Letters of recommendation are a central part of a student’s college application. They can provide valuable insight into a student’s personality, especially for highly selective colleges. However, picking a teacher who will accurately sum up your character can be tricky, and students have often felt immense pressure to receive an acceptable letter.
Not every student has close relationships with their teachers. Quieter students in particular have often felt anxiety when told to find a teacher who can attest to their character, when they feel nobody accurately can. Many counselors will recommend choosing a teacher who has seen a student grow and develop over time, but what happens when a student feels no teacher has seen this in them?
BSM guidance and college counselor Amy Larson advises those particular students to not get too wound up over a letter of recommendation. According to her, these letters can only help your application, and they seldom do any harm. “I mean, I’ve seen lots of great letters…so a letter of recommendation wouldn’t break [an application] …it could just give another uptick,” Larson said.
Letters of recommendation tend to cause great amounts of stress mainly because of their perceived importance. No ACT score or GPA tells admissions the important traits of a person, and what qualities they can bring to the school they are applying to. “It’s another piece about the student that’s not numbers… they especially show a side of a student that the college didn’t know,” Larson said.
It’s another piece about the student that’s not numbers… they especially show a side of a student that the college didn’t know
— Amy Larson
Although the process of receiving an adequate letter is seemingly stressful, this year, most BSM seniors have found their experience to be untroubled. Overall, there is an impression that the letters will provide a genuine insight into their character. “I feel like I had a really great experience picking and finding my teacher to write my letter of recommendation, even though I don’t get to read it. I hope that it’s good, and I have confidence that my teachers that I chose wrote a good letter,” senior Natalie Best said.
BSM is blessed to have many qualified teachers who love to grow close with their students, providing many with lots of options for their letter of recommendation. “I love my teachers who wrote mine and it was overall a really good experience. I feel like it went really well,” Best said.