Waiving Rights on the College Application

On the Secondary School Report (SSR) and the Teacher Evaluation of the Common Application the question reads:

1. The institution does not save recommendations post-matriculation (see list at www.commonapp.org/FERPA).
2. You waive your right to access below, regardless of the institution to which it is sent:
   Yes, I do waive my right to access, and I understand I will never see this form or any other recommendations submitted by me or on my behalf.
   No, I do not waive my right to access, and I may someday choose to see this form or any other recommendations or supporting documents submitted by me or on my behalf to the institution at which I'm enrolling, if that institution saves them after I matriculate.

Students and their parents often ask me how they should answer this question. My answer is always the same: Waive your rights!

By waiving your right to access, your teachers and counselor have the freedom to write honest evaluations. When college admissions counselors read school reports or teacher evaluations and the student has not waived his/her rights, this can be an unnecessary red flag, and one that can sometimes result in a denial.

It is through the letters of recommendation and evaluations that an admissions committee can get another glimpse into just who the applicant is.  When the applicant does not waive his/her rights, the admissions committee may assume that the writer of those recommendations is being less than candid, and that the full story is not being told. When this becomes apparent, admissions counselors can and do read between the lines.

Before you ask for a letter or recommendation, you need to think very carefully about the teachers with whom you have a good relationship, and those who could discuss your attributes in a most positive light. In addition to writing you a letter, the teachers who you select may also have to complete teacher evaluations, so it is important that you consider these ratings and how you think your teachers will respond.

The Teacher Evaluation of the Common Application has the following criteria on which your teachers rate you: (Your guidance counselor completes the Secondary School Report with other questions.)

Ratings: Compared to other students in his or her class year, how do you rate this student in terms of:

Waiving your right to access is really a no-brainer since the only way you will have the right to see your recommendations would be if you were accepted and then matriculated at the college.  Once you are already enrolled, it doesn't make much sense why you would even care about reading these letters.

So trust the people who you've asked to fill out the forms, and write your letters of recommendation. If you value the relationship that you have with the people who you ask, and they agree to do it, then there is every reason why you would want to waive your rights.