On Writing an Effective Teacher Recommendation for the College-bound Student

1. To Whom it May Concern….. On Writing an Effective Teacher Recommendation for the College-bound Student Nick Edwards, College Counselor Academia Cotopaxi AIS

2. The State of Things

3. Packaging the Student

4. Disclaimer Your letter of recommendation might not mean anything! Or It might just be a Tipper!

5. The College Admissions ProcessWhat they look at (in this order) • Course of Study: Rigorous? [in context] • Grades: Achievement [in context] • Test Scores: SAT,ACT, TOEFL… • Letters of Rec: An involved adult prospective • Extracurriculars: Over-achiever? Couch Potato? • Essay: Let’s hear from you! • “Other” legacy, diversity, major, full-pay “Holistic Review” Tipper!

6. Your Audience • “Area” reader • Second reader • Committee • Thousands of applications for hundreds of spots • Fool-proof BS detectors • Nice people-they really are on your side-really!

7. What a Good Letter Does[Purpose] • Introduces the student as a learner • Illustrates characteristics of the student as a learner/person • Gives the reader a glimpse of that one student within a specific context

8. What a Good Letter Does [Purpose] • Brings the numbers to life • Reinforces other parts of the student’s application • Expounds on special circumstances, challenges, anomalies in a student’s record

9. What a Good Letter DoesIn their words “Is everything I have written about this student important to their candidacy in higher education?  For example, is it a letter you would find helpful if you were selecting students for your particular class?” “Is this letter only applicable to this particular student?” 

10. What They say they want to see • Context • Specificity • Anecdotes • Candor • Honesty

11. From their own mouths…     “When possible, I like to know where this student fits in relation to the particular class, his entire senior class, and of all the students this teacher has taught over the years - if applicable (i.e. this student is in the top 10% of all learners I've had in class over the years).”

12. From their own mouths… “While the letters are not always particularly helpful, in certain cases, especially when there is a lot of discussion about a student in committee, they can make a difference.  They are an additional piece of information and for places like F&M, a small liberal arts school where each student makes a difference in the class, they can be very important since we read applications holistically and try to identify students who will not only do well here, but are a good “fit” for the college.”

13. From their own mouths… “ Contextualizing their relationship with the student is critical in the opening paragraph. ” “ I'm interested in what the student's academic potential is.  Who better to speak towards this than a teacher who had this student in class? ”     “Use anecdotes to explain this student's desire and curiosity to learn, ability to work in groups, etc...”

14. Not! • Rehashing the hash • Form letters, interchangeable paragraphs • Contradictions • Embroidery • Ten-cent words: smart, talented, involved… • Wrong university!

15. Format • ¾ to 1 page in length-How long would you read? • Who are you? --one or two sentences is good enough • How do you know the student?--Multiple contexts? • Anecdotes, examples, illustrations: Everybody likes a good story • Special strengths, challenges, victories, lessons learned “How is the student as a learner and what can he/she bring to the college classroom/campus”

16. Nuts n Bolts • What to do with those checklists?- Not! • Just say no! • School letterhead The AC method: • Polite request • Biographical form • Reasonable deadline • One junior year, one senior year • confidential • Thank you!

17. Questions? Comments? Applause?