How to Write Better Recommendations in Less Time
An On-Demand Webinar for Teachers & Counselors
Led by Tom Campbell, Ayesha King, and Erin Kim
This session is a fundraiser for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC)
Register Today
Great recommendation letters can take time, but they don't have to.
Ethan Sawyer has been working with a small group of high school counselors to develop processes that use helpful tools, such as Google Forms, mail merge plug-ins in Google Sheets, and even a custom-built AI rec writing tool, to gather more quality information from students faster and allow counselors to write compelling letters in less time.
This session, presented by three current and former school counselors, is a synthesis of these findings. Attendees will benefit from case studies, workflow comparisons, and sample letters from three different school settings – a large public charter school, a small private Catholic school, and an elite independent school – with different populations, family needs, and recommendation writing pain-points.
The ultimate goal: help you write better letters in less time, no matter the school context you're coming from and the caseload you're supporting.
How to Write Better Recommendations in Less Time:
We’ll cover:
- How important are recommendation letters, and what is their role in the admission process?
- How do different colleges review and contextualize recommendation letters from different high schools? What are their expectations?
- What can I do (given my caseload and the needs of my school or CBO community) to uplevel my recommendations?
- Where do counselor recommendations fit in with the broader forms of school advocacy (including teacher letters and school profiles)? What information should go where?
This session is a fundraiser for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC).
WACAC is dedicated to fostering professional development, ethical practice, social responsibility, and dynamic community among our members so that they can provide high-quality college counseling to the students they serve.
Meet Your Presenters:
Tom Campbell (he/him)
As the son of an inner city schoolteacher and the director of a nonprofit that runs tuition-free schools in Haiti, Tom Campbell has long recognized the transformative power of education. Before joining College Essay Guy as the company's inaugural Community Manager, he worked as a College Counselor at Lakeside School (WA) and an Assistant Dean/Director of Admissions at Pomona College and the College of the Holy Cross. After graduating from Holy Cross (BA, Architectural Studies and History), Tom completed a year of postgraduate service through Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest (an AmeriCorps affiliate). He was placed at a family services program called CAPA (Childbirth and Parenting Assistance), which bolstered his passions for equity, mentorship and confidence-boosting (and taught him a lot about the parallels between toddler and teenage angst)! Upon his return to Holy Cross as an Admissions Officer, Tom continued to find ways he could live out his values, playing an active role in leading the school’s diversity fly-in programs and LGBTQ+ Staff Mentor Program. At Pomona, Tom co-managed the tour guide program, oversaw marketing and communications efforts, and helped restructure the College's application review process to account for test-optional admissions. He has spent four summers working as a faculty member at College Horizons, an organization that mentors and guides Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students through the college process. He was also nominated to join the Board of Directors for the Northeast Consortium Bridging Access to College (an organization that works to increase college access to low-income and first-generation students) and has presented and engaged with various higher education professional organizations, including the NACAC, ACCIS, and the WACAC.
Ayesha King (she/her)
Ayesha is a first-generation, Bangladeshi and Filipino daughter of immigrants with twelve years of experience working in admission at the graduate, undergraduate, and secondary school levels. After graduating and learning about the admission process from the University of Redlands, Ayesha worked in law school admission at Southwestern Law School and then at California Lutheran University. All institutions instilled in her the values of social justice and equity, and providing opportunities to students of all backgrounds. Now, as a Director of College Counseling at International School of Los Angeles, Ayesha serves students from military dependents to international boarding students, strengthening her work in student advocacy. An additional drive for supporting her work in education is her experience as a mom to two young boys, always hoping for a better world where they can grow up. Ayesha is a proud member of NACAC and WACAC, where she serves on the IDEA Committee.
Erin Kim (she/her)
Erin is in her 20th year as an educator and has experience in both small independent schools, as well as public and charter high schools. She is currently a College and Career Counselor at Granada Hills Charter High School, serving over 4700 students in the San Fernando Valley. She has also served as an Assembly Delegate for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling, was a Freshman Application Reader for both UCLA and UC Irvine, and currently on the Common App Outreach Advisory Committee.
This session is also joined by two special guests:
Ethan Sawyer (he/him)
Ethan Sawyer is the founder of College Essay Guy, which last year reached more than 3.5 million unique visitors. He is the author of two books, College Admission Essentials and College Essay Essentials, holds a BS in Performance Studies from Northwestern, and an MFA from UC Irvine.
Julio Mata (he/him)
Julio is the Director of College Counseling at Francis Parker School and President-Elect at Western ACAC. He has worked in admissions at Miami (OH), Bowling Green State University, and Florida Atlantic University, received a BA in International Studies from Bowling Green State University, and a Masters in Higher Education from Northeastern University.
Write better letters in less time, no matter the caseload.
$97.00
Group Pricing Available Register for the EventInterested in registering a group?
If you're registering..
Up to 10 people: $497
11 to 15 people: $897
16 to 20 people: $1497
For group registrations, please email [email protected].
We have Pay-What-You-Can spots available for our public school counselors, teachers & folks working at non-profits or CBOs.
Access is really important to me. In fact, it’s at the heart of most of everything I do. It’s why I’m offering pay-what-you-can spots for any family who can't afford the sticker price.
If that’s you, request a pay-what-you-can spot.
Don’t be shy; we’d love to have you.
