4Real Forums: Academic Recommendation?

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High School Years and Beyond
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Topic: Academic Recommendation?

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cheesehead mom
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Posted: Oct 25 2013 at 6:54pm \| IP Logged

My senior son is applying to a small private school and the online app gives a box for an 'academic recommendation' by the school counselor or teacher. This school is accustomed to homeschoolers from what I see and he will have his transcript sent...so, I was just going to be brief "I am writing to recommend _________ for admittance into your Fall 2014 class. ___________ has successfully completed a college preparatory coursework at home, in classroom co-op classes and online. " My gut is that they are not looking for a full recommendation just someone to certify his academic coursework. What are you thoughts experienced moms?

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SallyT
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Posted: Oct 26 2013 at 8:49am \| IP Logged

All my daughter's applications required a "school counselor recommendation," which I wrote. While I didn't write a long essay, I did write more about my daughter as a person: not only her coursework, but also her academic and personal strengths and gifts, things she had accomplished outside her academic work, etc.

I figured that if I didn't present that information, who would? The transcript speaks to the completion of academic work, and we did include two other letters of recommendation from sources outside our family, plus her own essays, but my take is that that "counselor" recommendation is a place to provide a brief but detailed introduction of the student as both a student and a person.

Sally

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cheesehead mom
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Posted: Oct 26 2013 at 9:31am \| IP Logged

Thanks for the response Sally. The space provided is rather short so I guess I was thinking they were not really looking for a character recommendation--like you would expect with scholarship applications. He will be soliciting recommendations from coaches or so-op teachers for those. They do have a space for accomplishments and activities separate from this recommendation. He has already received an acceptance from a comparable school so I am fairly confident he will be accepted. That being said I think I will take your advice and add more as space provides about his character and such. Thanks again!

SallyT
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Posted: Oct 28 2013 at 7:18am \| IP Logged

I actually attached mine on a separate sheet of paper. Not that it was a long essay, and not that a lot of that information didn't show up in other places, but I kind of figured that that was a "first stop" for the admissions staff -- their first real introduction to this applicant -- and that other components of the essay would serve as evidence for and developments of certain themes introduced in my statement.

Now, that may well have been overkill . . . You have me wondering. But it did work.

Sally

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Lara Sauer
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Posted: Nov 04 2013 at 9:08am \| IP Logged

I would simply call the admissions office and ask what they are specifically looking for.

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