国产第一福利影院草草

Yes, this blog is about how to request letters of recommendation for college from a teacher. But first, let鈥檚 engage in a mental exercise intended to do something quite strange鈥攈elp you imagine your teachers as real human beings. 聽Don鈥檛 worry鈥攖here鈥檚 a purpose to this!

Put yourself in your favorite English teacher鈥檚 shoes for a moment. Let鈥檚 call him Mr. Hemingway. Mr. Hemingway rises at 5:30 AM to walk his dog and pack his daughter鈥檚 lunch before beginning his 40-minute commute to school. He prepares engaging lessons for five sections of thirty students, four different courses in total, including AP English, AP English Language and Composition, Honors English 11, and English 11. He stays after school each day to run the school鈥檚 paper and literary magazine. When he gets home, it鈥檚 a little bit of family time and a quick dinner before attacking the pile of 150 essays he has to grade by the end of the week. When that concludes, Mr. Hemingway gets some rest and then wakes up and does this routine all over again.

The goal here isn鈥檛 to engender tears of pity for the educators in your lives. Rather, it is to convince you to strongly consider the following timetable for (and method of) soliciting college letters of recommendation. Toward that goal, we will explore:

• Do schools thoroughly read LORs?
• When should I ask for a letter of recommendation?
• Which teacher should I ask for a recommendation?
• What information should I provide my recommender?
• What are the LOR rules and guidelines for different colleges?
• Should I include extra letters of recommendation with my college application?

To begin, let’s address the elephant in the room…

Do colleges actually read letters of recommendation?

Yes. According to a , nearly 11% of institutions view teacher recommendations as having 鈥渃onsiderable importance鈥� in admissions decisions. Another 41% of schools grant them 鈥渕oderately important鈥� status, and 28% report that they are of “limited importance.” Just 21% say they don’t matter at all. According to the same survey, colleges grant teacher recommendation letters a greater level of importance than more ballyhooed aspects of an application like class rank, interviews, and extracurricular activities. This is true especially for those institutions that are test-blind or test-optional, as more weight is placed on other data points and the more individualized aspects of the application.

Letters of recommendation from a teacher matter because they provide context to your application in a way that other credentials cannot. Ideally, a letter of recommendation will further reinforce your strengths as an applicant and reveal positive information not found elsewhere in your application. All other things being equal, a strong letter of recommendation may provide an admissions officer the additional piece of information he or she needs to admit you over other comparable applicants.

For this reason, you鈥檒l want your letters of recommendation to be candid and insightful, and you do not want to give college admissions officers any reason to doubt you or your recommenders. Admissions officers read hundreds鈥攕ometimes even thousands鈥攐f letters each application cycle. Generic or formulaic letters are easy to identify, as are signs of a recommender鈥檚 discomfort or hesitancy.

When should I ask for a letter of recommendation?

By November, popular teachers like Mr. Hemingway may have as many as 100 students asking them to write letters on their behalf. Some teachers, in an attempt to stave off carpal tunnel syndrome, will actually cap the number of letters they will agree to write. Even the most generous teachers will likely not be able to write their 50th recommendation with the same level of gusto and attention to detail as they gave their first.

We recommend that you begin to request letters of recommendation from your teacher(s) prior to the end of junior year. The second best option is at the very beginning of senior year. Of course, if you end up forging a close bond with a teacher that you鈥檝e only had in senior year, you can make an exception. Otherwise, your best shot at receiving a well-thought-out and detailed narrative of your past academic contributions and potential as a college student will come from verbalizing your request before the floodgates open.

Which teacher(s) should I ask for a letter of recommendation?

Beyond following the institution-specific guidelines (as explained in the next section), make sure to stay relevant. Be sure to pursue at least one letter of recommendation from a teacher in your area(s) of academic interest. For example, if you indicate on your application that you plan to major in engineering, ask a science and/or math teacher to write on your behalf. Admissions officers always appreciate the opportunity to read letters that attest to your abilities in your prospective major. If you鈥檙e undecided on a major (as many students are), consider an English or math teacher鈥攌nowledge and skills developed in these academic areas are essential to success in any postsecondary field of study.

Also, stay recent. Admissions officers want insight into your most recent performance as a high school student, as this is often a good indicator of how you will perform in college. Accordingly, you should only request recommendations from those who have taught, mentored, or counseled you within the past two years.

Final piece of advice: have a backup option (or two) at the ready. If you鈥檝e put some thought into potential recommenders and are making requests well in advance, it is unlikely they will decline. However, there are plenty of valid reasons (many that have nothing to do with you!) that a potential recommender will opt not to write a letter of recommendation. They might have personal or medical circumstances that prevent them from granting the necessary attention to the letter, or they feel that another recommender would be more appropriate. Be understanding, and avoid making assumptions.

