Interviews & Networking
School Guidance Counselor Tips: How to Connect
First off, why is forming a relationship with your guidance counselor important? Read on for more guidance counselor tips.
March 6, 2021
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First off, why is forming a relationship with your guidance counselor important? Read on for more guidance counselor tips.
The college counselor recommendation is one of the most important and overlooked portions of the college admissions process. “Virtually every classmate that I have spoken to at Stanford had a good relationship with his/her counselor, and some maintain friendships,” one advisor said. This year, the Common Application has added two options for school counselors to decline sending an evaluation for students:
Testing, transcripts, and even essays, can tell colleges a good deal about how you perform in academic settings and how you define yourself. What they lack, however, is the ability to combine this objectivity and personality testimony. This is where letters of recommendation come in.
Most colleges require students to submit letters of recommendation from teachers or professors to demonstrate academic potential outside of reported grades. On this recommendation, the teacher has the opportunity to write a letter for the student and submit a few boxes with relative aptitude of the student. In this analysis, we will look at the teacher recommendation, strategies to asking for two or more letters, and shaping letters of recommendation.
You got good grades. Took your standardized tests. Written and rewritten, deleted and rewritten essays. You’ve listed extracurriculars and community service. You’ve done everything to make yourself an attractive college applicant. But there’s one more piece–letters of recommendation.
How important are letters of recommendation to admissions officers after all? In this article, we’ll see how critical letters of recommendations are in the process.
When it comes to college applications, your personality matters. The characteristics colleges look for in students, while perhaps not all that unexpected, should be considered before you submit your application. Furthermore, you should think about how you can demonstrate these characteristics on your application, and what to do if you find you come up short on some preferred characteristics.
Part of applying to college is demonstrating your personal qualities, in addition to all of your academic achievements. And nothing says good manners and thoughtfulness like a thank you letter!
Great letters of recommendation probably won’t get you into a school if your grades and test scores aren’t up to snuff, but they can absolutely help you stand out among the rest of the pool of qualified potential students. While of course you can’t control what the letters say, there are some simple things you can do to help make sure they’re as good as possible.
A well-written letter of recommendation from the right person may tip the scales in your favor towards admittance, so consider who will write yours.
