1. Requesting Guidance Counselor Recommendations:

 

Our counselors spend a great deal of time preparing and writing their student recommendations. In an effort to help them personalize and accurately reflect upon a student, we ask that two documents be completed by the student and his/her family. These documents should be completed directly on Naviance by June of the student's junior year.
 

·         Guidance Counselor Recommendation Form- This form should be completed by the student. It asks specific questions about his/her interests, likes and dislikes, and strengths and weaknesses, and extra-curricular and school based activities, which will help our counselors write more meaningful and accurate recommendations.  In addition, completion of this form will assist a student in developing his/her very first resume, which then can be attached to college applications.

 

·         Parent Recommendation Form- This is an opportunity for parents to give our counselors more insight to their student. Students are often modest in talking about themselves. Here is a chance for parents to reflect on their student’s strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and their passions. Information collected from this form will only be used by our counselors to write more personalized recommendations for their students. They are not sent on to colleges.

 

If the colleges you are applying to require a counselor recommendation, you must complete and submit both the Guidance Counselor and Parent Recommendation Forms directly on Naviance at least one month prior to the college’s deadline.  Counselor recommendations are completed in the order in which they are received, but will not be written until a completed Transcript Release Form is submitted to your guidance counselor.

 

 

2. Requesting Teacher Recommendations

 

Most colleges require at least one teacher recommendation, and some may require two.   They usually prefer teachers that a student has had during his/her junior and senior years. These are the years which will give college admissions counselors an indication of how a student may fare as a freshman in college. As with counselor recommendations, it takes quite a bit of time to write a thoughtful teacher recommendation. Students should give their teachers as much notice as possible and provide them with suggested mailing dates in order for the recommendation to arrive at the college by its application deadline. Some teachers write many recommendations and may have to limit the number they can or will write. We suggest that students ask their junior year teachers right before summer break. Senior year teachers should be given at least 6 weeks notice prior to a college’s application deadline. There are two ways that teacher recommendations can be requested and forwarded on to colleges. A student should ask his/her teacher which way he/she prefers to handle recommendation requests. Whichever way a student decides to handle teacher recommendations, we can’t stress enough how important it is to give adequate time for them to be written. 

 

Method 1 Students should pick up a Teacher Evaluation Form from the Guidance Office.  Students should then make copies of the form and complete the top portion of the Teacher Evaluation Form for each college they are applying to. A stamped addressed envelope for each college and a copy of the student’s resume worksheet should be provided to the teacher at the time that recommendations are requested. Teachers in turn will complete their recommendations, seal the envelope, sign over the back flap of the envelope, and mail them directly to the colleges. It is up to the teacher as to whether or not a student will read his/her recommendation.

 

OR

 

Method 2 The second method is for the student to pick up a Teacher Evaluation Form, complete the top portion of the form and give the form to his/her teacher. The teacher would then write the recommendation, give it back to the student, and it is up to the student to make copies and forward them on to colleges. It is at the teacher’s discretion as to which method he/she would like to use. Please note that some colleges prefer receiving evaluations that have not been reviewed by the student, and arrive in a signed and sealed envelope. They feel that this protects the integrity of the evaluation.