Teachers

Seniors, send thank-you notes. Now!

Seniors, send thank-you notes. Now!

If you’re a senior who’s sent out all your applications, it’s a weird time. After all that working, now you’re waiting. Waiting to hear back from everyone—both in terms of acceptance and financial aid—before you make a final decision. While you wait to hear from schools and think about how to choose from your acceptances, take some time to write thank-you notes. Write a thank-you note to everyone who has done something for you along the way: teachers who wrote recommendation letters, counselors who sent off transcripts, college admissions personnel who answered questions, people who took time to interview you. Everybody. They gave some of their time to help you, and you should thank them if you haven't already.

More about recommendation letters

More about recommendation letters

joined a Facebook group of college counselors and consultants recently, and this week there was an interesting conversation. Basically, a counselor had realized that some of the teachers at their school were writing student recommendation letters that were badly written, form letters, or both. Lots of others commented that the counselor should do something immediately, perhaps instigate refresher training for teachers on the campus, or maybe even district-wide. And it hit me that I was a high school teacher for 17 years who wrote dozens of rec letters, and I’d never had any sort of training or guidance. Unlike at some other districts, we just had to figure it out. Or not.

, ,

Posters are now available

, ,

High school counselors and teachers, would you like an Apply with Sanity poster for your school? It's 24" by 48" inches. Send me a note with "poster" as the subject line, and I'll send you a free poster to help your students find all my free content! (I've also got postcards--let me know if you want me to throw some in!)

Poster.jpg

It's time to say "thank you"

It's time to say "thank you"

For most high school seniors, the active part of school applications is winding down. Now is the time for waiting. While you're waiting to hear from schools and thinking about how to choose from your acceptances, take some time to write some thank you notes. Write one to everyone who has done something for you along the way: teachers who wrote recommendation letters, counselors who sent off transcripts, college admissions personnel who answered questions, people who took time to interview you. Everybody. They gave some of their time to help you, and you should thank them if you haven't already

Saying "Thank you"

Saying "Thank you"

For most high school seniors, the active part of school applications is winding down. Now is the time for waiting. While you're waiting to hear from schools and thinking about how to choose from your acceptances, take some time to write some thank you notes. Write one to everyone who has done something for you along the way: teachers who wrote recommendation letters, counselors who sent off transcripts, college admissions personnel who answered questions, people who took time to interview you. Everybody. They gave some of their time to help you, and you should thank them if you haven't already.