How Important Are the Counselor's LOR? And the Parents Brag Sheet?

[Anonymous]

If the counselor is lazy they might just lift the language. Use language which would allow them to do this easily.

[Anonymous]

mine's due today. been struggling for two days to put anything meaningful... and it's made me realize i don't know my child very much to write about "...an anecdote (or anecdotes) from your child's high school years that best reflect your child's character, integrity, compassion for others, and/or maturity..." or "...events or experiences you feel have significantly influenced your student..."

[Anonymous]

Parent of graduating senior here, and this is making me realize how long this past year has been. I remember wondering about that brag sheet last year!

Looking back, I see that the biggest advantage of it was to use it as part of the application. DS picked 3 things to keep harping on in ALL parts of his common app. The brag sheet listed these points up front. Our kid is really into a very niche EC, is a full IB kid, and has helped his disabled sister during covid learning. AOs don’t have time for nuance. Hit them between the eyes with your 3 points, and have this echo consistently throughout all parts of the app, like recs.

[Anonymous]

Fill out the "brag sheet" under the assumption that the school counselor who doesn't really know your kid, will use it as the basis for their recommendation.

[Anonymous]

While DC's school has a much smaller ratio of students to counselor, it still is a short time for the two to truly know each other, let alone form a bond. So we wrote the letter as requested.

FWIW, what may have made the most difference in how the counselor viewed our DCs is that both the college office counselor and the secretary individually commented to me that both our kids were friendly and well-mannered. The one college counselor, who is also the director, told me that one of our DCs in particular always started their meetings by inquiring about his family, health, etc. This DC got into a reach ED and I do wonder if that insight made its way into the LOR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s counselor is useless and doesn’t know my kid at all. I wish they’d get rid of those letters. It favors rich kids at private schools.

Our DD got a new counselor in 11th grade. The counselor was new to the school and messed up her schedule right away. Additionally it was the remote pandemic year. Then 12th grade messed up her schedule again....we filled out the brag sheet as requested by the counselor, but did not count on it doing anything really positive for her. Counselor basically barely knew DD and she had 300 kids to take care of.

[Anonymous]

I’d assume they’re mainly important if they’re negative. That’s what the AOs are looking for. Or explanations of unusual or difficult circumstances. For a typical high achieving kid coming from a large DMV public, I can’t imagine the counselor lors matter much, if they’re not negative. Colleges know the counselors barely know the kids. That said, I’d still convey in the brag sheet what I want admissions to see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mine's due today. been struggling for two days to put anything meaningful... and it's made me realize i don't know my child very much to write about "...an anecdote (or anecdotes) from your child's high school years that best reflect your child's character, integrity, compassion for others, and/or maturity..." or "...events or experiences you feel have significantly influenced your student..."

I think I know my kid quite well and I am still having trouble with this part. And I didn't with the previous brag sheet. Current junior just doesn't happen to have useful anecdotes from the high school years.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is the counselor letter is fairly important for the more selective schools in that it really integrates the different “holistic“ components to tie the application together. Most counselors aren’t really going to know the kids very well, but they can look at the letters of recommendations + ECs And provide a summary that weaves together what the kid has to offer. So just put everything you can think of that is relevant, the counselors know how to write these letters. I don’t know if all schools do it this way but our counselor letters also included input from two additional teachers or coaches (beyond the two required LORs) Who I think we’re probably often better sources for little colorful anecdotes that a parent would be.

[Anonymous]

I think the Parent Information Questionnaire was really helpful for the counselor to write a letter, and I think it was probably very helpful for the college admissions counselor. My kid was not involved in any groups in school. Grades were not that great. BUT, my kid was involved in three things completely unrelated to school that showed effort, leadership, and deep interest in something related to her academic interests. Without the parent questionnaire, the counselor would have very little to say about my kid.

With the info. I provided, the counselor could draw a picture of my kid (figuratively) showing her effort as a behind-the-scenes kid who became a self-taught expert in _____.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my experience as a faculty member reading admissions files with admissions officers at an Ivy, the counselor's LOR was an important source when the student had had some bumps along the road or the record was less than stellar. The counselor was the one who could mention family issues, health or mental health issues, etc., and help contextualize the student's courses in relation to the school's norms. Those were files from public schools. Not infrequently I saw the counselor's LOR bump a student into a maybe pile when they might have been weeded out earlier based on stats.

+1 My DD has had a difficult junior year both from health issues (a lot of absences) and stumbling in managing her ADHD. As a result she has some weak grades but she did pull it together and will get all As in Q4. The quarter grades are not show on our transcript so in the brag sheet I asked the counselor to emphasize that improvement and the reason for the weaker grades this year. I also shared anecdotes that illustrate her persistence and willingness to put in the work and take a challenging class even if it pulls down her gpa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is the counselor letter is fairly important for the more selective schools in that it really integrates the different “holistic“ components to tie the application together. Most counselors aren’t really going to know the kids very well, but they can look at the letters of recommendations + ECs And provide a summary that weaves together what the kid has to offer. So just put everything you can think of that is relevant, the counselors know how to write these letters. I don’t know if all schools do it this way but our counselor letters also included input from two additional teachers or coaches (beyond the two required LORs) Who I think we’re probably often better sources for little colorful anecdotes that a parent would be.

Is this a public school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is the counselor letter is fairly important for the more selective schools in that it really integrates the different “holistic“ components to tie the application together. Most counselors aren’t really going to know the kids very well, but they can look at the letters of recommendations + ECs And provide a summary that weaves together what the kid has to offer. So just put everything you can think of that is relevant, the counselors know how to write these letters. I don’t know if all schools do it this way but our counselor letters also included input from two additional teachers or coaches (beyond the two required LORs) Who I think we’re probably often better sources for little colorful anecdotes that a parent would be.

Is this a public school?

It is- smallish public in New England

[Anonymous]

It is unfortunate for kids at schools where the counselors are poor and/or overworked, but IMHO:

A strong recommendation from a known counselor/school (public or private) is the single best asset a student can have after the basic transcript. More than ECs, much more than the essay.

That's why the best EARLY college admission advice you can get is not what classes to take, or what ECs to do, it is very simple:

GET TO KNOW YOUR GUIDANCE/COLLEGE COUNSELOR, AND GET THEM TO LIKE YOU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is unfortunate for kids at schools where the counselors are poor and/or overworked, but IMHO:

A strong recommendation from a known counselor/school (public or private) is the single best asset a student can have after the basic transcript. More than ECs, much more than the essay.

That's why the best EARLY college admission advice you can get is not what classes to take, or what ECs to do, it is very simple:

GET TO KNOW YOUR GUIDANCE/COLLEGE COUNSELOR, AND GET THEM TO LIKE YOU.

I'm the PP who wrote that I think DC's interest in the college counselor as well as good manners may have helped in getting into a reach ED.