Getting a Strong Letter of Recommendation
- Blue Admission
- Feb 25
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Getting a strong letter of recommendation to support your application for admission can be a game changer.
Before diving into the ways letters of recommendation positively impact your application and the step-by-step process of asking for a strong letter of recommendation, let’s look at 5 Important Facts About Letters of Recommendation.
5 Important Facts About Letters of Recommendation
Fact #1: They are NOT always required.
Despite what you may have heard or assumed based on conversation about university admission, letters of recommendation are not always a required part of the application process.
“OK.” You’re thinking. “But ‘not required’ doesn’t mean that they don’t want them, right?”
Honestly, not really. You won’t know your letter of recommendation requirements until you know where you are applying. And sometimes “not required” really means that you cannot submit them, i.e. they are not accepted even if you have them.
Fact #2: They are NOT just from teachers.
When letters of recommendation are required to complete your application for admission, it is not uncommon that your school’s college counselor will also be required to submit a recommendation on your behalf. Like Fact #1, this isn’t the case everywhere, so build your university list and start checking the required documents!
Fact #3: They are important (when required).
This 2020 NACAC survey of admissions officers provides insight into the relative importance of letters of recommendation in the review of your application when they are required. Beyond admissions, some universities have shared that rec letters play a leading role in who is chosen for competitive scholarships.
Fact #4: Required letters of recommendation often MUST come from teachers.
In other words, these letters play a special role in the admissions process, and as such, are not effective unless they come from certain adults in your life who can provide the important context needed. So, unfortunately, your swim coach or supervisor at work are only allowable when the university says they are. Otherwise, default to academic teachers.
Fact #5: Teachers can say “no” to your letter of recommendation request.
Teachers are not required to say yes to every student request. Writing 30-50 letters of recommendation each year is not something they get paid extra to do. It’s something they quite literally add to their responsibilities out of the goodness of their hearts. Writing a few letters of recommendation might not seem like a big deal, but consider that one really well-written letter could take two hours or more to craft. Multiplied by 30-50 letters, we are talking a LOT of work. Showing gratitude and maturity with how and when you ask for letters of recommendation will go a long way!
What Important Information Does a Teacher Recommendation Share?
A teacher’s letter of recommendation shares specific information about the student observed in the classroom setting – how the student learns, overcomes adversity, and interacts with classmates.
The teacher letter also helps to differentiate the application academically – the student’s academic ability, intellectual ability, and response to the material in the classroom.
Teacher letters of recommendation differentiate the student by:
Specifically stating that they stand along amongst their class for certain academic or intellectual abilities.
Specifically stating the student’s individual character traits – resolve, work ethic, kindness, openness to ideas, maturity, leadership.
Specifically stating the ways the students actively participates in classroom discussions, group work, individual projects, etc.
What Important Information Does a Counselor Recommendation Share?
While the teacher letter focuses on their observation of the student within the walls of the classroom, the counselor letter shares a more global perspective on the applicant, focusing on how the student interacts with the larger community.
Counselor letters of recommendation differentiate the student by:
Distinguishing the student academically or personally from the larger community of students in the high school
Specifically noting the important characteristics and talents the students demonstrate in the larger community
Focusing on the students most impressive charact traits and how those play an important role in the student’s community impact
Distinguishing the student’s larger academic rigor or achievement from the rest of the graduating class.
Distinguishing the student’s larger impact in extracurricular activities
With permission from the student, sharing relevant information that might be affecting a student’s personal or academic life.
See the Common Application Counselor Recommendation Form here.
When to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
Some high school teachers and counselors have well-defined processes for managing the volume of rec letter requests they get each year. This often includes specific timelines that they would like you to follow.
Generally speaking though, earlier is better. Second semester of junior year is not too early to ask your teachers and counselors for letters of recommendation or at least to ask them if there is a process they wish you to follow.
Many teachers and counselors use the summertime to write letters of recommendation and get ahead of the fall deadline rush. So, asking before the end of junior year is ideal. Most importantly, make sure that you are actually doing the asking at an appropriate time – not in the middle of class, as they are handing out test papers, or as they are getting ready to head out to lunch. More on that below.
How To Collect Excellent Letters of Recommendation?
The #1 tip for collecting excellent letters of recommendation from teachers or counselors is the same – cultivate your relationship with them BEFORE you ask for a letter of recommendation!
Make sure you know your counselor – they may write a letter of recommendation – may be required! And you should stop in to see them more regularly than when you need something from them.
How To Build a Relationship with Your Teachers
Be an active learner.
Remember that the American philosophy on classroom education is that it should be engaging. Everyone in a classroom should be actively participating in the process of learning. While teachers do lecture (a decidedly one-sided classroom experience), there are equally important opportunities to work together in groups, actively answer questions asked in class, and more. If you are actively engaged learner in the classroom, the teacher WILL take note of this.
Be helpful, kind, and collaborative.
Character is defined by acting as you should even when you don’t have to. You want to stand out in your teacher’s memory as someone who was trying to facilitate, not hinder, the class’ ability to move forward with their learning. Help classmates who are struggling. Ask questions when you are struggling. This give and take is the hallmark of mature learning, kindness to others, and willingness to be a productive member of the community.
How To Build a Relationship with Your Counselor
Make the effort.
It’s really THAT simple. Your counselor is unlikely to see you with the regularity your teachers enjoy, so it’s imperative that you take time every now and then to schedule a meeting with your counselor to talk about your university plans, pick their brain about summer programs, and ask questions about your academic path. Counselors WANT to get to know their students, but the process of relationship building is a two-way street. Do your part and it will pay off BIG time in the letter of recommendation process.
