School's almost starting! What's your biggest fear or uncertainty about the upcoming school year? Mine's where to live haha bc Stanford just announced that campus will be closed! :/
@@irisfu6929 I belong to India, and I am going to be a dropper for my 11 th and 12 th grade. So, maybe you can understand my situation. What should I do???
@@penelopekeep8041 as per what we have been told by our schools, such activities are likely to be cancelled and in some scenarios made to do at home. Like the jazz band, practices are likely to happen on zoom considering how most have their own instruments. As we don't have quantitve chem in our school, I am not too sure how that would translate.
this channel is one of the most valuable resources i have ever come across. it's relatable and relevant, not just someone bragging that they got into an ivy
This was such a helpful video! One other thing I have heard about recommendations is to ask your teachers if they are willing to write a STRONG recommendation. That way you know the recommendation will be good, and it's easier for teachers to decline if they feel they don't know you well enough or don't have enough time.
When I tell you this has been the best Letter of Rec video I have researched, it literally answered EVERYTHING i was concerned for! Especially the last 2 portions on how to ASK them has given me so much anxiety but you outlining what to say relieved all that stress, so I thank you!!!
Do you have any tips on on how to build a good relationship with your teachers during the virtual school year? Also, congrats on almost hitting 10k. Your content is super helpful!! :)
Obviously, I've never done this before, but I imagine that scheduling zoom calls with your teachers (kind of like scheudling one on one time with them after school) and emailing a lot back and forth about questions, etc., would cultivate a strong relationship. Good luck!
Hi Iris! I got letters of recommendation for a scholarship from two teachers and I wanted to give something back to thank them. Any advice on what would be a good gift or nice gesture?
Feel like I'm gonna have trouble righting the brag sheet. Normally, I don't like to brag about myself, but I believe that I can squeeze something out. Also by the way Iris, can you explain how majors and minors work? There's terms like dual degree, double majors, and etc. I'm so confused with them. They all sound like the same thing to me.
Bragging is a skill haha.The main diff between a major and minor is that majors have more required courses or "units". Minors are less heavy (so you could take like 4 creative writing classes and have a minor in creative writing, whearas a major would require like, say, 16 classes). Double majors means you completed requirements for two majors (all the classes you needed to take for both) hope this helps!
I saw many videos about letter of rec, so far your video was the most beneficial one, thank you for you great efforts! wish me luck to get into my dream uni!!
the brag sheet is such a great idea! i have a question: the lab i work at offers letters of rec, but i'm afraid they use a template or are very generic. should i ask for one? i could also specifically ask my advisor to write it/add a brag sheet.
ask if they can write you a "strong" letter of rec. And yes, def give them a brag sheet! Depending on how those interactions go and how you feel about the letter, you can submit or not submit it at the end
Hi Ruby! I've interviewed several international friends before in teh sTanford STudent Series and we talked about need-based scholarships in the financial aid video. I'd recommend checking that out!
1. Debaters club(2021, 2024) 2. Technology center(2022-2024, I have my portfolio of programming, 3D modeling, soon robotics) 3. Economic club(2021, some certificates and courses) 4. Choir and vocals(2023, 3rd place in ensemble, 1st place choir) 5. Some Armenian competition, when I passed 2 stages and got into the last one 6. Physics international Olympics competition, when I got a recognition 7. Almost build an application for my school(this month I'll finish it) 8. Youth club(2021, planning this year too) 9. Biology, physics research Is it good enough?
what if you weren’t close with any of your junior year teachers. i wanna ask my honors english teacher and by algebra 1 teacher bc i was very close to them and got excellent grades in there class. Is that okay or should i ask another STEM teacher for a recc??
What are your thoughts on submitting an optional letter of recommendation from a coach? I was a part of a small team, practiced throughout the year, and got to know the coach really well.
Hi! I watched your video on HOW TO WRITE A BOOK | 10 Simple Steps to Publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It was a great video! I had a question though. Did you have to cite canva for the pictures you used or are the copyright free?
