What Happens When Counselors ‘Opt Out’ of Providing Recommendations

Last spring, the Common Application announced that counselors would be allowed to officially “opt out” of providing written evaluations on behalf of students by simply checking a box on the School Report Form indicating they were either too busy or not personally familiar with seniors in their caseloads.

And an interesting secret was revealed.

Evidently, guidance counselors don’t always provide recommendations—even when requested—for students applying to Common Application member colleges. 

In fact, it happens frequently enough for Common App officials to devise a way of simplifying the process of opting out and advising colleges when to stop waiting for something that just plain isn’t coming.

“This isn’t new,” said one admissions dean at a local liberal arts college.  “We understand what the problem is for guidance counselors with huge caseloads, especially on the west coast.”

But instead of simply alerting a college to the reality of an impossibly-large caseload or a counselor new to the job, many in the industry were concerned that the “opt-out” might be interpreted as “authorization” not to provide what some—particularly selective—colleges consider an essential part of the application. 

And so, Common App officials were asked to provide guidance on when and if the opt-out may be used.

After several months, guidance was forthcoming in the form of a brief “explanation” for the revision in the School Report Form.

In essence, the Common App declines to provide school or school districts with advice on policies guiding the use of the opt-out.  In addition, neither students nor school administrators will be advised when a counselor has checked the box and declined to provide written evaluations—even though the technology most likely exists.

The only parties in the process who will have access to a report on who is not writing recommendations will be the colleges.

“Members will now be able to generate lists of students without an uploaded counselor recommendation,” explains the Common Application.  “This task had been impossible in previous years”—presumably because the check-off didn’t exist until this year.

In other words, colleges can download a list of names of individuals without recommendations and may feel free to contact students with the good news and/or the opportunity to provide an alternative recommendation.

Revised language on the School Report Form underscores this possibility by stating, “…if this box is checked, some colleges may contact the student, explain that the box was checked, and request a substitute recommendation.”

Thus the ball has been squarely tossed to colleges needing counselor recommendations to evaluate candidates for admission.  They either contact the student or they make a decision without the benefit of an additional school-based recommendation.

And neither the applicant nor anyone in the high school is likely to know this has happened.

“We’re way too busy to chase after recommendations,” said one admissions representative in response to the Common App’s offer to generate a list.

And they probably won’t.