Letters of recomMendation

The purpose of the letter of recommendation is for the individuals reading your application to better understand you as a person. Therefore, it makes the most sense to ask a teacher you know well and with whom you have a good relationship for the letter of recommendation. Usually, high school teachers know how to write these letters because they have a lot of experience. But sometimes, there are teachers who don't know what to write. You may have teachers who will ask you what you want them to write in their letter for you. You can point them in the right direction, but usually they should write what they think of you and your talents for themselves. In rare cases, you will have some teachers who will ask you to write the recommendation letter for yourself, so that all they have to do is just read and sign the recommendation. While this may tempt you (because you would have the opportunity to say anything nice about yourself that you want), you should not do it. If you have a teacher who does not want to write the letter of recommendation themselves, you should ask another teacher. You want to get a letter that obviously says good things about you as a student and person, but you also want it to come from an objective adult (i.e., from a genuine, authentic perspective). 

A school teacher is not the only person who can write you a letter of recommendation. Usually, all Common App colleges require at least two letters of recommendation, and these two usually have to be from a teacher or school counselor. Sometimes there is also an option to add one or two more letters; this is usually optional, but it will be more beneficial to you if the admissions officer reading your application has a diverse perspective of who you are as a person. You can ask an athletic coach for a letter of recommendation if you are an athlete. You can also ask members of your community for a letter of recommendation (these members may include leaders of the church you belong to or another community leader with whom you do community service, for example). Finally, you can ask family members and even friends to write you a letter. While this may sound a little strange at first, believe me when I say that this has immense value.

Evelyn: I asked my two older brothers to write me a letter of recommendation. Both letters were incredibly emotional and meaningful. I believe there is immense value in a relative writing a letter; there is a level of love and emotion that family members can contribute to a letter about you that simply cannot be done by a teacher. If you have family members who know the difficulties you have experienced in life, who care about your education, and who can describe this in a letter written in English, I recommend that you ask someone in your family to do so (the value of these letters are truly inexplicable). Of course, we know that not everyone has family that is interested in their education or has the skills or time to devote to writing a letter of recommendation. In this case, you can also ask a friend who knows you very well to write the letter. The important thing is that the letter is genuine and that it helps the admissions officer see you as your teachers, relatives, and friends see you.

Once you have chosen your recommenders, you should ask them to write your letter ahead of time. You should ask them to write your letter at least three to four weeks before the application deadline for that specific college. Teachers, relatives, and other recommenders have their own lives and responsibilities; if you let them know about the letter a week before the deadline, it is very likely that they will not be able to complete it or, at the very least, will be very stressed or feel that they must complete the letter in a rushed manner. The recommender should not be stressed when writing your letter because this may be evident in the tone of the letter and reflect poorly on you. If you let them know about the letter a week before the deadline, it is very likely that they will not be able to complete it or, at the very least, will be very stressed or feel that they must complete the letter in a rushed manner. You also want to make sure that you respect the time of the adults who have had a positive contribution to your life. Sometimes recommenders forget that they have to write the letter because they have other responsibilities so, you should check in with your recommenders from time to time to see if they have completed the letter. You can do this in a respectful way, just by occasionally reminding your recommenders that the application deadline is approaching and that the letter is due soon. Your referrers won't get angry if you speak to them with kindness and respect; they appreciate your reminders! At the Common App portal, the recommender will have to submit the letter themselves. That is, the referrers don't send you the letter for you to upload to the site (usually, you have to give up the right to read the letters officially with your signature on Common App); they have to do it themselves. You want to make sure that everyone has uploaded their letter (you will be able to see in your part of the Common App portal which of your referrers have submitted their letter and which have not). Once all of your recommenders have submitted their letter, you can proceed with the other parts of the application, but remember to properly thank them for doing you this favor, a favor that can help you get into the college of your dreams!