Can I Read My Letter of Recommendation

Short answer: yes. Long answer: at that place's no need to worry about checking "yes" and waiving your right to see your letters of recommendation on the FERPA waiver section of your college applications.

This article will explain exactly what FERPA is, why y'all're being asked to waive it, and how information technology impacts your messages of recommendations. To be honest, the FERPA waiver will probably be the easiest part of filling out your college applications!

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), otherwise known as the Buckley Amendment, was passed to protect the privacy of students' educational records. It gives parents and students who are 18 years and older the right to access their records. It too requires that parents or eligible students give permission earlier their information is released to a third party, except in special circumstances like transferring schools or a wellness emergency.

Since most students who enroll in college are 18 or older, FERPA gives them the right to asking access to their letters of recommendation, wherever they might be stored forth with the residual of their application materials. I similar to motion picture all the applications of years past stored somewhere like the Hall of Prophecies in Harry Potter, except the endless shelves are filled with files instead of shiny glass orbs.

There's one caveat to your FERPA-given right of access: y'all can only admission your recommendation letters afterward you've gotten your access alphabetic character of acceptance and chosen to enroll in a college. If you were rejected from or chose non to go to a certain school, so yous won't be able to get your hands on those letters.

Annotation how I said that FERPA gives you the right to admission your letters of recommendation after y'all enroll at a college. Information technology really doesn't accept anything to do with getting to read your letters earlier your recommenders send them. Some recommenders volition let you meet them, while others will go along them confidential.

The general supposition effectually reference messages is that they are confidential—this seems more honest in the eyes of admissions officers. Whether or non you lot see the messages earlier they're sent is non really what FERPA's about, when you get down to the specifics of information technology.

On the Common Awarding (or whatever awarding you're using), you lot'll be asked whether or not you want to waive your right to access your rec messages. Read on for a preview of what yous'll see.

Harry Potter and the Sleeping room of Higher Applications

Waiver of Access (FERPA) on the Common Application

Once you add a college to your Mutual Application, you lot'll see a tab prove up to invite your recommender(s). Before you transport those invites, you'll exist prompted to read about your waiver of access and select a response. This is what you'll see:

"Waiver of Access (FERPA)

Nether the terms of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Human action (FERPA), you tin can review messages of recommendation and accompanying forms after y'all enroll at a postsecondary institution and only if that institution saves the documents post-enrollment.

Why should you consider waiving your right of access? Waiving your right lets colleges know that you will never try to read your recommendations. That in turn reassures colleges that your recommenders have provided support that is candid and truthful. While you are free to respond as you wish, if you choose not to waive your right, some recommenders may decline your request, and some colleges may disregard letters submitted on your behalf. Remember, even if you retain your correct of admission, you still won't be able to view whatever recommendations until after you take been admitted to and enrolled in a college. In other words, FERPA does non give you lot the right to inspect recommendations earlier they are sent to your colleges.

After yous make your selection, you lot volition be able to invite your counselor and recommenders. Once you make the get-go invitation, you lot will not be able to change your response to the waiver question. To ensure that you fully empathise the implications of your selection, nosotros urge you lot non to reply the waiver question until you take consulted with your guidance advisor or another school official.

For more data on FERPA follow this link: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html"

Source: The Mutual Application

Sounds like serious stuff. In reality, information technology's pretty straightforward. FERPA lets you asking access to your recommendation letters afterward getting in and enrolling in a schoolhouse.

By that point, months after you've applied, done the requisite flow of nervous waiting, received the thick envelope and decided on a schoolhouse, you probably aren't thinking about cracking into your admissions file to read exactly what Mr. Smith said about you back in December of senior year. You lot got in, so the rec letters had to have been pretty complimentary.

Again, note that FERPA does not give you the right to run across your letters of recommendations before they are sent. In the bookish globe, recommendation letters tend to be kept confidential. Your teacher or advisor may show you the letter and ask for your feedback or revisions, only this depends on the person. Even if you're burning with curiosity, y'all shouldn't pressure level your recommenders to show yous the letter. It could indicate that you don't trust them to provide y'all with a potent letter—and, if that'due south the case, you shouldn't choose them in the starting time place!

