How to ask for a letter of recommendation for student

Letters of recommendation from teachers, school counselors and other sources can help college admissions officers get a more complete picture of applicants.

They give admissions offices a "third dimension" as to who students are as individuals, says Peter Wilson, deputy dean and executive director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Chicago.

"They tell us what a student is like and how they perform in their classroom and overall community," Wilson says. "They tell us how a student would interact with their peers, so they’re giving us a sense of, when you come to our campus, how are you going to interact with our faculty and what are you going to be like in a classroom setting?"

While just one part of the college application process, it's an important one, experts say. These letters play a bigger role than many students might think, says Richard Tench, a school counselor at St. Albans High School in West Virginia.

"This really paints the bigger picture," he says. "When admissions looks at files, everyone’s going to have a transcript. Everyone is going to have extracurriculars. But those only speak so far. I think those personal stories and those stories of perseverance or their true passion that come out in the letters are what set (some applicants) apart."

Obtaining high-quality letters of recommendation usually doesn't happen overnight – it takes time and planning. Understanding the role that recommendation letters play in the application process can help students plan properly and avoid common pitfalls, experts say.

Here's what high school students need to know about how to ask for letters of recommendation for college applications.

Whom Should I Ask to Write Letters of Recommendation?

Admissions officers generally want to see letters of recommendation from high school teachers and counselors. But some colleges have more specific requirements than others. For example, the University of Chicago requires two letters of recommendation from teachers in "academic subjects," which include: "mathematics, social studies, history, science, English or literature, foreign language, and other courses in which you are doing substantial amounts of reading, writing, or class discussion," according to the school's admissions website.

Generally, students can include letters from elective teachers if that teacher and class are aligned with what they plan to major in, says Colleen Paparella, founder of DC College Counseling. For example, a student planning to major in vocal performance might seek a letter from the choir teacher, or a student planning to study art might seek a letter from the art teacher.

A college's website will usually spell out the exact requirements for letters of recommendation.

When it comes to letters of recommendation from teachers, students should approach the instructors with whom they have the best relationships, experts say. Ideally, this is someone who knows them well and can speak to both their academic and personal strengths.

It's important that students consider the context in which the recommender knows them, says Geoff Heckman, a school counselor at Platte County High School in Missouri.

“For instance, if you’re asking me as a school counselor to write a letter for you, it’s probably going to be about your academic promise, your integrity in the school, those pieces," he says. "But if you’re asking somebody like an employer, they’re probably going to be writing it from the perspective of your work ethic."

Students should also make sure they're asking recent teachers for recommendations, meaning those who taught them during the second half of high school. Typically, colleges are looking for recommendations from 11th grade teachers because they've most recently been with the student for a full academic year before applying, experts say.

"By the time an admissions officer reads the letter it’s going to be midway through 12th grade, and the teacher from 9th and 10th grade is going to seem really far away and it’s going to be a red flag," Paparella says. "It’s going to look like they didn’t have somebody more recent to ask."

A student with a part-time job may consider asking his or her manager for a recommendation, and athletes may think about asking their coaches, Goodman says. Such recommenders may be able to discuss some of a student's strengths that aren't as evident in a classroom setting.

How Should I Ask for Letters of Recommendation?

Students should generally ask teachers and counselors for letters of recommendation in person, Paparella says.

That may be more difficult in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as digital communication has been prioritized and the dynamic of teacher-student relationships has changed, says Steven Roy Goodman, an educational consultant and admissions strategist in the District of Columbia.

"Many students don't have relationships that they had in previous years because they didn't have ability to develop those relationships," Goodman says.

Students shouldn't panic if they aren't as close with their teachers as their siblings were, he says, noting that the effects of the pandemic on communication and relationships with teachers are still being felt.

At some high schools, students can request counselor recommendations online. And "many faculty members are very happy to schedule a Zoom call who weren't comfortable with that before the pandemic," Goodman says. "That's helped in some ways."