Hey Iris, I really enjoy your content and I've been binge watching your videos these past few days, lol. I have a quick question though, related to my passion project. I am also trying to self-publish a book, and I saw that in one of your videos you advised us to write our books in Canva, and to use Amazon's KDP publishing. When you said to "write it in Canva" did you mean like actually writing down the words and adding the pictures in Canva? I've been looking into KDP publishing and I only see people talking about writing the manuscript in Word (Which I really don't want to do). Is it possible to just upload all of the pages from Canva with the text and images (As a PDF) into KDP as the manuscript ? I would really appreciate your response. This video was also a banger btw...
I apologize I didn't word that very clearly -- I personally wrote the text in a google doc then copied it into canva to format with additional images, etc. So all the typing was done in a doc but the formatting, adding images, etc was all done in canva. I believe I uploaded my manuscript as a PDF.
To be honest, I don´t know if you´re still active on here, but I´ll give it a try nonetheless: I am an international student and tbh this is the first time I´ve heard that letters of rec have to come from certain teachers (science, humanities, counselor). In my country they aren´t usually required, so I don´t know a lot about this topic, but I just assumed it had to be mentors, not necessarily teachers, that knew you well writing these letters. So I guess my question is wether or not the list of people that have to recommend a student applies to an international student as well. Thank you in advance, if anyone helps me.
imo, this is definitely up to you,, however I do believe that having extra recommendations is helpful! EVEN THOUGH it’s not required, just having them shows determination about yourself!
Hi Iris! Thanks for making this video and ur channel is amazing :) Btw do you recommend submitting supplemental recs? Did you submit them while applying to colleges?
I did and didn't hahah bc I was indecisive. Ultimately I got into the schools where I didn't submit a supplemental rec but idk if that truly made the differnece. Ultimately, I'd only submit it if you feel like the supp would be super additive/informative and bring out a diff side of you
ah i wish i could! unfortunately i don't have it anymore, but i would search the internet for "brag sheet for teacher recommendation" to see if there are any!
Hi Iris I love your videos. I am currently in high school and would love your opinion on this. I am doing an internship right now and applied for another position in the company and I got accepted. It doesn’t fit in with my other interests and passions but has great opportunities that demonstrate leadership. I don’t want colleges to think I am trying to do everything and I don’t know if should continue with this company.
Hi Taylor! I think the #1 question you should ask yourself is, "is this position pushing me to grow in a way that I like, and am I enjoying the work?" If the answer is no, then I'd say quit it. However, it's still totally valid to enjoy something that is unrelated to your other interests/passions. I hope this helps in some way and good luck with the decision! Keep me updated :)
🙌🏾🌟 always... also helpful for any application, ooo I am also planning on applying to YYGS, what would you say personally is the best part about the program?
Great video as always! Btw I was wondering... if I have 3 extracurriculars (sports) that aren't very important but I have spent a lot of time on them and I really like them (but I don't have any great achievements in them), can I put them all in one spot?
I’m kind of stuck with letters of rec. I have my counselor writing one, but I don’t know her that well. I don’t know what I would want her to focus her letter on???? Also, I wanted one teacher to write a rec for me because we started a club together, but I didn’t have her academically. Would that be fine? I’m really quiet and I don’t talk in class, so I don’t really have close relationships with my teachers. I dunno what to do...
Hi Sophia, I'd recommend booking a few calls w/ your counselor before she has to write your letter to get her to know you better. I did that a lot end of junior year and beginning of senior year! As for the teacher, you have to have teachers who you had academically. It's okay that you're relatively quiet--that is not a bad trait at all. Again, I'd recommend setting up calls or sending emails to them to help them understand you better. It might be scary at first, but push through it and you'll find that you learn a lot about yourself and what you can do through the process! best of luck and lmk if you have follow up questions!
hey! i'm not iris, but i can do my best. in terms of the teacher you started the club with, i would 100% say you should ask her for one: she's seen your leadership outside of the classroom in an area you care about, and you've probably invested more into that club than into any class you took. i think if you have an application "spike" or passion you're really invested in you could highlight that through the brag sheet to your counselor, or think of something that hasn't already been covered in the rest of your application or another teacher rec (think of it like a puzzle)
Hey, this has nothing to do with the video itself. Anyways, I write piano solo songs. Could I use this ability on my aplication? I have a bunch of music related extracurriculars activities, btw (don't want a music mayor tho). Your channel is amazing, thanks for all the wonderful information 💕
I am going to be a dropper for me 11 th and 12 th grade. So there is no way that any of my 11 th and 12 th grade teachers know me in personal so what should I do?? But the school I went to till 10 th grade , they are the ones who know me very well so am I allowed to ask them to write L.O.R. for me?? Pls tell??
