you are interested in someday teaching yourself, etc. It seems simple but a lot of people do not take the time to figure this out in advance. Ask people in your community or people you have known for a long time Have you been active in volunteering in your community? If you have, find someone you have impressed whose recommendation will impress others. Did you pick up trash on the highways, help children in need, play in a community band or orchestra, etc.? This shows colleges that you took interest in your community and also that you have a lot of variety in what you do. Secondly, ask teachers who have known you for a long time. For example, my orchestra teacher had known me and taught me violin since sixth grade. By my senior year, he knew my personality and character enough to write an excellent recommendation. If you have history (not the class) with a teacher, get them to write a recommendation for you. Jenni's Recommendation Yes, I do have some recommendations of my own that I suggest you tell the people who are writing the recommendations. First of all, the recommendation letter should be no longer then one page max. If it is too long and the type is too small the person reading it will lose interest or begin to question the teacher's intent with this ten page letter they might send the college. Secondly, include the letters of recommendation with your application to the school or scholarship application. If you are going to a large college chances are there is an excellent possibility of the admissions office losing a teacher's recommendation if they send it separately. If the teacher does not want to give you the recommendation because they think it would look better if they send it separately (as one of mine did) offer the suggestion of sealing the letter. This does two things: first, it ensures the teacher that it will not be looked at and secondly it looks awesome because you have enough confidence that you impressed this teacher. When they give you the sealed letter in an envelope, make sure that they sign the back of it where the flap is sealed down to prove it was not tampered with. Next, ask your teachers two to three weeks in advance to write the letters of recommendation. College application time is hectic for teachers as well; do not place them under pressure by freaking them out on the last day you can turn in your application by springing something on them. I know someone that did that and the teacher ended up writing a horrible recommendation about how the person procrastinates and does not take important things seriously. By giving two to three weeks notice and continually checking on their progress and maybe asking to proofread for possible errors about basic generalities about yourself shows them you care and impresses the teacher even more. Finally, do not go overboard. Five or six is probably what you need to draw the line at. Admission counselors are busy people. A lot of my recommendation letters were necessary because of in school scholarships I was applying for. If you send ten or twelve for no reason, the counselors might get a little upset at you. Don't risk it. The Dr. has never sounded sweeter I could talk all day long about what to do and don't, but I think that examples are the best method in showing seniors the best people to get information from. So here is a list of my recommendations and how important these individuals were in my school and community: My math teacher (head of the department, masters in education working for doctorate, known at many colleges and universities) My debate teacher (relevant to my major and an excellent source of my personality and character in a school and personal setting- debate tournaments weekend after weekend can kill a kid) My orchestra teacher (teacher who had taught me for seven years and known at many of the major universities in their music departments) My English teacher from my junior year (example of progression, relevant to major- journalism involved in PR) Director in Community Orchestra (example of active community involvement) Director of KEOM (teacher of my radio class who has that nice Dr. in front of his name, known in my community as well as many others) I hope that this has been a big help to seniors who struggle in the recommendation letter area. Thanks for the read!  |
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