Let’s say you asked your favorite teacher to write you a letter of recommendation. They pen a glowing recommendation that gets you into the school of your dreams, but then you do something that causes them to contact the college and take back what they’ve said. It’s rare, but it’s certainly possible. When a student turns to a teacher to write a letter recommendation, there is an implicit expectation that the student will continue to live up to the academic and personal standards upon which they are being recommended after the recommender has already written the letter. But what happens when the recommender feels their student has breached this expectation? Is a teacher who rescinds their letter always in the right?

Can a Teacher Withdraw a Letter of Recommendation? In the Case of a Crime, Absolutely.

In 2017, Ivy Coach covered the case of a rescinded letter of recommendation in which the student committed an antisemitic hate crime against another member of the school community. Situations like this are a no-brainer: rescind the letter and prevent a hostile individual from attending a college campus where they could potentially harm others. This goes for students convicted of violent crimes or gross ethical misconduct. What good is a letter of recommendation if it does not honestly reflect the student’s character?

However, things get a little trickier when the student’s actions enter into a gray area. In 2022, Inside Higher Ed covered the case of a student at an all-girls parochial school who had her admission to the University of Pennsylvania rescinded over a rescinded letter of recommendation. What was her crime that was so bad it warranted her dreams of an elite education to be shattered? According to the article, she merely forwarded an email her recommender had sent her to a confidante. Huh? Why should this warrant a rescinding recommendation?

The principal of the girl’s school was wondering this very question. “[The student] does not deserve to have her character tarnished by what I can only conclude is personal animus,” he is reported to have said in the article. The innocuous nature of this case vastly differs from that of a student who commits a hate crime! Given these extreme contrasts, how are schools meant to adjudicate when teachers are within their right to rescind a recommendation?

Every High School Should Have a Standardized Policy Governing Letters of Recommendation

Cases like the one highlighted by Inside Higher Ed point to the dire necessity for high schools to establish clear and transparent policies governing letters of recommendation. These policies must be shared with parents and students. Such a policy should be nuanced enough to account for the ethical shades of gray that often arise regarding a student’s behavior.

Either way, both cases should serve as a cautionary tale for high schoolers choosing which teachers to turn to for letters of recommendation. Do not ask a teacher who does not honestly know you or will not have your best interests at heart to write your letter of recommendation! If you do not have a relatively close relationship with your chosen recommender, the best they will be able to do is pen a bland, nonspecific letter that comes across as lackluster.

Don’t Phone Your Senior Spring In!

Moreover, securing a college acceptance letter during your senior year is not an excuse to phone it in for the rest of the year! You must maintain your academic performance and ethical character throughout your senior year, even as the weather warms up and your mind wanders to greener pastures. Your undergraduate education is too important to risk on a senior year plagued with absenteeism, sliding grades, and uncouth behavior.

Of course, occasionally, a rogue teacher might develop a personal vendetta against you that jeopardizes your acceptance to Penn. But if you have done your due diligence and chosen recommenders who do have your back, you should have nothing to worry about!