Do MCPS teachers check ratings boxes on Common App Letters of Rec?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counselor here. I only complete the required questions. In the Common App/NACAC counselor forms, there are a couple I happily skip, because I hate being asked to compare students to their peers. We are required to answer the question of how strongly we recommend a student. I always select "enthusiastically recommend" (except on the rare occasion I have serious reservations).

The Georgetown form is tough. OP, I wonder if this is the form you're filling out. So many subjective questions asking us to compare students to their peers. These questions are required, so I answer them, but it's so frustrating. I usually ask myself, "What are the traits I admire most about this student?" Then, in all those categories, I select "top 1% in my career." I go with the second best option for almost everything else.

So you basically take an important tool for admissions and make it worthless by treating all candidates the same? Just more MCPS grade inflation.

I did not get that from the PP’s post.

Then you didn't read what she wrote. She chooses several "top 1% in my career" categories for every student and "always selects enthusiastically recommend." So no differential.

That’s what private schools do, so I think it’s great a public school student is thrown a scrap or two.

But it means that colleges have no way to distinguish between students... so if every student is "top 1% in my career" then there is no benefit to it.
"And when everyone is Super, than no one will be" - Syndrome

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any HS teachers here? Do the teachers check all the boxes rating the kids (top 1%, average, etc.) on the college Letters of Recommendation form for the Common App? Or have they been advised not to? Thank you!

Yes we do. We do not get any guidance on how to complete letters of recommendation because it is not part of our contractual duties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counselor here. I only complete the required questions. In the Common App/NACAC counselor forms, there are a couple I happily skip, because I hate being asked to compare students to their peers. We are required to answer the question of how strongly we recommend a student. I always select "enthusiastically recommend" (except on the rare occasion I have serious reservations).

The Georgetown form is tough. OP, I wonder if this is the form you're filling out. So many subjective questions asking us to compare students to their peers. These questions are required, so I answer them, but it's so frustrating. I usually ask myself, "What are the traits I admire most about this student?" Then, in all those categories, I select "top 1% in my career." I go with the second best option for almost everything else.

So you basically take an important tool for admissions and make it worthless by treating all candidates the same? Just more MCPS grade inflation.

I did not get that from the PP’s post.

Then you didn't read what she wrote. She chooses several "top 1% in my career" categories for every student and "always selects enthusiastically recommend." So no differential.

Actually, YOU didn't read what she wrote. She said she selected 1% in "those" categories, meaning select categories pertaining to traits that that she really admires about the student.

[Anonymous]

means that colleges have no way to distinguish between students

Maybe colleges do their own work, and not make the high school select students for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any HS teachers here? Do the teachers check all the boxes rating the kids (top 1%, average, etc.) on the college Letters of Recommendation form for the Common App? Or have they been advised not to? Thank you!

Yes we do. We do not get any guidance on how to complete letters of recommendation because it is not part of our contractual duties.

OP here - Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counselor here. I only complete the required questions. In the Common App/NACAC counselor forms, there are a couple I happily skip, because I hate being asked to compare students to their peers. We are required to answer the question of how strongly we recommend a student. I always select "enthusiastically recommend" (except on the rare occasion I have serious reservations).

The Georgetown form is tough. OP, I wonder if this is the form you're filling out. So many subjective questions asking us to compare students to their peers. These questions are required, so I answer them, but it's so frustrating. I usually ask myself, "What are the traits I admire most about this student?" Then, in all those categories, I select "top 1% in my career." I go with the second best option for almost everything else.

So you basically take an important tool for admissions and make it worthless by treating all candidates the same? Just more MCPS grade inflation.

I did not get that from the PP’s post.

Then you didn't read what she wrote. She chooses several "top 1% in my career" categories for every student and "always selects enthusiastically recommend." So no differential.

That’s what private schools do, so I think it’s great a public school student is thrown a scrap or two.

But it means that colleges have no way to distinguish between students... so if every student is "top 1% in my career" then there is no benefit to it.
"And when everyone is Super, than no one will be" - Syndrome

The bigger problem is for students who unwittingly ask the one teacher who doesn’t do this for their recommendation. So everyone else from their school is getting “top 1%” enthusiastically recommend and then you have one teacher who applies those very literally and will only give one student in 100 a top 1%.
The whole process is like random Russian roulette.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counselor here. I only complete the required questions. In the Common App/NACAC counselor forms, there are a couple I happily skip, because I hate being asked to compare students to their peers. We are required to answer the question of how strongly we recommend a student. I always select "enthusiastically recommend" (except on the rare occasion I have serious reservations).

The Georgetown form is tough. OP, I wonder if this is the form you're filling out. So many subjective questions asking us to compare students to their peers. These questions are required, so I answer them, but it's so frustrating. I usually ask myself, "What are the traits I admire most about this student?" Then, in all those categories, I select "top 1% in my career." I go with the second best option for almost everything else.

So you basically take an important tool for admissions and make it worthless by treating all candidates the same? Just more MCPS grade inflation.

I did not get that from the PP’s post.

Then you didn't read what she wrote. She chooses several "top 1% in my career" categories for every student and "always selects enthusiastically recommend." So no differential.

That’s what private schools do, so I think it’s great a public school student is thrown a scrap or two.

But it means that colleges have no way to distinguish between students... so if every student is "top 1% in my career" then there is no benefit to it.
"And when everyone is Super, than no one will be" - Syndrome

The bigger problem is for students who unwittingly ask the one teacher who doesn’t do this for their recommendation. So everyone else from their school is getting “top 1%” enthusiastically recommend and then you have one teacher who applies those very literally and will only give one student in 100 a top 1%.
The whole process is like random Russian roulette.

Teacher here. I try to be generous but still answer honestly. I only click on top 1% for my best students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counselor here. I only complete the required questions. In the Common App/NACAC counselor forms, there are a couple I happily skip, because I hate being asked to compare students to their peers. We are required to answer the question of how strongly we recommend a student. I always select "enthusiastically recommend" (except on the rare occasion I have serious reservations).

The Georgetown form is tough. OP, I wonder if this is the form you're filling out. So many subjective questions asking us to compare students to their peers. These questions are required, so I answer them, but it's so frustrating. I usually ask myself, "What are the traits I admire most about this student?" Then, in all those categories, I select "top 1% in my career." I go with the second best option for almost everything else.

So you basically take an important tool for admissions and make it worthless by treating all candidates the same? Just more MCPS grade inflation.

I did not get that from the PP’s post.

Then you didn't read what she wrote. She chooses several "top 1% in my career" categories for every student and "always selects enthusiastically recommend." So no differential.

That’s what private schools do, so I think it’s great a public school student is thrown a scrap or two.

But it means that colleges have no way to distinguish between students... so if every student is "top 1% in my career" then there is no benefit to it.
"And when everyone is Super, than no one will be" - Syndrome

The bigger problem is for students who unwittingly ask the one teacher who doesn’t do this for their recommendation. So everyone else from their school is getting “top 1%” enthusiastically recommend and then you have one teacher who applies those very literally and will only give one student in 100 a top 1%.
The whole process is like random Russian roulette.

Teacher here. I try to be generous but still answer honestly. I only click on top 1% for my best students

How does this work in a selective program when the kids there are there by virtue of being in the top 1 percent in the county already. Some of them are going to be mediocre among their very highly able peers but quite exceptional composted to the student body overall.