Request for updated math teacher recommendation?

smmtx1

5-Year Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2013
Messages
71
Has anyone ever been asked to provide an updated math teacher recommendation from USNA Admissions? BGO called DS last night and said Admissions contacted him and they need his math teacher to provide an updated recommendation. His 11th grade math teacher left the school so his 12th grade math teacher had to do his recommendation - she had only been his teacher for 3 weeks prior to submitting her recommendation.

DS asked BGO if he thought he still had a chance at being accepted and BGO told him that if Admissions was not seriously looking at his file they would not be requesting another math recommendation. BGO said he could not provide anymore information than that.

Here's a brief synopsis of his journey to the Academy so far:

February - submitted applicaton to NASS
March - flew to USNA to 'get looked' at for soccer team...did not make the cut:frown:
April - notified of acceptance to NASS
June - attended NASS and had time of his life also attended USNA soccer camp
September - completed DODMERB physicals
October - DODMERB lost DS paperwork...found paperwork FINALLY
October - DODMERB notified Medically Qualified
December 12 - received NJROTC nomination
December 18 - notified he had been deferred
December 21 - notified he received MOC nomination
January 8 - needs to submit another math teacher recommendation

And so the rollercoaster continues! Glad our family loves thrill rides! :thumb:
 
What are his math ACT and/or SAT scores? Is he taking AP or advanced level math classes? How are his math grades in high school? Are the two (math grade/ACT score) comparable, or are they wide apart?

Admissions must see something that makes them question whether he can handle the Calculus math (and Physics/Chemistry) classes that all Plebes must take.

Just throwing my $0.02 out there...
 
were you able to read the teacher's recommendation before? since she was only his teacher for a few weeks USNA might want an update.
 
I'm assuming his math is what has put him on deferred status. I was just curious if anyone has ever heard of this request before.

All of his core courses in high school have either been PAP, AP or dual college credit.

Math History - all advanced:
Math semester grades have all been 92 - 85 except for this semester - he has an 80 in calculus but Admissions wouldn't know that yet since his transcript won't be available to send until January 31st. When he told his BGO he had an 80 in calculus his response was, “a B’s a B”.

Science History - all advanced:
Chemistry - mid 90's / Physics - high 80's / Biology - mid 80's

ACT/SAT Math scores are pretty even:
ACT Math - 30
SAT Math - 710
 
I'm assuming his math is what has put him on deferred status. I was just curious if anyone has ever heard of this request before.

All of his core courses in high school have either been PAP, AP or dual college credit.

Math History - all advanced:
Math semester grades have all been 92 - 85 except for this semester - he has an 80 in calculus but Admissions wouldn't know that yet since his transcript won't be available to send until January 31st. When he told his BGO he had an 80 in calculus his response was, “a B’s a B”.

Science History - all advanced:
Chemistry - mid 90's / Physics - high 80's / Biology - mid 80's

ACT/SAT Math scores are pretty even:
ACT Math - 30
SAT Math - 710

I haven't heard of it on these boards before but then I doubt many people have the situation with math teachers that your DS had. I'm sure that it's due to the teacher giving the original recommendation not being all that familiar with him and hence the request for update. I also expect the BGO is correct that if they weren't looking at him as competitive, then they wouldn't be asking for this. They're trying to give him a chance to "improve"/"complete" his package. This is good. :thumb:
 
I'm a bit confused. If you're saying that the original rec came from a teacher who'd only known him for 3 weeks when writing it and now the same teacher knows him a semester, it makes sense.

USNA puts a lot of stock in teacher recs -- much more so than the BGO recs that many seem to stress about. The reason is that your 11th grade teachers have typically known the student for an entire year and can comment on his/her attributes in and out of class.

It appears in the OP's case that the 12th grade math teacher (obvioulsy) couldn't do that and her recommendation probably reflected that lack of info/knowledge. Seriously, what could she say other than: he seems like a nice guy in the 3 weeks I've known him? Now that the teacher has had plenty of time to get to know him, she can write something more substantive.

I would take the request as a somewhat positive sign in that USNA definitely wants additional information, which means the application is definitely still in play. However, if things turn out well or not so well, PLEASE do not credit -- or worse, blame -- the teacher. The teacher's comments could well merely cement an appointment decision that's already largely been made -- USNA is simply doing its due diligence. Conversely, even a great rec may still not result in an appointment b/c there may be more competitive candidates. Just being honest.
 
