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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I once saw a recommendation letter for a highly-sought after position that had a handwritten note to the addressee in the margin that simply said, "not for you."  The official letter in the sender's files would say glowing things, but a different message was conveyed. Maybe it's similar or it's a matter of a phone call during which the counselor provides tone and context to allow the college official to sense which student the recommender believes would fit best. [/quote]

I think it's usually quite the opposite.  College counseling staff are in selling mode when they talk with colleges.[/quote]

Actually, counselors are also in the mode of preserving their relationships with colleges. Sure, they look good if they help a number of kids get into great schools in a given year. But they also have a longer view, over many years ahead, that depends on earning a college' admissions office's trust in their recommendations. So they're not going to push the class pothead, or even an under-whelming kid, and burn that relationship.

Re the teachers' rec forms. Often colleges ask teachers to compare the kids to other students in current and past classes. So, is this student "average" or "among the best" or "in the top 1-2% of kids you've ever taught"? I've seen forms that will ask various questions about work, writing ability, innovation and such, and then ask teachers to do this ranking for each question.[/quote]

Our college counselors advise the teachers NOT to fill out the checkboxes.  It's still up to the teachers but many avoid the checkboxes and reference their letter.  The Commom App now has a place for teachers to indicate that they don't fill out the checkboxes.

When you talk to the college admissions staffers and they are candid, they will admit that they like the checkboxes bc they use them to eliminate students.  Thus the advice not to fill out that part of the form.[/quote]

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