Counselor Letter Question (be gentle)

[RootAnn]

DD#1 is not applying anywhere competitive admissions-wise. I have no doubt she'll get into the schools she's applying to via the Common App. Merit aid at one and how visits go at a couple of the others will likely swing her one way or another. That said, I'm pondering making my final version of her counselor letter a little less formal than the examples I've seen. I have an idea to write it with an underlying metaphor or simile running through the whole letter. (Not my example, but think of everything tying into what makes your favorite item of clothing your favorite - how it looks, how it feels, memories, etc.) 

I'll be honest that reading a bunch of kid's college essays made me look at my letter again & think that I could help the college admissions people tie her application, essay, and teacher recs together with this example that could be running through the letter because (I think) it fits her.

Since I'm not likely to torpedo her chances to get in, is it okay to do? Or should I just keep the letter more 'just the facts, ma'am' (with appropriate enthusiasm & examples)?

[madteaparty]

Well I’m deleting mine too as it sounds silly.  

Edited August 29, 2018 by madteaparty

[RootAnn]

Thanks.  I just came back to delete my post, thinking I'm being stupid. I'm the same as far as what I do for myself and I was thinking that since she's well above the 75th percentile for the ACT for her Common App schools, I could be a little more unconventional. (We are homeschoolers after all.) But, perhaps I'll just keep it traditional.

[regentrude]

Sorry, I am a bit lost because I cannot imagine what you are trying to do. An underlying metaphor? I would not use metaphors or similes in a  recommendation letter, be it for my kid or a stranger - it's not poetry. I would want to make sure my language was unambiguous and not flowery. That doesn't mean it has to be stilted and formal.

 

[klmama]

Can you keep the letter more traditional and still include the information you think ties it all together?  

[madteaparty]

11 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Sorry, I am a bit lost because I cannot imagine what you are trying to do. An underlying metaphor? I would not use metaphors or similes in a  recommendation letter, be it for my kid or a stranger - it's not poetry. I would want to make sure my language was unambiguous and not flowery. That doesn't mean it has to be stilted and formal.

 

She did say “be gentle”.

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by madteaparty

[Chris in VA]

I would just keep it professional. Remember, you are probably going to encounter some "Homeschool Mommy as Counselor <rollseyes>"  crap, so I wouldn't do anything to justify being written off as competent. Not that you would be or that you wouldn't sound competent,I just wouldn't risk it. Now, if you were writing as an English teacher reference or something, then I might consider it! 

 

[alewife]

1 hour ago, RootAnn said:

DD#1 is not applying anywhere competitive admissions-wise. I have no doubt she'll get into the schools she's applying to via the Common App. Merit aid at one and how visits go at a couple of the others will likely swing her one way or another. That said, I'm pondering making my final version of her counselor letter a little less formal than the examples I've seen. I have an idea to write it with an underlying metaphor or simile running through the whole letter. (Not my example, but think of everything tying into what makes your favorite item of clothing your favorite - how it looks, how it feels, memories, etc.) 

I'll be honest that reading a bunch of kid's college essays made me look at my letter again & think that I could help the college admissions people tie her application, essay, and teacher recs together with this example that could be running through the letter because (I think) it fits her.

Since I'm not likely to torpedo her chances to get in, is it okay to do? Or should I just keep the letter more 'just the facts, ma'am' (with appropriate enthusiasm & examples)?

I think this sounds like an original idea and if would accomplish the bolded statement, I would do it.  

[8filltheheart]

I wrote my dd's counselor letter very personally. It was not written in a professional tone. I was very descriptive and unapologetically braggy about what she accomplished during high school.

Simple summation is that it worked.

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, madteaparty said:

She did say “be gentle”.

I don't see where I wasn't. I merely expressed that *I* would not use ambiguous poetic language (i.e. metaphors and similes) in my counselor letter. I do not fully understand what the OP is trying to do, but she used these very terms.

One can still write a very personal letter. But I do not think literary devices like these are suited in this kind of writing.

Edited August 29, 2018 by regentrude

[alewife]

My counselor letters were also very personal.  It was obvious that they were written by me, their mom.  

[RootAnn]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

Can you keep the letter more traditional and still include the information you think ties it all together?  

The more traditional letter would have some of the same information painting a picture about my DD, but it won't have the underlying image that would make DD memorable.

50 minutes ago, Chris in VA said:

I would just keep it professional. Remember, you are probably going to encounter some "Homeschool Mommy as Counselor <rollseyes>"  crap, so I wouldn't do anything to justify being written off as competent. Not that you would be or that you wouldn't sound competent,I just wouldn't risk it. Now, if you were writing as an English teacher reference or something, then I might consider it! 

Her transcript & school profile are very much professional-looking and by-the-book. She has enough outside validation for her ability and achievements that if I come off as a nut-job, they adcoms are more likely to give her extra credit for being awesome despite me.  But, I get where you are going with this.

7 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I merely expressed that *I* would not use ambiguous poetic language (i.e. metaphors and similes) in my counselor letter. I do not fully understand what the OP is trying to do, but she used these very terms.

Who here has seen the original Shrek movie? Remember when Shrek explains what ogres are like?
IRL, I use metaphors a LOT. So, I was thinking I could express how DD can be compared to <insert my idea>. Like her educational journey is like a rocket launch (planning, build, checklist, launch, stages, breaking orbit), for example. Based on what I think her teacher recs will say, what her activities/honors list is like, and possibly what's in DD's essay (which hasn't been written yet), the readers would have a framework to fit everything together rather than just seeing pieces.

[madteaparty]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I wrote my dd's counselor letter very personally. It was not written in a professional tone. I was very descriptive and unapologetically braggy about what she accomplished during high school.

Simple summation is that it worked.

Yes! I mean do I really need to pretend I’m a public school counselor? I can be professional all day long (I draft legal documents for a living), this is the place for me to paint my child in a light that makes sense of all the rest. 

Anyway roadrunner approved my letter so that’s the same as college admission in my book ???

Edited August 29, 2018 by madteaparty