I’d Love to Build Relationships, But My Deadlines Are Coming!
Remember that the #1 tip for collecting excellent letters of recommendation from teachers or counselors is to cultivate your relationship with them BEFORE you ask for a letter of recommendation!
But what happens when the clock is ticking down to application deadlines?
Look – it’s not the ideal situation. But it’s not the end of the world either. Great letters of recommendation can still be yours!
There May Still Be Time
You may still have time to build a relationship, even if it is brief. With the time that’s left of the school year, ask questions about classwork, family, life, hobbies, movies, art. Teachers are people too! And they love to make personal connections with the students they teach. Make sure that your attempts to get to know your teacher happen at appropriate times (don’t ask in the middle of a lecture). Even a last-ditch, last-minute effort at relationship building will be appreciated if it is genuine.
Your Teacher/Counselor Might Not Know Anyone Well
Many students attend very large public high schools where the student-to-teacher and student-to-counselor ratios prevent almost everyone from really getting to know one another. If this resonates with you, there’s no way you are alone. (The other kids at your high school are undoubtedly thinking the same thing!)
Teachers and counselors in large public schools do great work, including when writing letters of recommendation – yes, even for students they don’t know well.
One way they navigate this challenge is through student and parent questionnaires, sometimes referred to as “brag sheets” that are used as the foundation for letters of recommendation they need to write. If your teacher or counselors asks you to complete a questionnaire or brad sheet, say “Yes!” This presents a valuable opportunity to craft, through your own words and ideas, the details you would want a teacher or counselor to share about you!
Step-by-Step Guide to Requesting a Letter of Recommendation
Step 1: Get Organized.
You need to know the following:
Do you even need letter of recommendation?
If yes, what is my earliest application deadline?
If yes, how many letters of recommendation do I need, and are there any specific people or individuals who I need to ask?
Step 2: Identify Who You Want to Ask
Here are the general guidelines for selecting recommendation letters:
Stick to teacher in core classes – math, science, social studies, English, world language. UNLESS you are applying for a major in a non-core course listed above.
Why? These letters need to be academic in nature to do the most work for you.
Stick with teacher(s) who have taught you recently. Why? Because you are likely not the same person or academic that were when you started high school in 9th grade. A teacher recommendation for someone who has taught you recently will give context for who you are now as a mature learner engaging with the most rigorous coursework you have done to-date. 11th grade teachers are best, but other grade levels can work especially if the teacher knows you really well.
If you need more than one letter of recommendation, try to select teachers who will present different experiences with you in the classroom. Striking an academic balance is nice here. The content you learned and skills you mastered in your Literature course are likely very different than those you masters in physics. This balance is a nice picture of what you can do in both classes.
Step 3: Ask Your Teachers and Counselors If There is a Process
The letter of recommendation process in one teachers and counselors manage every year. In many schools, the teachers and counselors have well-defined timelines and process for requesting letters of recommendation that help them manage the volume of requests each year. Ask your teachers and counselors if they have a timeline or process that you should plan for. If they do, follow it! (This is where the questionnaires and brag sheets mentioned earlier come in.)
Step 4: Ask in Person
The most important thing for you to remember in the letter of recommendation process is that teacher DO NOT have to write you a letter. Letters of recommendation are, by definition, agreed to because the person doing the recommending feels that they can and that they want to recommend the student.
Here are some quick DON’Ts when requesting letters of recommendation:
Don’t just “assign” letters of recommendation to teachers without asking them in person first.
Don’t assume that a teacher will agree to write for you no matter how or when you ask.
Don’t ask last-minute and then hassle the teacher to complete the letter.
Don’t ask for a letter by email, text message, classroom messaging boards, etc.
Don’t interrupt class to ask for a letter
Don’t interrupt a teacher’s lunchbreak to ask (unless they specifically instruct you to come by at lunchtime!)
Here are some quick DOs when requesting letters of recommendation:
DO ask your teacher in person for the recommendation letter you hope to get. If they ask you to return at a specific time later or to follow a process they have already laid out to manage letter of recommendation requests, DO that!
DO send an email to your teacher asking for a good time to chat quickly about your university application process. Making a quick appointment means you are interrupting class, lunch, etc. to make your request!
DO plan in advance. Typical advice is to request letters of recommendation at the end of your junior year, unless you are instructed to do so at a different time.
DO know your application deadlines. If you have a November 1st deadline, share that with your teacher. This helps them manage their letter writing obligations to prioritize by application deadlines.
Step 5: Follow Up and Be Grateful
After a teacher agrees to write you a letter of recommendation, follow up with an email afterwards that achieves these things:
Thanks them for the time and effort they are investing to support your university applications
Shares a list of the top colleges your are applying to with the earliest application deadline listed first
Details about yourself, your application plans, and more if your teacher is not requesting you complete a questionnaire or form.
After a teacher writes and submits a letter of recommendation on your behalf, send a hand-written thank you note:
This is just good manners and good practice in general
Make sure to reiterate your gratitude for them as a teacher and for their willingness to add their recommendation to your university application
After something awesome happens, let them know with a follow-up email, or better year, an in-person conversation.
When you get admitted to a great school or you get selected for a scholarship – keep them update and let them know that you are SURE their letter played a part in the outcomes.
Securing a strong letter of recommendation for your university admission application might be required, but the context it provides about you can play a key role in differentiating you from other talents students vying for admission.
With these tips and a solid plan, you can tackle this component of your admission application with confidence and ease.
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