Getting Shining Letters of Recommendation

Recommendations are Important
If your guidance counselor tells you that no part of your college application is more important than anyother, he or she is both right and wrong. So what exactly does this mean? It means that college admissions are more competitive today than they have ever been before. This means that colleges need to look closely at each segment of a student’s application to differentiate between students. At the same time, this means forgetting to pay close attention to one segment can be detrimental to your chances of being accepted. It also means that your letter of recommendation has nearly the same weight as your GPA, as your SAT score, your extracurricular activities, and your personal essay (to a certain extent).

Teachers are My Friends
Assuming you have a good relationship with your teachers, you have your foot in the door to a great letter of recommendation. Traditionally, schools would like you to have two recommendations: one from the Math/Science department and one from the English/History (social science/humanities) department. If you are applying to specialized schools, then you may consider obtaining recommendations from sports coaches, music teachers, or past employers. Just make sure that you use those two recommendations to their full capacity; they should highlight different aspects of you as a student and person. That being said, they should both paint a positive picture of you and they should definitely not contradict each other.

I Need Some Teachers to be My Friends
If you feel that you are not close enough to any of your teachers to really inspire a great recommendation letter, do not fear because there is still time as long as you are willing to make an effort. Start by talking a lot more to your teachers. Go to them after class with questions and build a casual relationship by asking them how their day is going. Once you have gotten past this first barrier and can say “Hi” to them in the hallways, you are ready for the second step. There is surely more to you as a person than your name and the grades that that teacher gives you. You need to convey this to your teacher as well. Set up a meeting time with your teacher to chat. In most cases, teachers are delighted to get to know their students. You can use these conversations to get to know if your teacher would be the best person to write you a recommendation (Do they respond to your questions with interest? Do they like you?) and also to let your teacher know what kind of a person you are (What kind of college do you want to attend? What are your career goals? What are your personal goals?).

Once you have chosen the teachers that you feel the best fit with, ask them politely if they will write you a letter of recommendation for college. Obviously, because of your charm and hard work, they will agree to do so with pleasure. By now, you should have a list of your extracurricular activities that you should give to the teacher. Also, it is best to give them a short list of some qualities, projects, or work that you would like them to highlight. If you have an educational resume, use it instead.

Check the Box: Waive Your Rights to the Recommendation
MAKE SURE you check the box allowing the teacher’s recommendation to be confidential. Many teachers feel uncomfortable writing recommendations for students who want access to them in the future. Teachers want to tell the truth about you and if you just ask them beforehand whether or not they feel comfortable writing you a positive recommendation, they will tell you. Teachers who do not feel comfortable writing a strong recommendation will let you know and you can ask other teachers. So stop worrying! From there on, it’s smooth sailing! Make sure you thank them afterwards and write them a thank you card. If you want to be classy, avoid the Hallmark and supermarket aisle thank you cards and use a set of blank thank you cards.