none of my junior year humanities teachers really know me well or have a good relationship with me :( is it bad if i only get rec letters from junior year stem teachers or should i try to get some from humanities senior year teachers as well? just concerned that it might be hard to get close to them w/ virtual school and all would love any advice!!
1 time Winner at international essay competition and story competition is soft or hard spike ..i am winner at national essay competition and story competition too
Hi Iris! This is a bit off topic but I know you highly recommend writing a book. Is it preferred to write about academics/the major you’re applying for or does any topic work? I’m not trying to write this book just for college, but if it helps that would be great
I don't think it really matters as long as you write something that you care about. I'd first try to find the need -- where is there a need for a book? Then write your book to address that need. Hope this helps!
Hi Iris, this isn’t related to LORs but how important (to Stanford) do you think art supplements are? Literally every Stanford admit I know submitted one.
I don't think they're super important but I also don't know for certain. Obviously, submitting one (given that you're good) won't hurt in any way. Therefore, if art is something that you're interested in and are good at, I'd def recommend submitting one. I just got an email yesterday from the professor who listened to my supplement and saying that she was very impressed -- can only guess that submitting the supplement helped me in my case - hope this provides some more insight!
@@irisfu6929 tysm!! sorry one more followup question, I remember you submitted a flute supplement, for some schools they just want a link, where did you attach your link or did your schools have slideroom?
If the teachers that know me best are from my humanities classes, is it better to just ask them, instead of 1 STEM and 1 humanities teacher? Or do schools prefer showing more diversity?
HI! I recently got a letter of rec from a Stanford professor after completing a summer course with them and I was wondering how/if I can submit it through common app? It's a really strong letter and I'd love to be able to use it but i'm not sure how the process of submitting it would work. If you know anything that could help I'd really appreciate it, thank you so much!
for common app, do teachers send one letter to common app in general or do they submit it all of the schools individually? I’m planning to apply 8 different schools. Wouldn’t be hard for them?
Would you recommend asking a professor? I took a psychology duel-credit class this summer, and the professor asked me to ask her if I ever needed a letter of recommendation. Would you recommend getting one as I only took her for one summer session?
Hi Ayleen! If you think she can provide a vivid letter on who you are as a student, then by all means go for it! It seems like she really likes you and would be really enthusiastic to do it as well, so seems like a good option
Hey, am still a sophomore, but would you say it’s better to apply to colleges with undecided major, especially Stanford? My plan is to major in bio, but to only put that on there if my ECs, scores, and app in general has a strong med background.
Hey Iris, I am about to make a comics, titled “Covid - 19 heroes”. It is basically about a student, whom I used to teach English lessons, his mother is currently working in hospital during these tough times in my country. What do you think, would it be a good approach for Common App optional essay about covid or should I elaborate on this more on supplementals?
Is my teacher for honors biology in 10th grade (who I know very well) and is now my teacher for AP bio in 12th grade be a good option? She also taught me science class in 5th grade. Thanks.
If I'm emailing my teacher for a letter of recommendation, do I have to tell them all schools I am applying to that needs the letter, or should I just tell them the college with the closest deadline?
Hey Iris. I have a lor question. (Reply if u have time uwu) I have a school counselor, but she is also my teacher. Her letter of rec could count as a counserlor and teacher?
I'm going into junior year this year, and trying to get into very selective schools. In terms of setting myself up to get great letters next years, what should I be doing
@@irisfu6929 but how can you really do that in high school, like they have classes, so do I, You don't really have time to spend one on one time with teachers. At least in my school.
I am going to pursue my university education in the sphere of humanities,and during school i was really close to humanities teachers, may i ask both humanities teachers?
