Teacher only writes “elite” students college recommendations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how are B+ or even average students to obtain recommendations? You can ask the students to prepare a list of accomplishments, and I’m sure you have a template for recommendations. Ridiculous to try to put forward the notion that you are drafting each recommendation from scratch. Do your job.

I DO draft each rec from scratch. They are very clear that this is what is needed: detailed, show that you know the student, not cut-and-paste. A neutral or cut-and-paste letter of rec is not useful at best, damning at worst. You really don’t know how this works.

Teachers should be obliged to write recommendations for even mediocre or poor students.

Isn't this what PE and Health teachers are for?

[Anonymous]

I mean isn’t that the point of recommendations? I too would only recommend the very hard working students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So how are B+ or even average students to obtain recommendations? You can ask the students to prepare a list of accomplishments, and I’m sure you have a template for recommendations. Ridiculous to try to put forward the notion that you are drafting each recommendation from scratch. Do your job.

There are lots of “average” schools that don’t require recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here my concern is that kids find out whether they’ve been selected only after AP results are out.

It’s devastating to the kid who scored a 4 on the AP exam and earned semester As to find out MIDSUMMER that they didn’t make the cut in a group email. Most teachers close off their recommendations prior to the end of the school year. Would the teacher have recommended my kid if he/she had scored a 5 on the exam? If not, why do they wait until midsummer to tell child and what is the purpose of doing so? There is no feedback loop either. What if you have a quiet shy kid that doesn’t stand out.

I see there are a few teachers on the forum and I really do appreciate the time and effort that each teacher puts into recommendations. It feels incredibly unkind to hold onto these requests and let students know midsummer. If you had no intention of recommending my student, please let them know immediately so they can pivot and find someone else.

I’m one of the teachers who has posted several times already on this thread. I do NOT base my willingness to write a rec on the AP score. No other teacher on this thread has said they do that, either. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who does this. That is very unusual of this teacher. Part of a Common App rec is the letter itself, it there are also tick box lists of attributes in which we must rank the student, relating to things like reaction to setbacks, faculty respect, self confidence, and a bunch of other things. It isn’t supposed to be just for the AP 5s; the whole rec is meant to give a picture of the student’s journey. I don’t know if I would even want a rec from this teacher.

But even so, your child has time to ask another teacher at the start of the school year. He/she can even—politely, not criticizing or blaming!—mention what happened with the other teacher and the AP cutoff situation, which was not known until July. This should be done the first week of school, and in person, not email (can email brag sheet later, after teacher agrees). All is not lost, and this may turn out better in the end.

OP here. Thank you! Fortunately my child asked for two other recommenders so he/she will be good to go though not ideal since the recommenders are all in area of strength. I know one teacher sent me a glowing thank you note after a Christmas gift about my child once so I think that one will be good. Fortunately my kid is applying to top 30-100 schools not 1-30 which many I’ve been told require recommenders from both humanities/math.

My child had another teacher who she/he really liked in his/her weak area (and also scored a 4 on that exam). He/she could probably ask that one but my kid is doesn’t want to ask. Feeling a little dejected at the moment.

Also is almost done with college apps too and wants to submit early. PP you sound like a nice teacher.

You don’t wait for the recs. to submit your applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here my concern is that kids find out whether they’ve been selected only after AP results are out.

It’s devastating to the kid who scored a 4 on the AP exam and earned semester As to find out MIDSUMMER that they didn’t make the cut in a group email. Most teachers close off their recommendations prior to the end of the school year. Would the teacher have recommended my kid if he/she had scored a 5 on the exam? If not, why do they wait until midsummer to tell child and what is the purpose of doing so? There is no feedback loop either. What if you have a quiet shy kid that doesn’t stand out.

I see there are a few teachers on the forum and I really do appreciate the time and effort that each teacher puts into recommendations. It feels incredibly unkind to hold onto these requests and let students know midsummer. If you had no intention of recommending my student, please let them know immediately so they can pivot and find someone else.

I’m one of the teachers who has posted several times already on this thread. I do NOT base my willingness to write a rec on the AP score. No other teacher on this thread has said they do that, either. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who does this. That is very unusual of this teacher. Part of a Common App rec is the letter itself, it there are also tick box lists of attributes in which we must rank the student, relating to things like reaction to setbacks, faculty respect, self confidence, and a bunch of other things. It isn’t supposed to be just for the AP 5s; the whole rec is meant to give a picture of the student’s journey. I don’t know if I would even want a rec from this teacher.

But even so, your child has time to ask another teacher at the start of the school year. He/she can even—politely, not criticizing or blaming!—mention what happened with the other teacher and the AP cutoff situation, which was not known until July. This should be done the first week of school, and in person, not email (can email brag sheet later, after teacher agrees). All is not lost, and this may turn out better in the end.

OP here. Thank you! Fortunately my child asked for two other recommenders so he/she will be good to go though not ideal since the recommenders are all in area of strength. I know one teacher sent me a glowing thank you note after a Christmas gift about my child once so I think that one will be good. Fortunately my kid is applying to top 30-100 schools not 1-30 which many I’ve been told require recommenders from both humanities/math.

