Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:42
Subject: Re:Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
This question comes up every fall, multiple times each fall. I wish high school counselors, in their college application instructions, would make clear what the procedure is at that high school, e.g., "don't worry, they will be submitted by the deadline," or "if it hasn't been submitted, contact counselor the day before the deadline," or something.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:37
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My DS's teacher (only one of them) has still not gotten his in, and my son made the request 4 months ago and has been following up. It's maddening and I have little to no sympathy about this. It's part of the job.
Read my post above.
And, because now I’m frustrated… I wrote 47. Each one took me about an hour and I completed them over two weeks this summer, without pay.
The teachers who haven’t gotten them done STILL HAVE TIME. They are not late. Those letters, however, are sitting on top of about 60 other hours a week of obligations. Teachers are absurdly busy.
I want this job less and less with every passing day.
NP and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! I know you don’t hear it enough. I can’t imagine how frustrating and demoralizing it must be to give so much of your time and emotional energy only to receive such disrespect and ingratitude on this forum. DD’s teachers have been wonderful and supportive. Many of us on here are grateful for your commitment to your students, despite the entitled and ignorant PP. The stress we’re all feeling right now is no excuse for that nasty attitude.
THANK YOU! I can’t put into words how much I appreciate this.
I do grow tired of this forum’s expectation that teachers should be working around the clock because that’s “part of our job.” The PP’s suggestion that teachers should practice the time management we preach really got under my skin. When I am responsible for 60-65 hours of exhausting work a week PLUS I have all the responsibilities of a parent myself, I don’t know where else I can pull energy to make that parent happy. And that’s the problem: I never will unless I just work more and give up more.
So I can’t tell you how much I appreciate a kind word on this forum. Thank you!
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:26
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Counselors can submit late. It stresses out the students but it’s fine.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:13
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.
Some high schools do. Most do not. And many high school students request recs in Sept/Oct.
That said, the school has at least until the deadline. For most colleges, that's a soft deadline, in which case, no need to do anything until after the deadline.
If the college in question is one of the few with a hard deadline, remind the teacher/counselor gently the day before the deadline, or talk to the counselor - at some high schools with a dedicated college counselor, that counselor will chase down teacher recs.
How do you know if the college has a hard deadline for these letters? Upthread someone said Michigan is one. How can you learn of the others?
The college will post a deadline for other documents. Check admission websites. Michigan is the only one I'm aware of, though perhaps there are some other publics with a hard deadline.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:09
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My DS's teacher (only one of them) has still not gotten his in, and my son made the request 4 months ago and has been following up. It's maddening and I have little to no sympathy about this. It's part of the job.
Read my post above.
And, because now I’m frustrated… I wrote 47. Each one took me about an hour and I completed them over two weeks this summer, without pay.
The teachers who haven’t gotten them done STILL HAVE TIME. They are not late. Those letters, however, are sitting on top of about 60 other hours a week of obligations. Teachers are absurdly busy.
I want this job less and less with every passing day.
NP and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! I know you don’t hear it enough. I can’t imagine how frustrating and demoralizing it must be to give so much of your time and emotional energy only to receive such disrespect and ingratitude on this forum. DD’s teachers have been wonderful and supportive. Many of us on here are grateful for your commitment to your students, despite the entitled and ignorant PP. The stress we’re all feeling right now is no excuse for that nasty attitude.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:07
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.
Some high schools do. Most do not. And many high school students request recs in Sept/Oct.
That said, the school has at least until the deadline. For most colleges, that's a soft deadline, in which case, no need to do anything until after the deadline.
If the college in question is one of the few with a hard deadline, remind the teacher/counselor gently the day before the deadline, or talk to the counselor - at some high schools with a dedicated college counselor, that counselor will chase down teacher recs.
How do you know if the college has a hard deadline for these letters? Upthread someone said Michigan is one. How can you learn of the others?
Anonymous
10/26/2024 13:03
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
I understand and really do appreciate all the work that teachers do for our kids that is beyond the mountain of day-to-day work they do BUT I also know for a fact that many students asked their teachers of choice for recommendations LAST March and April and the letters are still not submitted. That is not right. And for all educators try to teach students about good time management and not leaving their assignments to the last minute, it is a really poor model to provide these kids.
I just had to vent as this aspect of the college application process is causing so much stress on top of what is a stressful process.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:55
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:My DS's teacher (only one of them) has still not gotten his in, and my son made the request 4 months ago and has been following up. It's maddening and I have little to no sympathy about this. It's part of the job.
Read my post above.
And, because now I’m frustrated… I wrote 47. Each one took me about an hour and I completed them over two weeks this summer, without pay.
The teachers who haven’t gotten them done STILL HAVE TIME. They are not late. Those letters, however, are sitting on top of about 60 other hours a week of obligations. Teachers are absurdly busy.
I want this job less and less with every passing day.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:51
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.
I’m going to correct this for you. No, recommendation letters are not part of my job. They are mentioned nowhere in my very detailed contract, not even by vague reference. I am fully within my rights to refuse every single request. I don’t do that because I have respect for my students and I want to help them achieve their goals.
And yes, perhaps requests are supposed to be made in May. I get many in September because students miss deadlines. And even if they are requested in May, I am literally not at work from June-August; I’m between contracts and unpaid. So you are telling me that I should write letters when I’m essentially not employed by the school.
We expect teachers to stretch to the limits for their students, working an absurd number of unpaid hours. And perhaps you have limited sympathy. Trust me, we know. And yet somehow we continue to give, give, give, give to ungrateful people because that expectation is, as you say, “a known part of our job.”
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:48
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
My DS's teacher (only one of them) has still not gotten his in, and my son made the request 4 months ago and has been following up. It's maddening and I have little to no sympathy about this. It's part of the job.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:36
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Has OP come back to share what school so we can all show them that it’s not one of the 3-4 schools that want every item submitted by deadline?
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:34
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
They know. The admissions officers know how it goes. If it is clear that the request has been made, leave the poor counselor alone.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:30
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.
Some high schools do. Most do not. And many high school students request recs in Sept/Oct.
That said, the school has at least until the deadline. For most colleges, that's a soft deadline, in which case, no need to do anything until after the deadline.
If the college in question is one of the few with a hard deadline, remind the teacher/counselor gently the day before the deadline, or talk to the counselor - at some high schools with a dedicated college counselor, that counselor will chase down teacher recs.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 12:13
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
Counselors and teachers don’t need your sympathy but we don’t need to be harassed by you either. We know our deadlines and will get everything in by the deadline even if it is at the last possible second. Usually stuff can go in a week after the Nov 1 deadline. I try to make sure all my stuff goes in by Nov 1 otherwise kids and parents completely freak out and I waste a lot of time trying to manage their anxiety. But at the end of the day, we do have later deadlines than students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.
Anonymous
10/26/2024 11:12
Subject: Counselor hasn’t submitted materials
Anonymous wrote:There are different deadlines.
Also realize that LORs are getting done during evenings and weekends; teachers receive no break from their over-scheduled days to complete these letters, and many of us have 40-50 to write.
Counselors are meeting with and submitting materials for hundreds of students.
The work is getting done.
Most schools require teacher recommendation requests to be made last April and May so these aren’t last minute requests. Counselors should offer hours in August so they can get a head start. Our school didn’t start the counselor process until midSeptember which is crazy. My sympathy is limited given it is a known part of the job.