Iris help me out so at my school we have college classes at school and off campus do you think it would help if in my sophomore year I go to college on the college campus instead of some college classes at school and some normal classes?
If they're the same classes, I don't think going on campus or at your school would make a difference, if any at all. I would have to know your school's situation better to answer this more completely. I think your school counselor or a teacher who works at your school would be the best people to ask for this!
Thank u so muchhh I watched this video in the first day of2021 ,I wanna ask u do u know some websites that correct these recommendations letters & personal-essay?
Hi, My teacher wants to recommend me but he doesn't have official/ professional email. If he recommends me with his normal email, will it be any problem? He can also provide me written recommendation letter. This is also similar case to my Football coach. He also wants to recommend me Waiting for your Reply
Do the sub points need to be stories/activities they were involved or already knew we did? Some relationships with my teachers are not that close or purely educational so they wouldn’t know about many of my activities outside of the classroom
I am a rising junior so I still have a chance to fix that if needed. If so, can anyone just give advice on how to create a closer relationship and stand out to my teachers/counselor.
Hi stephanie! As a rising junior I'd recommend spending the year getting to know your teachers on an "outside of class" level. Tell them about your ECs, family background, etc, and get their advice on life outside of school as well!
@@irisfu6929 Thanks for both the questions and tips! I think maybe Iris could consider to make a video about how to build a close relationship with teachers. I believe many students are very interested in and need those advice!
Hello Iris, I'm International student ( brazilian) and I would like to ask if uou know any extracurricular activities related to economy ? Thank you soo much
I finished high school last year, now I take an interdisciplinary course at a university (but it is not considered undergraduate) Similar a foundation program.
I did the national economics challenge, although I think that is only in the US. I bet Brazil would have something as well. I found the Natioal Economics Challenge by googling online, so I'd recommend just seaarching "economics opportunities for high schoolers"
What if I don't have a relationship with any teacher? Should I just ask a science or math and a English teacher? And what should I put on my brag sheet?
hi iris! to you have any tips for building good relationships with teachers now through online school? im in my junior year now and i feel like it’s harder to get to know teachers via virtual classrooms
Hi Melody! I'd recommend emailing them weekly, whether with updates in your life or with questions about class. Try to keep a conversation going constantly over email. Another tip is to schedule zoom calls w/ them to discuss certain topics related to class or extracurriculars and to drop by office hours whenever possible
Hi Sobh, yes, you can ask from your sophomore year or your senior year. The con for soph is that they wouldn't have the freshest memory and the con for senior year is that they wouldn't have known you for that long. It's totally up to you though and I don't think you can really go wrong -- trust your intuitions!
I was going to ask my Sophomore honors English teacher to write mine. I’m going to have him again senior year and he was my group leader on my retreat. Should I ask someone else? The other person I was going to ask was my schools event coordinator because I’ve worked a good amount with her and she knows me inside and outside of school. Should I ask other people? I just feel like other teachers don’t know me whatsoever
hey! If im sending in an arts supplement, should i be asking my arts teacher to be my recommender too? Also would it be better to ask 2 academic teachers or 1 academic and 1 extracurricular supervisor (who knows me better) as recommenders?
Most schools require 1 stem and 1 humanities, so your ec supervisor would only be able to write the optional. if you submit an arts supp, many schools require you to have an arts recommender (but this is part of your supplement, not your common application; the rec will be sent to arts faculty, not AOs). However, if you'd like, you can still submit your arts recommender as an optional letter of rec in the common app. Hope this helps!
Hi Iris! I'm at last year of high school and I have no extracurricular activities .Can you please help me what should I do in that part I still have a full year to improve.
I love sociology and research i know 3 languages( Arabic , Urdu, Hindi) along with english and malayalam (my mother tongue), now i am 16, and by inspiration from your previous video, i am planning to start a research on the social changes due to corona.... Its my first research actually,,, do you think there are other good extracurriculur activities on which i can spend more time and which will be more helpfull....??? Pls reply . Sharing some tips of research will also be more helpful for me....
Hey iris I love your videos and can you please respond to this. I have a letter of rec from a congressman, and a Vice President of a really big company, would this help me on the application process and would this go far for admissions. Btw they wrote really good things about me in it.
