Many of our seniors experienced a brief relief when they finally clicked “submit” on their college recs, relief from the caffeine-fueled late nights filled with struggling for a a single affirmative slip of paper from their dream school. Among all the challenging things they’ve accomplished during this past two-month-or-longer season of stress, arranging for recommendation letters—often referred to as “recs”—is unique in that it probably involves the largest cooperation between students and their teachers.

According to Mr. Shawn Rousseau, director of college counseling, these rec letters are generally “very important” in the application process. For college admissions, especially in those small- or middle-sized schools which will be sure to scrutinize the letters “with incredible care,” “the first thing they are going to be curious about is a student’s academic work.” This will be reflected by the words of the adults who work with the student here at Kent.

Usually, three rec letters are required for each applicant; one of the recs is written by the college counselor. This is “the longest, and in terms of a student’s total life of school, the most significant one, for it offers an impression of what a person is like,” as Mr. Rousseau explains. The other two are from teachers, usually one humanities teacher and one science or math teacher, as this allows students to present “the most information about their academic background as possible.”

As for the choice of teachers, the general advice from the college counseling office, as Mr. Rousseau puts it, is to “strategize which teacher might offer the most info, best info,” and then have a “face-to-face conversation” to make the request. For Margaret Saunders ’16, her plan is to find the teacher whom she “connects well with.” Moreover, she has chosen the class in which she feels she grew most: “Physics is not my best class,” she says, when asked for the thought process behind choosing her physics teacher, “but I worked hard in class. I improved a lot, and he noticed that. I also go to him for help a lot, so we know each other very well.”

Mr. Rousseau points out that this request-sending conversation usually starts “a month in advance [of the deadline], in order to give teachers enough time to write a fair and comprehensive recommendation for the students.” For some, this might start back in their junior spring, giving teachers the summer to draft the letter. Saunders started sending emails to her teachers this past summer because she is “applying early to hear feedback from her colleges” as soon as possible.

While, on the one hand, it’s a tense time for seniors, this “can also be a little bit stressful as well for the teachers,” according to Mr. Ryan Foote from the English department. As someone who has taught junior classes, Mr. Foote “had quite a few [rec letters] this year.” Talking about the students who came to ask for letters from him, Mr. Foote says, “often times they are students who have done quite well in my class, but sometimes I also have students who maybe haven’t done fabulously but feel comfortable asking me for a rec because they feel like I can give them a fair rec.” To write “a fair rec,” Mr. Foote tries to “highlight the things that are really positive, [like] the growth of students,” while being honest at the same time. He is sure to note “where the students can improve, and where there has been improvement already.” Sometimes, Mr. Foote also “gives hesitations” when students come for letters. This is “not because I don’t like them, but because I think I might have to notify something in the letter in order to be fair and just.” Then, he will ask the students if they can think of a “better choice,” possibly a teacher who can highlight more of the student’s best qualities.

While teachers are not obligated to write recs for their students, the faculty members have done a “phenomenal job” and have been “incredibly supportive,” according to Mr. Rousseau. “It’s such a gift to be in a boarding community. Teachers [not only] have you in the classroom, [but also] get to know you in these different contexts,” says Mr. Rousseau. He adds, “They are in a wonderful position to write a thorough letter.” Mr. Foote agrees: “as teachers,” he says, “we want to support our students and want them to succeed.” Nonetheless, this support may sometimes be “taken for granted,” according to Mr. Foote, as “people sometimes forget we are writing the letters.” Moreover, Mr. Foote continues, teachers have “so many students’ deadlines at the same time now” and “want them [all] to do well,” the lack of appreciation for what can amount to “15 hours of dedicated work” can be distressing. “It’s really great that College Guidance totally recognizes the teachers’ work for writing recs,” says Mr. Foote. Happily, he comments, “the feeling of being appreciated made me smile.”

After all, though a bit stressful in the chaos of application seasons, “writing recs has been a joy, for the most part,” in Mr. Foote’s case.  “Oftentimes,” he says “we are singing praises for students who really grew in our classes.” And, he says,    “That’s fun to do.” College recs are a remarkable way for teachers to have this “fun,” always with the knowledge they are doing a great favor to their students.