When Should I Ask for Letters of Recommendation?

Students should request letters of recommendation well in advance of an application deadline. Giving teachers, counselors and others ample time to write usually results in stronger recommendations.

Heckman encourages students at his high school to ask for recommendations in late spring or early summer of their junior year. This will give teachers and counselors time to work on a recommendation before seniors inundate them with requests midway through the fall.

Once students ask a teacher or counselor to write a letter of recommendation, they should allow at least two weeks for them to complete it. That gives everyone a fair amount of time to compose a well-written letter, he says.

Another reason not to procrastinate: Some teachers will commit to writing only a certain number of recommendations each year. Students who wait too long to ask may encounter teachers who have already hit their limit.

“Earlier is always better in the college process," says Eric Sherman, a premier college counselor for IvyWise, an educational consulting company. Another result of procrastination, he says, is that letters tend to be more general or shorter because teachers don't have as much time to be thoughtful.

"That’s not necessarily a red flag, but it can raise an eyebrow with admissions offices," he says. "It will essentially not hurt a student, but it might not help them in a way that it could have."

What Makes a Good Recommendation Letter?

Even if students have strong, years-long relationships with their teachers, experts say it's important not to assume they'll know what to include in the recommendation. Teachers are likely writing letters for other students as well, so preparing a list of things to write about will aid the recommender's memory and their writing process.

Sherman says students should supply information about a project or an assignment that was particularly impactful or important to them so that the recommender can address that.

Doing this can be the difference between a good letter and a bad letter, Paparella says.

Successful recommendation letters are descriptive, personal and are complementary to the application, not redundant, Sherman says.

Students should welcome the opportunity to list all of their accomplishments and qualities for the recommender, Heckman says.

"Really go over and above in talking about all of those characteristics that you possess," he says. "If you’re willing to say, ‘Hey, I think this is something that’s great,’ and I think it is, too, then together we can write a great letter.”

High schools may have a system to help with this process. Some counseling offices, for instance, ask students to complete a questionnaire to request a letter of recommendation. Heckman says students at his school fill out a Google form that gives recommenders direction on their letters.

“There are times when students want certain areas highlighted about them that you may not be as familiar with," Heckman says. "At times it’s necessary to know everything that a student is involved with so that you’re not only writing about what you know about that student, but also the other things that they want given attention to as well."

How Many Letters of Recommendation for College Do I Need?

The number of recommendations you will need depends on which colleges you are applying to, so check admissions requirements online.

Paparella says students should obtain two letters, regardless of whether the schools they're applying to ask for them. If students decide later during their senior year to apply to a school that requires them, already having those letters in hand can be crucial, she says.

"It’s better to have them and not need them than to scramble at the last minute to get one," she says.

In addition to what's required, some colleges give applicants the option to submit supplemental letters. It makes sense to ask for an additional letter if it can tell the admissions committee something new about a student, Goodman says.

But admissions officers aren't necessarily going to be impressed by a higher number of recommendations, nor will they likely have time to read them all, Paparella says. Students should include the letters that leave admissions officers with the strongest impression of them, she says.

How Do I Submit My Letters of Recommendation?

Students generally don't submit their own letters of recommendation. Teachers, counselors and other recommenders usually send them in electronically via whichever application platform a student is using, such as the Common App.

If it's getting close to the deadline and a recommender hasn't submitted a letter yet, Goodman says students should ask if the person needs anything else to complete the recommendation. This approach is more polite than saying, "I asked you three weeks ago and you haven't done it yet and the deadlines are coming up," Goodman says.

Though it won't have a direct impact on the admissions process, Wilson says he strongly recommends students write a thank you note to anyone who writes them a recommendation letter.

“We want those types of students in our community,” he says. "I don’t think (students) realize what a big role (these letters) have in our process. When you have 40,000 applicants, teacher recommendations are one of the ways that you can stand out in the process."

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