I am writing this letter of recommendation in support of Aldo Kempen’s application for

admission to your institution. I have known Aldo for the past three years as a student in my
Economics class. From the very start he has been very interested in the subject matter and
much involved in class discussions. He has shown great insight into the material and knows
how to quickly solve challenging issues. In general he loves being challenged academically.

In my lessons I try to address economic questions by also introducing philosophical and

political aspects. In my many years of experience, Aldo stands out as a student who shows a
particularly keen interest and talent for all three areas. Political decisions are and must be
taken by reflecting not only on efficiency but also on the distributional aspects of the potential
solution. Every time we are discussing problems of this kind in class Aldo is first in taking a
broad perspective. He understands that the problems are not only economical but also political
and ethical.

For his final thesis Aldo did research on the impact of the development of the Dutch society
on the content of our schools newspaper from the nineteen thirties till now. Choosing a
subject like this and the way he handled it, and gave birth to a well written and interesting
piece of work, shows how Aldo likes to combine History, Sociology, Psychology and above
all Philosophy. He investigated how an earlier and different kind of society with different kind
of people was reflected in different kind of stories and different ways of people expressing
themselves in our schools newspaper. Herewith he made an inquiry into the relationship
between language and society.

Aldo clearly has considerable further academic potential, which I am convinced can best be
developed in an intensive learning environment. The motivation and commitment of Aldo to
this application is second to none. I have no doubt that Aldo, if accepted, will justify the
confidence shown in him.

Aldo has consistently achieved outstanding school results among the top of his peer group,
not only at the Barlaeus Gymnasium but within the Dutch VWO (university preparatory
education) system as a whole. He was among the only 2% of all 12-year-olds in the
Netherlands to be admitted to a Gymnasium, the most intense and advanced level of education
within the Dutch VWO system and he has been consistently ranked within the top 10% of his
class. Final grade predictions reflect these results.
We grade on a scale from 1 to 10. Grades are assigned for the number of completely correct
answers. Usually 90% correct is an 8 or a 9.
A 10 is only given when all the answers on all tests are completely correct, making it almost
impossible even for the best students.
As a consequence of our rigorous grading policy averages above 9 very seldom occur. The
best students have averages of about 8,5. The 8,5 average on a VWO gymnasium level can be
compared to almost a 5,0 average on a 5,0 scale at foreign high schools.
Aldo’s average is 8,0. Within the Dutch VWO schools our school is much more demanding.
Our internal grades are 0,5 less than our central exam results. So Aldo’s recalibrated average
is 8,25.

In closing, it is with sincere conviction that I wholeheartedly recommend Aldo as a student to

your institution and I am certain you will be rewarded with an exemplary new student. With
his intelligence, dedication and enthusiasm he will definitely be an asset.