Comments on: The Role of the Guidance Counselor Recommendation http://notjustadmissions.com/2009/07/30/the-role-of-the-guidance-counselor-recommendation/ Insider information on college admissions, with a sarcastic flavor, with a smidge of Mason propaganda Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:48:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: deanflagel http://notjustadmissions.com/2009/07/30/the-role-of-the-guidance-counselor-recommendation/#comment-2702 deanflagel Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:02:54 +0000 http://notjustadmissions.wordpress.com/?p=678#comment-2702 Exactly right. Sadly high schools are heaping increasing work loads on guidance counselors - many with 500 or more students, and as a result many have little time for college guidance efforts, let along the chance to get to know their students well enough for detailed essays - and those that do, usually on their own time, get little thanks from the educaitonal system. One of my columns last year was "hug your guidance counselor" - regardless of your stance on recommendations that still seems like sound advice. Exactly right. Sadly high schools are heaping increasing work loads on guidance counselors – many with 500 or more students, and as a result many have little time for college guidance efforts, let along the chance to get to know their students well enough for detailed essays – and those that do, usually on their own time, get little thanks from the educaitonal system. One of my columns last year was “hug your guidance counselor” – regardless of your stance on recommendations that still seems like sound advice.

]]> By: cynte415 http://notjustadmissions.com/2009/07/30/the-role-of-the-guidance-counselor-recommendation/#comment-2701 cynte415 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:43:38 +0000 http://notjustadmissions.wordpress.com/?p=678#comment-2701 This implies that the role of the counselor in the high school itself is quite vital. If the counselor has about 200 students with many other tasks, he/she will not be able to find time to get to know each student very well, leading to weak recommendations ("on-the-surface" letters). General stuff in a recommendation usually won't hurt an application, but the applicant who is on the edge of admission will probably not get pushed up there. On the contrary, other schools have much more dedicated staff to deal with college (usually private high schools), and these people can find the time to know each applying senior personally and therefore write a great letter. However, if you have a school like the first one I described (like mine), do not panic: the school recommendation is of relatively little weight when compared to the rest of the forms. If you can't get a strong one, it will be an essentially neutral thing for you to submit; look for better ways to show yourself in the essay or teacher references. This implies that the role of the counselor in the high school itself is quite vital. If the counselor has about 200 students with many other tasks, he/she will not be able to find time to get to know each student very well, leading to weak recommendations (“on-the-surface” letters). General stuff in a recommendation usually won’t hurt an application, but the applicant who is on the edge of admission will probably not get pushed up there. On the contrary, other schools have much more dedicated staff to deal with college (usually private high schools), and these people can find the time to know each applying senior personally and therefore write a great letter.

However, if you have a school like the first one I described (like mine), do not panic: the school recommendation is of relatively little weight when compared to the rest of the forms. If you can’t get a strong one, it will be an essentially neutral thing for you to submit; look for better ways to show yourself in the essay or teacher references.

]]> By: Arthur http://notjustadmissions.com/2009/07/30/the-role-of-the-guidance-counselor-recommendation/#comment-2533 Arthur Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:56:09 +0000 http://notjustadmissions.wordpress.com/?p=678#comment-2533 At our institution, we like the guidance counselor recommendation. It always seems as if the better the title of the individual (state representative, Director of Economic Development, Mayor) the less information about the student is presented. And usually its the students with the lower GPA's that tend to try and find the impressive titles to write letters. Many get offended when we decline their applications. Spend the time on your grades and you will not need to find a superior title to write you a recommendation At our institution, we like the guidance counselor recommendation. It always seems as if the better the title of the individual (state representative, Director of Economic Development, Mayor) the less information about the student is presented. And usually its the students with the lower GPA’s that tend to try and find the impressive titles to write letters. Many get offended when we decline their applications. Spend the time on your grades and you will not need to find a superior title to write you a recommendation

]]>