Why Letters of Recommendation are Irrelevant

As part of my job, I read college applications. I take this pretty seriously. If a student took the time to submit a complete application, I think that I should give it due time to review. Many admission decisions are pretty cut and dry without spending too much time meticulously combing through the entire file; others require a deeper perusal, to include verification of proper high school curriculum, a variety of extracurricular activities, and the letters of recommendation.

Unfortunately, all too many letters of recommendation give me no more insight to a student's ability to succeed in a college environment than a Magic 8-Ball. Most letters don't warrant more than a cursory glance because I have read all of the glowing letters that spout over-the-top plaudits for (usually) average students. Still, once or twice a year, I get a noteworthy letter, and this year was no exception - usually one extraordinary in it's helpfulness and one extraordinary in it's uselessness. My extraordinary (positive) letter came from a good friend who used to work in college admissions and now works as a counselor at a private high school. The letter was forthright, but had style and personality. It also gave me insight into the student that I could not have gleaned from the application or even a personal interview with the student. My OTHER letter arrived this past week:

To Whom It May Concern:

[Student's Full Name] is the student who is going to make a difference in your classroom. I have had the pleasure of knowing [student] for two years. I taught English 11 and World Literature 12. He is a mature young man who gives positive direction for the other students. He is a true role model for others to follow. [student] is intelligent, creative, mature, hardworking and wants to create a positive influence in all he deals with. He excels in all he does with great determination.

[Student] has demonstrated high levels of initiative in learning. wants to make a difference in his life; he is not going to settle for second best. He realizes life is very competetive. knows that he has to earn everything that comes his way. [Student] realizes that education is a privilege and he is going to take full advantage of it. Based on performance, his rite of passage into college will be a smooth one.

[Student] realizes that school is a multi-faceted experience. [Student] is a vital part of [High School Name]. He has strong leadership qualities.

[Student] has left a great mark on me. He realizes education is the foundation cornerstone in starting a rewarding career. [Student]'s initiative to study in your college shows that he has taken the time to find the college that is going to put him on the right foot and in the right directions to give him every opportunity to use education to make a desirable candidate in any profession he chooses to follow.

[Student]'s hard work, responsibilities, creativity, long hours hitting the books, extra curricular activities, self esteem, and strong Christian values has prepared him for the tasks he will be expected to complete in college. [Student] is well rounded and will be a desirable candidate ofr you to consider.

I highly recommend without hesitation [Student] to your institution. He will be a positive asset to your school. You will end up being as proud of him as I have been and [High School Name]. Please do not hesitate to call me with any questions.

Sincerely,
[Teacher's Name and Subject Area]

Stop for a second and try not to focus on the grammar and syntax errors (if you can read my writing, this should be a piece of cake!). The reason why this letter is useless is not really in the content. Rather, the reason why this letter is useless is that it appears to have absolutely no basis in fact.

The student in question submitted a transcript that includes an overall grade point average of 1.7 and standardized test scores almost 33% below our average - almost to the point that one would wonder if the score was for one section of the SAT or the composite score. Lastly, the student earned a grade of 'D' in the course which the letter writer claims to have taught. What about the grades and test scores that this student earned supports the letter that this teacher sent? Why on earth would a teacher who graded a student as barely passing offer up this positive letter of recommendation.

This student was clearly not going to gain admission with or without the above letter. Unfortunately, the letter leaves me with a negative impression of the writer. If I were to receive another application with a letter of recommendation from this person, how could I take what they say seriously? Further, won't this experience come to my mind when I read another application from this high school? I surely don't mean to indict an entire high school on the basis of one bad letter of recommendation, but I think it would be hard to not think of this when I receive the next application(s) from this school.

I can only think that the letter writer was just phoning this one in. I get asked all the time how many letters of recommendation should accompany the application. People give me a baffled look when I give them my standard answer. I usually tell people that they only need one - but, one good one, which they are not likely to get. I go on to explain that sending me five letters that all say pretty much the same thing - how wonderful the student is - "she plays six varsity sports;" "he is working on curing cystic fibrosis;" "when he farts, it smells like roses!" - are not helpful. I would trade five letters filled with unabashed praise for one clear and concise assessment of a student's strengths AND weaknesses. Yes, believe it or not, most 17 year-olds have weaknesses. You would never know it from most letters of recommendation (see above), but the letters that ignore any possible areas in which the student can improve often hold no weight with me. Letters that directly address any student flaws immediately cause me to go back and readdress the letter writer's assessment of the student's positive traits.

Teachers and counselors have the ability to return the letter of recommendation to some relevance, but in it's current form, these letters serve no purpose other than to make the average student's file a touch thicker.

**Welcome Carnival of Education readers! If this is your first visit, you may want to stop by the Introduction page. That will give you a brief overview of what to expect to see elsewhere on this site. This is not a single-focus blog, so you will find posts here on more topics than just education. I do travel a lot for business, so I have quite a few posts (and pictures) of where I have been and the food I have discovered on the road. My finances are equally as important to me, and my work in college admissions allows for some unique perspective on the college search and financial aid.

I am glad you stopped by, and hope that you might poke back again sometime soon. The newest posts can be found by clicking on the "Home" tab at the top of the page.

