How To: College Recommendation Letters

So, you’ve started your college applications, and you realize that you need a letter of recommendation before you submit. Asking a teacher or coach for a letter of recommendation can be daunting. Here is a step-by-step guide to make the process a little bit easier!

1. What do I want said about me?

The first thing to consider is what you want the letter to convey about you. Do you want to highlight your leadership skills? Your dedication to a specific area of study? Your perseverance through failure? Maybe you just want the letter to hype you up! Before you can decide who writes your recommendation, you need to figure out what content you want included. Take a second to reflect on the things that you’re proud of or that others, like your teachers, would be proud of. This can be a good starting point if you don’t already have a recommender in mind.

2. Who do I want to say it?

Recommendation letters should be written by someone who knows you, who works in a semi-professional academic setting, and with whom you have recently or are currently in contact. This means no relatives, friends, or your elementary school art teacher from 10 years ago. Students often turn to current high school teachers, coaches, or extracurricular supervisors. These first two steps often happen concurrently. If you already know that you want a specific person to write your letter, try and consider what side of you they will convey in their writing.

3. How many letters?

If you are only asked to include one letter, you want to make sure to find someone who can give the strongest, most well-rounded depiction of you. Often, colleges require more than one letter of recommendation. It’s important to remember you don’t want your recommendation letters to be too repetitive. Be sure to diversify your recommenders so that colleges can learn about you from different perspectives.

4. How do I ask?

The best way to ask for a letter is in person and in advance. Some of the people you’re requesting letters from may have a lot of other students asking as well. Make sure to give your teachers as much time as possible, at least three weeks or more. When asking in person, find a time the teacher isn’t busy and ask in a one-on-one setting. If you’re not able to do it in person, just turn your statement into an email. A good start to the conversation would be: “I’ve started applying to colleges and need someone to write a recommendation letter. I think that you would be a great recommender because of _____ and _____. Would you be able to write one of my letters of recommendation?” These blanks can be a simple “I loved and excelled in your English class,” “You have been one of my favorite high school teachers,” or “my involvement in the health sciences club has been a big part of my high school experience!” This can be easier if you’re super close with your teacher or coach, but even if you’re not, that shouldn’t deter you! You just need to prepare to clarify why you’re asking that specific person.

5. How do I say thank-you?

Remember, the person who wrote your recommendation took a lot of their free time to do so! It is always nice to follow up with a note or an email thanking them for their time and contribution.

Applying these Steps

When I applied for college, I already had two teachers in mind to write my letters: my AP English and Writing teacher, Mrs. Carrouth, and my junior year AP Calculus teacher, Mr. Reeder. Mrs. Carrouth was able to attest to my writing skills and dedication to her class. She also provided a more personal recommendation, having known me for several years. Mr. Reeder, however, may have seen me at my lowest. Though I loved his class, I wasn’t the best at calculus. I was able to ask Mr. Reeder to focus on my perseverance, despite my subpar math skills. With two recommendations to go, I tried to look for some “gaps” or some perspectives of myself that I thought were missing. I realized I wanted my leadership experience and involvement in extracurriculars to be highlighted. This led me to my varsity soccer coach and my band teacher. Both had known me for over four years and were willing to write letters on my behalf. My coach was able to talk about my passion and leadership as a varsity captain, and my band teacher talked about my commitment to the marching band and my position on the leadership board. All of these recommendations effectively highlighted different aspects of me, which is the goal! Colleges look at your writing and recommendations to get an idea of who you are beyond the paper. Try to find people to write your recommendations who can give insight into who you are as a person, not just as a student.

Going Forward

Recommendations can look different for everyone! You shouldn’t be discouraged if you aren’t best friends with the teacher writing your letter. The most important thing is that the information personalizes you and highlights your strengths!

Here’s what you should take with you:

• Spend some time figuring out what kinds of things you want said about you, or what the teachers or coaches who are close to you would say.
• Reflect on what you may want in your letter, find a teacher you have had a positive experience with, and when you ask, don’t be afraid to suggest some specific traits or work that you want them to focus on, so your letter isn’t too vague.
• Give yourself, and your prospective recommender, time to submit the letter—don't wait till the last minute!
• Always, always, always send a thank you!