The School Recommendation is required by many colleges as part of the application package. This report, generally referred to as the Secondary School Report (SSR), gives an overall view of the applicant. NACAC, the National Association of College Admission Counselors, provides a universally accepted SSR form which will be distributed to students at the Nuts and Bolts Workshop. The top portion is completed by the student and includes the student’s name, address, social security number, and signature. The SSR and personalized counselor recommendation letter add depth and breadth to the applicant’s quantitative statistics. The College Counseling Office uses information from teachers, peers, coaches, parents, and the counselor’s personal knowledge of the student to compile recommendations.

Teacher Recommendations are important elements in your application, as teachers provide insight about your intellectual self. Recommendations describe your work habits, academic passions, and contributions in the classroom. Some colleges prefer junior and senior teacher recommendations. Please make sure to use Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request Forms available in the College Counseling Office when you make your requests. Some colleges have required forms that must accompany letters. It is the student’s responsibility to distribute required forms to teachers. Teachers will submit letters and forms to the College Office to be mailed with your transcript; these documents are strictly confidential.

Other Recommendations from outside coaches, employers, or character references may be submitted to the College Counseling Office and included in our packet, or may be mailed by the authors directly. Be careful not to appear to be “padding” your application with a lot of nice, but unnecessary, letters. Each letter should add a new dimension to your application.

Remember, it is the student’s responsibility to request letters in a timely fashion and to ascertain how many letters each college requires.

Your Rights under the Buckley Amendment

An act of Congress, the Buckley Amendment, affords you the right to look at recommendations after they are filed by colleges. Most recommendation forms have a provision to waive your rights. We strongly suggest that student’s sign the waiver. Colleges can comfortably rely on recommendations when students waive their rights. Doing so reflects self-confidence; the student is not worried about what will be written and recommenders are free to be candid.