합격을 도와주는 추천서, 방해하는 추천서 (02) 

대학 입시 교사 추천서 받기

어떤 추천서가 좋은 추천서인가?

MIT대학은  웹사이트를 통해, 치열한 경쟁자들 사이에서 잘 쓰여진 추천서는 상당히 큰 비중을 차지한다며 추천서 몇 가지를 예를 들어서 설명했다.

우선 매년 수천 장씩 받는 흔한 추천서의 예로 든 것은 다음과 같다.

“Teacher Recommendation for Jen:

Jen was a student in one of my predominately senior physics classes. She took physics her junior year in high school and was a good student. Through hard work, she was able to develop a good understanding of the subject material.

Jen also had personal qualities that are commendable. In the two years that I have known her I have never known her to be dishonest or untrustworthy. Once on an exam paper I had made a grading error in her favor. She brought this to my attention even though it resulted in a lower test grade.

In conclusion, I feel that Jen has both the academic and personal qualities to be a credit to the college of her choice, and I give her my recommendation without reservation.”

-평가 ; 구색을 맞추기 위한 에피소드와 영혼 없는 칭찬 일색인 평범한 추천서

차라리 평범한 것이 더 나을 수도 있는 나쁜 추천서들의 예는 다음과 같다.

“Teacher recommendation for Brian:

Brian was in the top five in my class consistently. He is certainly motivated to study. His character and personality are admirable. Brian is an excellent student, hard worker and has above average reasoning ability.”

-평가 ; 추천인이 학생에 대해 무엇을 말하고 있는지 알 수 없는 모호한 내용

“Guidance Counselor Recommendation for Mike:

I do not really know Mike very well. He has come to me for routine matters but generally has not had any problems that he has discussed with me. In this large school, I do not always have the time to personally get to know each of my advisees. From the comments I get from Mike's teachers, I have the impression that he is one of the strongest students this school has seen.”

-평가 ; 학생을 잘 모른다는 매우 솔직한 내용이기는 하나 지원자에게 도움이 안 되기는 마찬가지.

그렇다면 어떤 추천서가 바람직할까? MIT측에서 좋은 추천서라고 소개한 것은 다음과 같다.

“Teacher Recommendation for David:

It is a great pleasure for me to recommend David for admission to MIT. He is one of the most extraordinary students I have encountered in 20 years of teaching. I taught David A.P. Calculus last year as a tenth grader, and he was one of the very top students in an extremely able group of mostly seniors. He has a high aptitude for math and was very much involved in his work, applying himself with persistence and dedication and often going beyond the regular class assignments.

David's abiding interest, however, is computer science. He has developed a series of "strands" for use in providing computerized drill and review in the basic skills and techniques of algebra and arithmetic and has recently adapted these to other subjects. David's work in this area has been so original and significant that he has published a paper on it and delivered several lectures to professionals in other parts of the country. This is a phenomenal accomplishment for anyone, especially a young man in rural Arkansas. It is also worth noting that both last year and this year David taught computer programming to a tenth grade class of mine for two weeks. He took over completely, preparing lectures, assignments, and tests with great care and thought. His lectures were clear and well organized, and it was obvious that he had expended a great deal of effort to make the course the success that it was.

David's personal qualities are as impressive as his intellectual accomplishments. An extremely kind, sensitive and sensible boy, he has had a difficult family situation for a few years now. He provides emotional support to his mother through her battle with cancer without allowing the situation to undermine his own stability and accomplishments. He has exhausted all that we have to offer him in this small community, and the maturity that he has demonstrated leads me to believe him capable of entering college a year early, as he now plans to do. I sincerely hope that you will be able to offer him a place in MIT's freshman class.”

-평가 ; Excellent. 추천 교사가 학생을 잘 알고 있으며 학습 능력 뿐만 아니라 인성적인 면도 잘 알 수 있는 추천서. 추천서를 통해 학생의 컴퓨터 사이언스에 대한 관심과 사랑까지 알 수 있다고 평가.

추천서는 전적으로 교사의 일이다. 하지만 대학에서 무엇을 궁금해하고 또 교사에게 어떤 면을 평가 받는지 알고 있다면 좋은 추천서를 받기 위한 노력도 가능하다고 생각된다.

"추천서 잘 받을 수 있는 방법" 부터는 다음에 계속...