The Impact of Influential Letters of Recommendation in College Admissions

Previously Published on September 4, 2017: Curious about the impact of letters from influential people in the admissions process? Letters from former presidents, current presidents, royal family members, college trustees, CEOs of major corporations, and more can certainly be helpful in the highly selective college admissions process. But they can … 

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On Letters of Recommendation

Standardized testing has long been the bullseye in target practice as activists for equity in college admissions seek to create a more just system for all. But standardized testing isn’t their only target in sight. It’s also letters of recommendation. That’s right. Letters of recommendation from teachers and the school … 

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Letters of Recommendation Remain Vital

Are you convinced your junior year English teacher writes the best letters of recommendation? If so, well, you probably haven’t read our past blogs on recommendations from English teachers. What have you been doing with your time instead? We kid, we kid. But, in all seriousness, English teachers are notorious … 

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Letters of Recommendation from the Dalai Lama

Can a letter of recommendation from the Dalai Lama help your child’s case for admission to highly selective colleges? There was a piece published yesterday in “The New York Post” by Dana Schuster and Isabel Vincent entitled “Parents get letters of rec from Dalai Lama to get kids into private school” … 

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Impressive Letters of Recommendation

There was an outstanding editorial a few days back in “The New York Times” that caught our eye. It’s one we just had to share with our readers. The op-ed, entitled “Check This Box If You’re a Good Person” and written by Dartmouth admissions officer Rebecca Sabky, is — to … 

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Additional College Letters of Recommendation

We call them the stuffers. But, Ivy Coach, what pray tell are stuffers? Allow us to explain. Stuffers are students (and parents) who like to send the kitchen sink to highly selective college admissions offices. Maybe it’s a family photo album. Or a home-cooked meal delivered fresh to a student’s … 

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Rescinded Letter of Recommendation

When a teacher or school counselor writes a letter of recommendation on behalf of a student, that teacher or counselor is vouching for that student — or not depending upon the content of the letter. The teacher is conveying what they know about the student’s character, intellectual curiosity, interests, and more. … 

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Being Proactive with Letters of Recommendation

Jon Boeckendstedt, the associate vice president for enrollment management and marketing (we need a breath…that title is long!) at DePaul University in Chicago recently wrote a piece for “The Washington Post” about how letters of recommendation are a particularly unfair component of the college admissions process. His assertion largely centers … 

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Berkeley Letters of Recommendation

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about how the University of California, Berkeley was choosing to defy a long tradition among the University of California schools by encouraging applicants to submit letters of recommendation. No other University of California school accepts letters of recommendation. Their argument? They argue that they … 

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Less Can Be More in College Admissions

More is better in highly selective college admissions, right? Not necessarily. So many students and especially their parents are under the impression that more is always better in the admissions process. More letters of recommendation. More information in the Additional Information section of the Common Application. More hours of community … 

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