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. 

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.

Let’s look at some other Ivy League schools to see how important letters of recommendation are:

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.

Letters of recommendation can serve as a powerful asset to the college applicant. A well-written letter from the right person may tip the scales in your favor towards admittance, so spend a bit of time considering who will write yours.

The time has finally come – college application season. You’ve taken the standardized tests, formulated your college list, and started scanning the essay prompts. Next up on the list is asking for letters of recommendations from your teachers. Here we’ll answer the whats, whos, whens, and other details about teacher recommendations.