My child had another teacher who she/he really liked in his/her weak area (and also scored a 4 on that exam). He/she could probably ask that one but my kid is doesn’t want to ask. Feeling a little dejected at the moment.

Also is almost done with college apps too and wants to submit early. PP you sound like a nice teacher.

You don’t wait for the recs. to submit your applications.

Your app isn’t deemed complete until recommendations are submitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So how are B+ or even average students to obtain recommendations? You can ask the students to prepare a list of accomplishments, and I’m sure you have a template for recommendations. Ridiculous to try to put forward the notion that you are drafting each recommendation from scratch. Do your job.

That is the point. The recommendation is not a part of the job description. When teachers wrote letters for my kids, we made sure they knew how much we appreciated it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here my concern is that kids find out whether they’ve been selected only after AP results are out.

It’s devastating to the kid who scored a 4 on the AP exam and earned semester As to find out MIDSUMMER that they didn’t make the cut in a group email. Most teachers close off their recommendations prior to the end of the school year. Would the teacher have recommended my kid if he/she had scored a 5 on the exam? If not, why do they wait until midsummer to tell child and what is the purpose of doing so? There is no feedback loop either. What if you have a quiet shy kid that doesn’t stand out.

I see there are a few teachers on the forum and I really do appreciate the time and effort that each teacher puts into recommendations. It feels incredibly unkind to hold onto these requests and let students know midsummer. If you had no intention of recommending my student, please let them know immediately so they can pivot and find someone else.

I’m one of the teachers who has posted several times already on this thread. I do NOT base my willingness to write a rec on the AP score. No other teacher on this thread has said they do that, either. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who does this. That is very unusual of this teacher. Part of a Common App rec is the letter itself, it there are also tick box lists of attributes in which we must rank the student, relating to things like reaction to setbacks, faculty respect, self confidence, and a bunch of other things. It isn’t supposed to be just for the AP 5s; the whole rec is meant to give a picture of the student’s journey. I don’t know if I would even want a rec from this teacher.

But even so, your child has time to ask another teacher at the start of the school year. He/she can even—politely, not criticizing or blaming!—mention what happened with the other teacher and the AP cutoff situation, which was not known until July. This should be done the first week of school, and in person, not email (can email brag sheet later, after teacher agrees). All is not lost, and this may turn out better in the end.

OP here. Thank you! Fortunately my child asked for two other recommenders so he/she will be good to go though not ideal since the recommenders are all in area of strength. I know one teacher sent me a glowing thank you note after a Christmas gift about my child once so I think that one will be good. Fortunately my kid is applying to top 30-100 schools not 1-30 which many I’ve been told require recommenders from both humanities/math.

My child had another teacher who she/he really liked in his/her weak area (and also scored a 4 on that exam). He/she could probably ask that one but my kid is doesn’t want to ask. Feeling a little dejected at the moment.

Also is almost done with college apps too and wants to submit early. PP you sound like a nice teacher.

You don’t wait for the recs. to submit your applications.

Your app isn’t deemed complete until recommendations are submitted.

But that has nothing to do with your student submitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here my concern is that kids find out whether they’ve been selected only after AP results are out.

It’s devastating to the kid who scored a 4 on the AP exam and earned semester As to find out MIDSUMMER that they didn’t make the cut in a group email. Most teachers close off their recommendations prior to the end of the school year. Would the teacher have recommended my kid if he/she had scored a 5 on the exam? If not, why do they wait until midsummer to tell child and what is the purpose of doing so? There is no feedback loop either. What if you have a quiet shy kid that doesn’t stand out.

I see there are a few teachers on the forum and I really do appreciate the time and effort that each teacher puts into recommendations. It feels incredibly unkind to hold onto these requests and let students know midsummer. If you had no intention of recommending my student, please let them know immediately so they can pivot and find someone else.

I’m one of the teachers who has posted several times already on this thread. I do NOT base my willingness to write a rec on the AP score. No other teacher on this thread has said they do that, either. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who does this. That is very unusual of this teacher. Part of a Common App rec is the letter itself, it there are also tick box lists of attributes in which we must rank the student, relating to things like reaction to setbacks, faculty respect, self confidence, and a bunch of other things. It isn’t supposed to be just for the AP 5s; the whole rec is meant to give a picture of the student’s journey. I don’t know if I would even want a rec from this teacher.

But even so, your child has time to ask another teacher at the start of the school year. He/she can even—politely, not criticizing or blaming!—mention what happened with the other teacher and the AP cutoff situation, which was not known until July. This should be done the first week of school, and in person, not email (can email brag sheet later, after teacher agrees). All is not lost, and this may turn out better in the end.

