College · Family Resources

Give your counselor
what a good letter needs.

A school counselor may write for a hundred seniors in the same few weeks. Record the dates and every item they asked for, and the checklist counts the lead time, warns before the counseling office’s deadline, lists what is still missing and prints a short note to go with your brag sheet.

Start a checklistWhat you get

Application seasons

The worked example is made up: a senior applying regular decision, one applying early action with a short window, and one applying to rolling-admission colleges. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

College · Family ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per student’s application season: the counselor and how letters are sent; the plan, earliest deadline, ask date and counseling office deadline; each item handed over with its status; what the counselor should know; seven checks. Counts lead time and days left, lists missing items and prints a one-page note for the counselor.
Who it is for
High school seniors and the parents and caregivers helping them through college applications.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per season. Prints the counselor note, the full record, every season in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the plan and the earliest deadline.
  2. Add the date you asked and the school’s own deadline.
  3. List every item the counselor needs.
  4. Write what grades do not show.
  5. Print the note and hand it over.

Start a checklist

How counselor letters work

What goes into a counselor letter1The askIn person if you can, with thecollege list and every2The brag sheetActivities, strengths withstories, what grades miss3The linksInvite the counselor in eachapplication account4The school reportTranscript, school profile andthe counselor letter, sent5The waiverDecide on the FERPA waiverbefore anything is sent6The follow-upMid-year grades in winter, anda thank-you noteWhat goes into a counselor letter1The askIn person if you can, with the collegelist and every deadline2The brag sheetActivities, strengths with stories, whatgrades miss3The linksInvite the counselor in each applicationaccount4The school reportTranscript, school profile and thecounselor letter, sent together5The waiverDecide on the FERPA waiver beforeanything is sent6The follow-upMid-year grades in winter, and athank-you note
The brag sheet is where the counselor finds the stories that make a letter specific.

Ask early, ask once, ask completely

Most counseling offices post a request deadline weeks before the colleges’. Asking with everything at once, the list, the deadlines, the brag sheet and the transcript form, saves the counselor from chasing you and leaves time to write.

The letter is part of a packet

A counselor usually sends the school report: the letter, your transcript and the school profile that explains the courses your school offers. Colleges read your grades against that profile.

Stories, not adjectives

“Hardworking” means little in a letter. “Works 15 hours a week and made the honor roll” says it for you. Give the counselor two or three true stories they can retell.

Sources

  1. National Association for College Admission Counseling. State of College Admission reports (counselor recommendation and its weight in admission).
  2. U.S. Department of Education. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and the right to waive access to letters of recommendation.
  3. American School Counselor Association. The school counselor’s role in college and career readiness, including recommendation letters.
  4. Your high school counseling office’s senior guide and request deadlines; each college’s application instructions.

The worked example is made up. Deadlines, forms and how letters are sent vary by school and by college; follow your counseling office and each college’s instructions. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.