Students spend countless hours perfecting every part of their college applications–showcasing grades, test scores, and carefully choosing words in their essays. But there’s one critical piece that feels out of their control: letters of recommendation.
For many private colleges and some public universities, letters of recommendation can be an important outside perspective of a student’s talents beyond test scores, providing real-life examples of their personality and character. Teachers and counselors can help convey a student’s maturity and readiness for college, and we look at it as an opportunity.
As part of the letter-writing process, teachers and counselors often provide questionnaires for students to fill out, and parents/caregivers are sometimes asked to complete “brag sheets” about their children.
In our work, we recommend students take their time to thoughtfully answer teacher and counselor questionnaires. We find providing teachers and counselors with quality content for letters of recommendation is a win-win. It makes the letter writer’s job easier and can support a stronger overall recommendation —especially considering the average teacher’s workload or the fact that a public-school counselor is assigned roughly 400 students. Given these factors, Green Ivy college advisors spend a great deal of time helping students and parents reflect on the traits and values they want teachers and counselors to convey in their letters of recommendation. To learn more about our Green Ivy college advising services, please visit here.
Here are some tips around letters of recommendation: :
Students should seek teachers who know them well and can write strong letters of recommendation. Colleges prefer letters from junior- or senior-year teachers, and they generally must teach a core subject—English, math, science, history or a world language. It is ideal to have a strong relationship with the teacher and a passion for the subject. We advise students to ask two teachers for letters of recommendation, as more competitive schools tend to ask for two teacher recommendations. For some schools that require only one letter, students may be able to submit an additional letter of recommendation.
Ask early and politely (and always write a thank you note!). Ideally, students should approach teachers and counselors in the spring of junior year, as some prefer to write letters over the summer and some have a limit on how many letters they will write each year. We recommend asking in person rather than sending an email. Be sure to inquire about any deadlines for turning in questionnaires, and remember to send a handwritten thank you note in the fall. Note: Some schools request that students wait until their senior year fall before asking for teacher recommendations, so it is important to be familiar with specific high school policies in order to give teachers enough time to write a strong letter. 
Take time with questionnaires. Students often don’t realize that they provide teachers and counselors with the bulk of content for the letters, even if their teachers or counselors know them well. It’s best to be as specific and detailed as possible. Students should share stories about the moments and the contributions of which they are most proud. For teacher recommendations: Students should focus on times in class where they steered class discussion in a meaningful way or had a leap of intellectual understanding, or reflect on the way the subject or their teaching has helped them grow. Mentioning specific projects or research opportunities can also be valuable in providing context. For other recommendations (counselor, coach, mentor, etc.): Students can use these recommendations to expand on their extracurriculars and school contributions. For example, some might explain their role on student council, contributions that they made to a club, or how they helped someone while they were volunteering.
Provide original material. On their questionnaires, students should be sure not to include content that appears word for word in their personal statements, as many teachers and counselors might source content directly from questionnaires when writing letters of recommendation. Ideally, each part of the application shares something new with admissions officers.
More information about Green Ivy’s academic advising and college admissions services can be found here.