“The U.S. college application process is overly complicated and time-consuming all around in my opinion, especially for students, and creates more stress and heartache than it should,” English teacher Angie Mogilefsky said.

It is peak college season for seniors at PV High, which means multiple essays, different sets of applications, and at least two letters of recommendation. 

Completing these tasks is a long and difficult process, often taking students several months to complete. 

Yes – no one will argue- seniors definitely have it rough this season. 

Yet, sometimes, people forget the teachers who aid us in the process. 

Teachers at PVHS can have up to 30 letters of recommendations to write a year, which in no way is necessary for them to complete in order to meet their job requirements. 

Their compliance is optional and out of the goodness of their hearts, which is a fact that many students forget when they ask them.  

For Mogilefksy, writing a letter takes about 30 minutes if she has access to Google Classroom, Turnitin.com, and Aeries to find specific examples of exemplary student work. 

But, filling out the questionnaires, uploading letters, and checking student deadlines can take significantly longer.

District policy allows teachers to take a paid “writing day” for every 10 letters they write (up to three days), which means that they miss school to write these letters. 

However, missing a day of school can take a great deal of effort with creating lesson plans and class materials for a substitute. 

Yet, even with all the challenges, teachers still enjoy writing letters of recommendation, and we as students should be grateful for it. 

Good letters of recommendation are crucial to applications, we here are a few things students can do do make the process easier for teachers.

Communication: Make sure you are either corresponding over email or in person with your teachers as much as possible. 

Time lags can occur if students don’t get back to their teachers, and make them less apt to write your letter.

Choice: Your choice in teacher should make sense and align with your academic performance or emotional connection with your teacher. 

It’s much easier to write a letter for a student who played an active role in the classroom. 

Deadlines: Teachers often require students to fill out a questionnaire that describes their achievements in that class. 

It’s crucial that this is completed in a timely manner, as it greatly helps in the writing process.