The Counseling Department is excited to introduce MaiaLearning, a college and career readiness system we will use  in place of Naviance for the 2021-22 academic year. Please see below regarding instructions for accessing MAIA as well as submitting letters of recommendation for your students.

How Teachers Handle Recommendations in MAIA

Please view this brief video for instructions on how to log in, view,  and submit your letter(s) of recommendation. Please note that you will be responsible for submitting your letter once it is complete. The Counseling Department is available to address any questions that may arise, and we hope that you enjoy working with our new system MAIA!

https://vimeo.com/454474402/992bad6874

Due to Common App's One and Done process, teachers should NOT write university specific letters for Common App applications.

 When teachers receive notice of a recommendation request:

• Log into MaiaLearning 
• Click Recommendations on the navigation menu
• The Recommendations Dashboard will list all students who've asked for recommendations, filtered by class year. Options include:
  • Search by student name or class year
  • Filter by student name, due date ("Needed By"), or status

Preparing Documents

For more detailed instructions on uploading recommendation letters, please see Teachers upload recommendation letters (With Colleges)

• From the Recommendations page, filter by class year to view recommendation requests, and/or search by student name.
• Click Add Form to complete the Common App Teacher Evaluation Form.
• Click Upload to upload your recommendation letter. 
  • Files must be in PDF format, under 2MB in size, and cannot include any special characters or parenthesis/brackets in the file name.

• The Status column on the main recommendations page will indicate whether the form and/or recommendation letter are complete for each student.
  • Pending Form = Recommendation letter has been uploaded, but Common App Evaluation Form has not been completed. Recommendation letters can be sent without the Common App Evaluation Form for MaiaDoc (non-Common App) applications. The Evaluation Form is required for sending to Common App applications. Application type is listed on the SEND page.

• Pending Doc = Common App Evaluation Form is completed, but the recommendation letter has not been uploaded for this student

• If both the Common App Evaluation form is completed and the recommendation letter has been uploaded for a student, a green check will be visible over the student's name.

 To replace or update a letter:

• From the Recommendations page, click Upload or Send next to the student's name.
• Click 'Reload' to upload an updated recommendation letter. Please note recommendations cannot be withdrawn, edited, or replaced after sending to Common App. Application Type is listed next to the university name on the Upload/Send page.

• On the following screen, drag and drop or click 'upload' to add a new file to the upload screen. 

 Sending Documents:

• Once the recommendation letter (and Evaluation form, if applicable) have been uploaded, click Send next to the student's name to begin sending recommendations.

• Check the box next to each individual university, or check the box next to 'College Name' to send to all universities at once for this student.

• After selecting the universities to send recommendations to, click the yellow Send button at the bottom of the page. The submission status will be displayed in the Status column of the send page.

• Documents will show as Pending while being processed by the partner application system. You can navigate to other pages once the status shows as Pending. Once the application system processes the document, the status will show as Success if successfully delivered, or Failed if could not be delivered.

 If a university cannot be selected

If no checkbox is visible next to a university on the teacher Send page (example below) this means the document may be unavailable to send for one of the following reasons:

• The university does not accept recommendations
• Maximum number of teacher recommendations have already been sent to this university for the student
• The student has not checked 'Request Transcript' on the Applying List
• The student has not set Application Type on the Applying List 

If any documents show as Failed, or if you have any questions or concerns about the upload or sending process, please contact support@maialearning.com for further assistance.

 hanks so much for your support of our students! 

Teaching the College Essay

This introductory page gives a good overview of the types of college essays students will encounter, as well as some tips on how students can approach the process.

If you have any questions about the prompts or college essays, please feel free to reach out to the counselors.

University of California

Students are asked to respond to four (of the available eight) questions. Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.

Personal Insight Questions

Expanded Guide for Students

Top 7 Successful UC Berkeley Essays

Common Application

The Common App prompts are made to be accessible to all students. Students are asked to select one of the prompts to write a response of no more than 650 words. The best strategy to approach these prompts is for the student to identify the story he or should would like to tell first and then select a prompt that best fits that story. 

Common Application Essay Prompts

Sample Essays

Hamilton College: Even More Essays That Worked

Johns Hopkins University: Essays That Worked

Tufts University: Past Essays That Mattered

Connecticut College: Essay Tips from Dean of Admission and Financial Aid

Counseling Presentations

Writing the College Essay

Resources for Writing Letters

Thank you for your willingness to write a recommendation letter for our Saint Francis students. Your strong letter of endorsement is a vital part of a student's college application.

As a classroom teacher, colleges depend on your insight into those factors that are not otherwise discernible from the application or resume. Please use this opportunity to be an advocate for your student. If you feel that it would be a challenge for you to write a positive recommendation, gently help the student choose someone else to write the letter.

The following Video Guide from Vanderbilt University is a wonderful place to start.

Tips from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling

Do's

• Establish a positive tone
• Include a personal anecdote
• Ask the student what you should emphasize (they may be applying to a specific program, for example, nursing)
• Set the student apart from other students
• Write only about what you really know
• Discuss classroom behavior and style. - Talk about the student within the context of your class
• Keep it to ONE page
• Keep a copy of the recommendation
• Address (some of) the following:
     evidence of intellectual ability
     promptness
     perseverance
     in-class discussion
     inquiring attitude of mind
     relative maturity
     creativity
     confidence
     skill in verbal expression
     response to assignments
     attitude in class
     classroom interaction
     independent judgment
     written work
     reaction to setbacks or criticism
     character
     relationships to classmates and faculty
     interest in sharing ideas 

At highly competitive colleges, your letter can help highlight the intellectual curiosity, level of engagement, and willingness to take academic risks that might distinguish the student from a pool of candidates all with similar credentials - GPA, curriculum, and test scores.

Provide a context

Every applicant's accomplishments are considered within two contexts- that of the applicant pool as a whole and that of the student's particular environment. We need you to explain the latter-put the student in context within YOUR classroom and your group of students.

First words matter

Choose those "first words" carefully, because they are seen as the student's most significant attributes, and they set the context for what follows. (FYI - the phrase "hard-working" can be the kiss of death in a highly competitive process.)

Use examples

We create an image of the student in our minds from a combination of what we read. Specific examples to support the student's most important attributes add credibility and vividness to your description.

Point out anything special

Strengths, accomplishments, impact weaknesses, obstacles overcome …don't always assume we know this from elsewhere.

Additional Resources

Descriptive Words
Writing a Recommendation Letter from The College Essay Guy
Words That Add Specifics & Action Verbs
Letters of Recommendation (pdf) from NACAC
The Art of the College Recommendation Letter An article from The Atlantic 
Common App Personal Statement Tufts University
Do's and Dont's The College Board 
Essays that Worked Connecticut College 
Letters that Worked Johns Hopkins University
Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students Purdue OWL
Writing Recommendations MIT Office of Admissions 
Saint Francis Letterhead Digital Copy  
Saint Francis Teacher Letter of Rec Request (student questionnaire)