As the holidays come to a close another season also moves toward completion – the Application season for college. Between September and February, students across the country work diligently at completing their applications and making requests for recommendations.
The recommendation is the most time-honored but overlooked aspect of the admissions process, and many claim it can make the difference regarding a student’s acceptance to a school of their choice.
A strong teacher recommendation can add flesh, bones, and personality to a packet of test scores and grade point averages and convince a college admissions director that a particular student would be a valuable asset on campus. As a result, some schools are holding workshops for teachers on how to craft the most effective recommendations, encouraging students to choose not their most popular teachers but those who can best describe their academic abilities, and suggesting that teachers limit the number of letter requests they agree to write.
Yet, for most instructors, the personal time devoted to letter writing is a tough, largely unpaid part of their job.
Letters of recommendations require more than knowledge about the academic achievements of a student; they require the writer know personal aspects about the student’s character and abilities as a human being. In turn, recommendations from professionals with a close relationship to a student can make a stronger impression. Derick Perry’s letters, for example, may carry more weight with an admissions office because he teaches 10th- and 12th-grade English at Thacher, a small boarding school where teachers live full time with students and get to know them outside of class.
Students are encouraged not only to ask for recommendations from the most popular or prestigious teachers, but from those who know them best, and educators are encouraged not to discount the importance of their letters in providing an edge in the application process.
(LA Times, 12/27)
Do you encourage your students to seek you out for college references? What methods do you use to support your students’ application efforts?