OP here. Thank you! Fortunately my child asked for two other recommenders so he/she will be good to go though not ideal since the recommenders are all in area of strength. I know one teacher sent me a glowing thank you note after a Christmas gift about my child once so I think that one will be good. Fortunately my kid is applying to top 30-100 schools not 1-30 which many I’ve been told require recommenders from both humanities/math.

My child had another teacher who she/he really liked in his/her weak area (and also scored a 4 on that exam). He/she could probably ask that one but my kid is doesn’t want to ask. Feeling a little dejected at the moment.

Also is almost done with college apps too and wants to submit early. PP you sound like a nice teacher.

You don’t wait for the recs. to submit your applications.

Your app isn’t deemed complete until recommendations are submitted.

But that has nothing to do with your student submitting.

Some colleges are rolling admission so it matters when the app is deemed complete

[Anonymous]

Based on our experience, some teachers do the recs over the summer, and others take the summer off (their right to do, since they are not paid) and do them when school resumes. Both of my kid's recommenders got their recs in by the application deadlines, but later than my kid submitted, and it had zero negative impact on anything. It is frankly not reasonable to ask teachers, at public school at least, to get them in any earlier than that just because a kid wants to submit before the deadline. And if memory serves, the rolling schools to which my kid submitted did not require teacher recs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my child could not obtain recommendations for college I would contact the principal, the superintendent, and the school board. This is a basic duty and the idea that teachers can pick and choose has civil rights implications.

I agree with you. With such large high school classes, a student can't be faulted for "not catching your eye" enough to write a thoughtful recommendation. You guys already screwed over kids during the pandemic. At least you could get this right - help them leave MCPS! Damn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my child could not obtain recommendations for college I would contact the principal, the superintendent, and the school board. This is a basic duty and the idea that teachers can pick and choose has civil rights implications.

I agree with you. With such large high school classes, a student can't be faulted for "not catching your eye" enough to write a thoughtful recommendation. You guys already screwed over kids during the pandemic. At least you could get this right - help them leave MCPS! Damn.

Wow. Did you really type out your intrusive thoughts and hit submit?

Yikes for any teachers dealing with this 😬

[Anonymous]

I mean pick another teacher? You really want your kid to get attached to a lukewarm letter that conveys disinterest ? Surely there are teachers he has a better relationship with. And no, it’s not part of their job. There’s no ‘write college rec letters’ slot built into the schedule. I don’t blame teachers who quit with these crazy parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here my concern is that kids find out whether they’ve been selected only after AP results are out.

It’s devastating to the kid who scored a 4 on the AP exam and earned semester As to find out MIDSUMMER that they didn’t make the cut in a group email. Most teachers close off their recommendations prior to the end of the school year. Would the teacher have recommended my kid if he/she had scored a 5 on the exam? If not, why do they wait until midsummer to tell child and what is the purpose of doing so? There is no feedback loop either. What if you have a quiet shy kid that doesn’t stand out.

I see there are a few teachers on the forum and I really do appreciate the time and effort that each teacher puts into recommendations. It feels incredibly unkind to hold onto these requests and let students know midsummer. If you had no intention of recommending my student, please let them know immediately so they can pivot and find someone else.

I’m one of the teachers who has posted several times already on this thread. I do NOT base my willingness to write a rec on the AP score. No other teacher on this thread has said they do that, either. In fact, I don’t know any teacher who does this. That is very unusual of this teacher. Part of a Common App rec is the letter itself, it there are also tick box lists of attributes in which we must rank the student, relating to things like reaction to setbacks, faculty respect, self confidence, and a bunch of other things. It isn’t supposed to be just for the AP 5s; the whole rec is meant to give a picture of the student’s journey. I don’t know if I would even want a rec from this teacher.

But even so, your child has time to ask another teacher at the start of the school year. He/she can even—politely, not criticizing or blaming!—mention what happened with the other teacher and the AP cutoff situation, which was not known until July. This should be done the first week of school, and in person, not email (can email brag sheet later, after teacher agrees). All is not lost, and this may turn out better in the end.

OP here. Thank you! Fortunately my child asked for two other recommenders so he/she will be good to go though not ideal since the recommenders are all in area of strength. I know one teacher sent me a glowing thank you note after a Christmas gift about my child once so I think that one will be good. Fortunately my kid is applying to top 30-100 schools not 1-30 which many I’ve been told require recommenders from both humanities/math.

My child had another teacher who she/he really liked in his/her weak area (and also scored a 4 on that exam). He/she could probably ask that one but my kid is doesn’t want to ask. Feeling a little dejected at the moment.

Also is almost done with college apps too and wants to submit early. PP you sound like a nice teacher.

You don’t wait for the recs. to submit your applications.

Your app isn’t deemed complete until recommendations are submitted.

Then Your kid needs to pick another school. Writing rec letters for everyone would make them absolutely meaningless.

[Anonymous]

Pitt (one of most popular rolling around here) does not require teacher recommendations. Lots of schools require only one teacher rec.

[Anonymous]

Teacher and counselor recommendations are part of the broken college application process. My rising junior with a disability is really going to struggle finding a teacher to write one.