I'm a bit confused. If you're saying that the original rec came from a teacher who'd only known him for 3 weeks when writing it and now the same teacher knows him a semester, it makes sense.

USNA puts a lot of stock in teacher recs -- much more so than the BGO recs that many seem to stress about. The reason is that your 11th grade teachers have typically known the student for an entire year and can comment on his/her attributes in and out of class.

It appears in the OP's case that the 12th grade math teacher (obvioulsy) couldn't do that and her recommendation probably reflected that lack of info/knowledge. Seriously, what could she say other than: he seems like a nice guy in the 3 weeks I've known him? Now that the teacher has had plenty of time to get to know him, she can write something more substantive.

I would take the request as a somewhat positive sign in that USNA definitely wants additional information, which means the application is definitely still in play. However, if things turn out well or not so well, PLEASE do not credit -- or worse, blame -- the teacher. The teacher's comments could well merely cement an appointment decision that's already largely been made -- USNA is simply doing its due diligence. Conversely, even a great rec may still not result in an appointment b/c there may be more competitive candidates. Just being honest.

Yes, the original rec came from the new math teacher that only knew him for 3 weeks prior to submitting. She does know him a lot better now and she also sits on the nominating board for his school's national honor society so she's aware of his extracarricular, leadership, and community service activities.

We don't believe in or allow the 'Blame Game' in our household and both of my boys always take accountability - a trait that serves them well.

DS has plan B and plan C in order in case he does not receive an appointment.

Thank you for your input!
 
Seems odd that he was initially deferred since his math grades correlate to his ACT/SAT math scores. If they were on opposite ends of the spectrum, I could see where more weight to a teacher's LOR may come into play. Hopefully the new LOR is well written. Good luck to your DS!
 
Seems odd that he was initially deferred since his math grades correlate to his ACT/SAT math scores. If they were on opposite ends of the spectrum, I could see where more weight to a teacher's LOR may come into play. Hopefully the new LOR is well written. Good luck to your DS!

I know, right? Seems odd to me too. Maybe it's because his math ACT/SAT scores are still not high enough? Or maybe it's because he took the SAT 2x (raised his math score from a 650 to 710) and the ACT 3x (ACT math scores stayed the same all 3x). Oh well, it is what it is and all DS can do now is keep his grades up, stay healthy (it's soccer season), and wait!
 
The 50th percentile for the class of 2017 is SAT 620-700 for math, so he's in the range. My DS took the ACT 6 times from freshman to senior year. And you're right, all he can do now is what's in his control. :smile:
 
A similar event happened to our DS as well.

The application this year stated that either an 11th OR 12th grade math teacher could provide the evaluation. He used the 12th grade teacher, then a couple of weeks later received notification that he either had to wait until later in the semester (mid-way at a minimum) or use his 11th grade teacher. The thought was that the 12th grade teacher did not know enough about his math ability to adequately evaluate him (although he had DS in 10th grade) until mid-way through semester at the least.
 
We received same request

My DS received a phone call yesterday as well. He was asked to have a new letter of recommendation sent because his math teacher spoke of having him for his sophomore year math and needed something more recent. He has been given the opportunity to have this re-submitted by the same math teacher as he is also his senior year math teacher (calculus). The Academy had made the contact to the teacher therefore there was nothing we really had to do.

We are hoping to is a positive sign and his application is being considered along with so many other great kids.
 
My DS received a phone call yesterday as well. He was asked to have a new letter of recommendation sent because his math teacher spoke of having him for his sophomore year math and needed something more recent. He has been given the opportunity to have this re-submitted by the same math teacher as he is also his senior year math teacher (calculus). The Academy had made the contact to the teacher therefore there was nothing we really had to do.

We are hoping to is a positive sign and his application is being considered along with so many other great kids.

This is definitely a positive sign. My DS had exactly the same experience as yours. He completed his application very early, but later on had his 10th grade math teacher's recommendation letter deleted from his portal, and request for his 11th grade letter. Now Congressman office called him last week that the BFE is on the way. So just do what USNA admission office ask you to do.
 
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