Does anyone know If a retired Major General is allowed to provide a letter of recommendation for a candidate? it looks like there is only space for teachers and coach to submit recommendations however my child has been mentored by this distinguished officer for more than five years and they very much want to provide a recommendation. Thank you!
Letters of recommendation
- Thread starter pedromom
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USMA only requires teacher evaluations. While additional LOR's are allowed, they are generally not encouraged.
If this retired general officer REALLY knows your child well, AND can offer a perspective that is unique and truly adds to his WCS, then you can consider submitting it. However, if it is just a case of "name dropping" it could work against you, especially if the letter is somewhat generic in tone.
Here are some prior threads on the topic.
If this retired general officer REALLY knows your child well, AND can offer a perspective that is unique and truly adds to his WCS, then you can consider submitting it. However, if it is just a case of "name dropping" it could work against you, especially if the letter is somewhat generic in tone.
Here are some prior threads on the topic.
Letters of Recommendation
Hi all, Hopefully I'm not asking a dumb question, but it seems to me that there is no spot on the West Point portal to submit letters of recommendation. Does USMA not require them? And if I wanted to submit one, would I just send it physically to the office of admissions? Thanks.
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How early/who should you ask for letters of recommendation?
Hello, For anyone who's been through the process, when should I ask for letters of recommendation for my teachers both for my MOC nominations and for the USMA application? Since the timeline is slightly different than regular applications I would like to hear what others have done in the past...
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Thank you very much. It is definitely not name dropping. He has met with this gentleman for the past five years periodically specifically mentoring him for this very moment. He knows my son well and also has gotten to know our family in the process.
DeepWaters
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Can you upload more than one letter of recommendation? My Head of School has asked to do this for me. Also my church pastor has said the same thing. Both are WP grads. I am honored and humbled. But if I can only submit one, I want to avoid having one of them taking the time and effort to draft one up on my behalf.
Thank you.
In the past you could upload more than one.
The RC calculates the WCS score and has some flexibility, but the score must be validated by another RC to ensure accuracy and fairness. A Letter of Recommendation may increase the Leadership portion of the WCS score if it provides significant additional details to the application that do not fit into the standard check boxes. If the information is already captured in the application, the letter is redundant.
A letter from the McDonalds Shift Supervisor who actually supervised the candidate is better than a letter from a General who barely knows the candidate.
In general, a letter from someone who knows the candidate well and can contribute relevant information is likely to be well received by admissions. A letter from a VIP who clearly does not know the candidate well is likely to be ignored by admissions and may actually piss someone off.
A letter from the McDonalds Shift Supervisor who actually supervised the candidate is better than a letter from a General who barely knows the candidate.
In general, a letter from someone who knows the candidate well and can contribute relevant information is likely to be well received by admissions. A letter from a VIP who clearly does not know the candidate well is likely to be ignored by admissions and may actually piss someone off.
Exerting influence only works when applied correctly. I read an article a few years ago in which a member of Harvard's Board of Trustees explained how she handles letters of recommendations she writes.
She informed admissions that if she uses the applicant's first name, then she is advocating for the applicant. However, if she refers to the applicant as Mr./Ms. then she doesn't care one way or the other and is only writing the letter to avoid saying no to the request.
She informed admissions that if she uses the applicant's first name, then she is advocating for the applicant. However, if she refers to the applicant as Mr./Ms. then she doesn't care one way or the other and is only writing the letter to avoid saying no to the request.