Common App and the Counselor Letter

[Nicholas_mom]

Does the counselor letter need to be written to a specific university/college OR do you write it as generic letter to all university?  One of ds choices is a Ivy League school, so we wrote a specific counselor letter to the one Ivy League school.  Not haven't created an CA account, yet, I am wondering if it should be written more generically, with the qualities of the student appealing to all schools.....

[RootAnn]

If you use the CA, the same counselor letter & school profile go to every school they apply to. You cannot customize them. Recommendation letters are the same although you can choose different recommenders for different schools, I guess. 

[8filltheheart]

I personally would not write a counselor letter directly toward a specific school.  Counselor letters should address the academic strengths of the individual student.  The student's essays are what should be tailored toward the individual school.  I would not want "my" voice toward the specific school to be heard. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The counselor recommendation should focus on student attributes. What makes them special? What extra context can you add to the picture they have of the student? 

You can address readiness for high level work like what would be found at selective colleges without naming them.

[JanetC]

The counselor portion of the common app (including the counselor letter and transcript) is submitted to all schools as a single version. The student portion can be tailored per university, but not the high school portion.

[Nicholas_mom]

ok, I am glad I asked!  Good points to think about.  My conclusions were being taylored towards the specific university.  But I am going to change it to be more generic.  Thanks!