What information should I provide to my recommender?

Since teacher recommendation letters should focus exclusively on your in-class performance, provide each recommender with a list of several in-class accomplishments/experiences about which you feel particularly proud. Perhaps it was your performance on a specific assignment, your contributions to class discussion, or your willingness to help your peers and/or seek help yourself. For example:

• I sought help whenever needed and participated in weekly tutoring sessions to improve my grade.
• I assisted my fellow classmates during lab by helping explain concepts and procedures.
• I received a high A on my last two exams and final project; for your reference, I have attached my final paper (with your grade and comments).

Some teachers may ask for a resume or 鈥�brag sheet鈥� that includes information about your extracurricular activities. If so, you can certainly provide this information, but may want to ask your teacher to focus exclusively on your accomplishments in their class. Since your teacher is not an authority on your extracurricular involvement, letters that discuss or focus on those achievements will be of little value to an admissions officer.

What should I do after I make my recommendation request?

Your teacher has agreed to write you a letter of recommendation and you’ve provided them with all essential materials鈥攇reat! However, this doesn’t mean it’s time to stop communicating. Although you should not pester your recommenders, it is certainly appropriate to touch base periodically to ask if they need additional information from you, provide updates, or gently remind them of deadlines.

In addition to following up, be sure to express gratitude. When your teacher agrees to write you a recommendation letter鈥攁nd after they鈥檝e submitted it鈥攃onsider writing a heartfelt thank you note or delivering the message in person.聽 Similarly, once you receive college acceptance letters, it’s nice to circle back and let your recommenders know which school you decide to attend. It’s always exciting for teachers and counselors to hear what’s next for you, especially when they’ve been an important part of your application process.

How many recommendations do I need?

All schools have different requirements in regard to quantity, and some even have specific requirements as to which teacher(s) they want the letters of recommendation to be from. For example, an 鈥淓valuation A鈥� from a math or science teacher and an 鈥淓valuation B鈥� from a humanities, social science, or foreign language teacher. Williams College also requires two teacher recommendations but does not place any subject-area restrictions on them. Wake Forest requires one counselor recommendation as well as one teacher recommendation. Military schools typically require three teacher recommendations and a nomination from a Congressperson. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the UCs do not require nor read letters of recommendation. Like we said, requirements can vary greatly by school.

For a list of recommendation requirements at hundreds of popular colleges, visit our Dataverse page.

Not sure which schools you鈥檙e applying to yet? Not a problem. Start by asking at least two teachers for recommendation letters (one math/science and one humanities/English)鈥攖hat should cover your bases at most schools.

Should I include extra letters of recommendation in my college application?

Only if you feel they are absolutely necessary, i.e., they reveal something essential about you that simply can’t be communicated anywhere else. However, don鈥檛 go overboard. If a college requires two letters of recommendation, submit no more than three. Admissions officers are charged with wading through an enormous amount of information, so too many recommendations may overwhelm or even annoy your reader. Worse yet, it could send signals of potential desperation and/or insecurity.

If you do wish to submit an additional recommendation, the best move is to ask a coach, band director, employer, or other extracurricular sponsor with whom you have established a meaningful and productive relationship. Never ask a parent or other relative to write on your behalf. These people are rarely able to provide an objective, unbiased account of your character and abilities, and admissions officers won’t take them seriously anyway.

Additionally, we caution asking government officials, celebrities, or other notable public figures to write letters of recommendation. In a majority of cases, this adds very little to an application. For example, let鈥檚 say you met a given congresswoman once or twice at a fundraiser. What insight could she possibly provide about your community service commitment that would not be otherwise evident in a more genuine, thorough way from a teacher or school guidance counselor who watched you grow over a period of years?

How do I send my recommendations to colleges?

After creating a Common App account, you’ll invite your recommenders directly to the application. Before you can invite recommenders, though, you’ll need to complete a FERPA release, which is where you waive your right to access your recommendations.

Need a tutorial on how the FERPA release works? Here’s a step-by-step video:

After you complete the FERPA release, you can then invite your recommenders to the application. Important note: if your school uses Naviance, you’ll complete this step through that system rather than the Common App.

Curious about how to invite recommenders to the Common Application? Follow along here:

国产第一福利影院草草’ Bottom Line:

Be one of the first individuals in your grade to get the jump on requesting letters of recommendation. Learn your prospective college鈥檚 unique recommendation letter requirements ahead of time and then be the earliest bird you can be. If you clicked with one of your junior year teachers, get on their recommendation list before junior year even ends.

Your teachers are busy people and giving them the courtesy of advanced notice will be a win-win. Mr. Hemingway will be less harried as he treks through his busy day-to-day tasks and you will, in all likelihood, receive a far more individualized and powerful letter of recommendation.