You have your basic letters of rec lined up because you def followed our advice and secured them junior year. Your counselor and two teachers you’re close with are going to write beautiful letters about how you should go to Harvard/Stanford/UNC/UC Berkeley/etc., etc. However, you’re in the Common App and realize that your dream school actually allows up to two whole extra letters of rec. Should you take it? Ask a few more people? Maybe a family friend who went to the school? Our answer: probably not.
Should I Ask for Additional Letters of Recommendation?
You’ve done your whole Common App, written killer essays and supplements, and you’re ready to press submit. “…wait. Hold on. They’re saying I have the option to add two additional recommenders besides the required ones? I can ask two other people, like my dad’s friend who went here 20 years ago that I barely know, to write me letters of rec? Boy oh boy, what a day!”
How To Ask for a Recommendation Letter for College
Asking for favors is hard and the biggest favor you will have to ask during your junior year is for letters of recommendation. Don’t worry, most teachers won’t say no… you just have to know how to ask and then do it. While you can’t control what your teachers say about you, there are a couple of steps you can take to get the best letter that you can.
Who Should I Ask for a College Recommendation Letter?
College applications aren’t just work for you. Often times, they mean work for your parents, college counselors, and teachers, too. So, hopefully you’ve been nice and respectful to a few (if not all) teachers throughout your time in school, because they are a critical part of the admissions process. The purpose of the teacher recommendation is to establish credibility for the applicant. Every other piece of the application is pretty much authored or engineered by you. The teacher recommendation allows universities to see if applicants are who they say they are. They’re also an opportunity for someone who knows you well to sing your praises and tell them something they might not know yet.
When and how to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College
As we’ve said, colleges aren’t just admitting your grades and test scores. They really want to know who you are and why you would be a good fit at their school. By your senior year, there isn’t much you can do to change the nature of your application. Unless you are retaking your tests, your grades and scores are basically set. There are only a few aspects of your application that you get to start from scratch at this point: your essays, your supplements, and your recommendation letters. Your teachers work with you everyday and can speak to qualities you possess that aren’t mentioned elsewhere in your application. The quality of your recommendation letter is extremely important, but we’ve found a lot of our students feel awkward when it comes time to ask their teachers. Here’s a guide to help you figure out how and when you ask your teachers for letters.
Who Should I Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College?
The Recommendation Letters are a hugely important and often overlooked portion the college application. Your grades and scores don’t tell the whole story. Unlike the essays, recommendation letters give someone else the chance to advocate on your behalf. You have the chance to have a teacher you admire tell a school what makes you stand out from other candidates. Of course, who you ask to write your recommendation is extremely important because it will affect how the admissions committee sees you.