Strong Letters of Recommendation

how to find allies in times of uncertainty

Let’s face it: we’re living in a time of uncertainty, and that’s putting it mildly. And yet the sun continues on its course across the sky and people still walk their dogs and small children still resist going to bed at a reasonable hour and, last I checked, teenagers and their parents are still worried about college applications.

When I worked as a college counselor, students and parents regularly asked me the same questions—how many APs? What kinds of awards and honors “count”? What are the best extracurriculars? What’s a good college essay? What are my (or my child’s) chances into getting into [insert name of prestigious college]?” And season after season, I had to remind myself that human beings abhor uncertainty and while the questions were predictable to me, the students and parents asking them were in uncharted territory, trying to stave off the deep discomfort of not knowing.

That’s the question, isn’t it? But should it be?

The only honest (and therefore deeply unsatisfying) an…