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Stuff You Oughta Know...Without Being Told by a Judge

Sometimes I have a hard time separating the real news from the fake news. Newsworthy today, however, is that new school teachers should not have sex with their students.

I can't imagine anyone needs a judge to tell them this, but apparently, they do. An Orange County (FL) judge says that new schoolteachers should sit through a half-hour presentation that would tell teachers "how damaging such relationships could be."

The judge wants to be accompanied for his presentation by a man he sent to jail for having sex with one of his students. That teacher is now serving a five-year sentence. In a related story, the jailed teacher thinks that this is a good idea!

Friends, we have a nominee for Moron of the Week. There are times when your actions are beyond what society deems acceptable behavior. Trying to defend those actions will often find you placing your oversized hoof into your mouth.

"When you're dealing with a high-school environment and you're a 22-year-old college student, you can easily get involved with a student when they're 16, 17," he said.

Aside from the fact that I don't buy into this for a second, how, exactly, does this explain his own situation? He was a 28 year-old man when his relationship began with a high school FRESHMAN. When I last checked, high school freshmen are either 13 or 14 years old. An argument could be made that a 22 year-old guy could pick up a 17 year-old girl at a club, not realize how young she is, and find himself in a uncomfortable situation -- or worse, a relationship. BUT, a 28 year-old man and a 13 year-old girl is acceptable in what circumstance?

And, yet, the man still couldn't remove his giant foot from his mouth.

"I don't think it's fair that I'm labeled as a sex offender and am grouped with other guys that are truly malicious and harm and kill little kids," he said. "There was nothing violent about my crime. Nothing against anyone's will."

Proving to me that this guy still needs a lot of therapy, he still has no concept of what he had done as being wrong. He seems not to get that having a position of power -- an educator, classroom leader, or really any position of authority (later in life, this may become your boss?) -- gives you an unfair advantage in assessing the emotional attachments of those assigned to your care. I have no problem lumping this creep in with the other pedophiles.

As far as the original story goes, fortunately, the head of the local teachers association finds the presentation proposal "insulting."

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Stuff I Wish I Knew Back Then

Last month, Scott Elliott of the Dayton Daily News wrote about the five things he wishes he knew about in high school. While Scott's list is good, and should be shared with high school students, it misses some of the things that I would include on my list. Of course, the one thing I know from working with high school students all the time, is that most of them would never heed any type of list like this....they already know everything! :)

1. The people who sit at the "cool" table at lunch are no more or less likely to be successful than anyone else. Eliminate, just for a second, the need for 100+ definitions of success, and reflect on what you think/thought success is/was at the time. I know that I always thought that all the "cool" kids (no, I don't include myself in that crowd) would become doctors, lawyers, CEOs, etc. Without making examples of anyone I know specifically, let's just say that it ain't true. While being "cool" in high school is no sure fire path to a successful future, the skills that are developed at a young age can be applied to later challenges. Developing a good social skill set early can be helpful in creating positive relationships, good job skills, and a network of associates that may be able to help you in your career.
2. Your friends in high school are not likely to be in your circle of friends in five years. I can count on one hand the number of people I have spoken with from my high school graduation class in the last 10 years. I moved away right after high school, so maybe that was the impetus, but I know of too many people who live local to their former high school and tell me the same thing. The friends who generally remain with you for life are the ones that you make in college. What's worse -- the people who haven't had too much happening since high school will only have those high school memories to talk about when they do see you.
3. The person you are dating at graduation is not the person you are going to marry. Heck, it probably won't even be the person you are dating by the end of freshman year. OK...I realize that this is a percentage play here, but I am going with it. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people make their college choice based on where their high school boyfriend or girlfriend would be attending school. Invariably, boy goes to college with girl; girl realizes that college has LOTS of boys; girl dumps boy long before the "Freshman Fifteen" set in. The same thing happens in reverse. I found this blog entry while researching something else. Just read the first sentence and you will see that even sounds ridiculous to follow someone else off to school -- or stay home/close to home to be near your younger SO's senior year.
4. Your senior year of high school may be the most wasted year in all your education. Between the prom, senior trip, the college application process, the short class schedule, "senior privileges," the job to help pay for your car insurance, and the general case of "senioritis" that inevitably sets in, what exactly do you learn in class? Further, many students don't want to risk hurting their GPA during their senior year, so they opt for an easier class load. One thing that I learned is that taking a year off (mentally or physically) from being a student is usually not the most prudent approach to successful college endeavours. Fortunately, that feeling is catching on.
5. The New York State "Regents Diploma" means nothing outside of New York. In New York, the Regents diploma is pitched to students as an academic achievement. Some high schools actually "weight" the grades from Regents level courses, as though they are on par with honors or Advanced Placement courses. The reality is that it is no better, and in a lot of cases, worse than what other states have as a standard "college preparatory" curriculum. You can graduate with a Regents diploma without ever having taken courses in Precalculus, a language other than English or Physics. Of course, to get this Regents diploma, you do need two credits of Physical Education -- but, no Physics or Spanish. You can earn your Regents diploma by earning scores on the Regents exams no higher than a 65. You don't NEED a Regents diploma to graduate high school, either. You can take a lesser track, or score grades of 55 on the Regents exams and still graduate high school.

I am sure that there are more things that I wished I had learned in high school, but this will make for a decent Top 5 list for now. If you can think of others, please add them in the comments section.

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