Since you lot can only respond to the waiver question on the Common App one time, let's become over exactly why it'south a expert thought to waive admission.

"Waive" goodbye to FERPA—you don't need it this time.

Why It's a Skilful Idea to Waive Your FERPA Right

As I mentioned above, the typical expectation for letters of recommendation in college admissions is that they are kept confidential. Admissions officers give most weight to letters that provide an honest and qualified cess of the applicant. If yous don't waive your FERPA correct, you could accidentally signal to admissions officers that y'all don't trust your recommender or that the recommendation is less candid or genuine.

Your recommender might also get the subtle message that you don't trust him or her. The knowledge that you'll see the letter at some point in the time to come might cause your recommender to write a more generic letter of the alphabet, and thus exist less powerful and effective in back up of your candidacy.

You won't be penalized for your response, but information technology's risky to check "no" since you don't know how admissions officers or your recommenders will interpret it. If you nonetheless feel uneasy near waiving your FERPA right, keep reading. In the adjacent section, I'll explain why there's no need to worry nearly your recommendation letters, even if you never go the chance to read them.

Proceed your recommenders inside the circumvolve of trust.

No Need to Worry Almost Recommendation Letters...

Perhaps easier said than washed, but y'all really shouldn't stress about your messages of recommendation. Your teachers and counselor are there to help y'all—in fact, it's literally their job. They want to abet for you and help y'all farther your instruction.

When yous ask for a recommendation, you should inquire your teachers if they can provide you with a strong letter of support. If they seem hesitant at all, and then thank them for their time and ask somebody else. As long every bit you're thoughtful about choosing people with whom you have expert relationships and who can write an insightful letter of the alphabet about y'all, then you don't have to worry about leaving the balance upward to them.

Apart from choosing recommenders who know you well, you can also accept some say into shaping what goes into the letter. Most schools will give you a "brag canvass" where yous can remind your recommenders of your interests, motivations, and goals. You and your parents can describe some significant experiences you've had or challenges you've overcome to help your recommenders brand the strongest letter of the alphabet they can. So even if the letter of the alphabet stays confidential, you'll notwithstanding have some sense of what likely went into information technology.

At this betoken, hopefully y'all have a amend sense of what the FERPA waiver is all most and why it's in your best involvement to get ahead and concord to the waiver. Or perchance you've scrolled down to this point, thinking "too long; didn't read." Either way, yous're in luck! Beneath are the cardinal points I wanted to make, distilled into bullet points for your reading pleasure.

Key Points About the FERPA Waiver

• The FERPA waiver but waives your right to access your recommendation letters after you've been accepted to and enrolled in a college.
• Information technology's common practice for recommendation letters to exist kept confidential in admissions procedures. Your recommenders may even so let you see their messages before they send them—that's totally upwardly to them.
• As long as you're thoughtful virtually choosing recommenders who are supportive and know yous well (and help them out with a detailed brag sheet), you tin can residuum easy knowing your recommenders want to support y'all and assistance you get into college.
• The FERPA waiver is probably the easiest office of your application. Only get alee and click yeah!

What's Side by side?

While the FERPA waiver'due south like shooting fish in a barrel, the balance of your application can get a bit more complicated. Read all about how to build a versatile college awarding that showcases your strengths and makes y'all stand up out amid the competition.

Is it that time of yr when y'all're thinking about requesting letters of recommendation? This commodity breaks downward how to request a alphabetic character of recommendation, pace by step.

Want to amend your Saturday score past 160 points or your Act score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the meridian v strategies you lot must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free at present:

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About the Author

Rebecca graduated with her Chief'due south in Adolescent Counseling from the Harvard Graduate Schoolhouse of Education. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and amend their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT.

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Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/should-you-waive-right-to-review-letters-of-recommendation

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