Letters of Recommendation

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I am a rising senior, and I know once I get back to school I need to focus on college apps. A quick clarifying question, are teacher evals and letters of recommendation the same? If not, could someone please explain the difference.

Also, how do I request a teacher eval or letter of recommendation from my teachers? I know I’m not supposed to just ask them to do it. What information should I provide them with, and also what should I NOT do? I know my teachers have filled out countless evals, etc, so I don’t want to offend them or seem like I’m telling them how to do it.

2

When I write a letter of recommendation for a student, here’s what I have to do:

  • write the letter.
  • submit a hard copy, on lettehead, to guidance
  • On or shortly after August 1, upload to the kid’s Common App account
  • On or shortly after August 1, fill out the Common App evaluation questions.

In my school, teacher requests went out in March-- each Junior had to request 3 and submit a “Brag sheet.” Guidance went through them and divided them up, trying to avoid some teachers being unfairly swamped. (It never really works; one of my friends is writing something like 60 letters-- and that’s AFTER they divided them up.)

3

My school isn’t on top of things I suppose, so when I request one from a teacher what should I give them? What is exactly included on a “brag sheet”?

4

Here is how my two sons did their LOR’s:

Son #1 in the late spring of his Junior year approached the 3 teachers he’d be using for LORs. Some of the schools he applied to required 1, some 2, and some 3. In the fall, during college application process he re-approached them and they said they would write them. And that was it. (keep reading to find out what happened).

Son #2 at the beginning of his sping semester of his junior year approached 3 teachers and asked them in passing. He forewarned them that one of the schools he was applying to was the USNA which not only needed recommendations, but he would need to send LORs to all three congressmen as well for the appointment. Verbally, they agreed. He then wrote a very nice handwritten thank you note, letting them know how much it meant to him to have them do this on their time. He let them know that at this time he was only applying to the USNA and the University of Chicago and that he would keep them updated. In the notecard were also his thoughts on what he thought each school would be looking for.
At the USNA it was leadership and character. At the University of Chicago it was his inquisitive nature and his leadership in class discussions. When he received a “Letter of Assurance” from the USNA, he sent them each another notecard giving the update and when he received his acceptance from UChicago he did the same. When he made his final decision, he sent a final notecard letting them know that he had chosen UChicago and included a coffee mug he bought from the UChicago bookstore.

Now back to son #1. He was eventually accepted to every school he applied, but was waitlisted at his first and second choices. He adopted the “Jilted Lover” syndrome and chose his third choice, the University of Maryland. He eventually got to see his LOR (UMD only required one) from his favorite high school teacher, who he thought would have written the strongest recommendation and found out that it was a form letter that didn’t even include my son’s name. I’m not saying that is what hurt his chances at his first couple of choices, but it couldn’t have helped him.

Not saying this method will work in every situation, but for my second child, his hands-on approach really seemed to work out well.

5

I would ask the first week back. And don’t be nervous about asking-- we know we’re going to get the requests and those letters are part of our job. But ask as early as possible, and in person.

The brag sheet can include anything you think the teacher might want to include… including, but not limited to:

  • your intended major and career plans
  • what classes she taught you and how you did, including any particular highlights-- say the A you got on the big project
  • a resume of sorts-- what activities you’re involved in, what service you do, any offices you hold, your part time job, anything along those lines.
6

Thank you both so much!!

7

You should work on your essays, put together your resume, any supplemental arts preparation should you plan on supplying them (arts portfolio, audition files, etc.) make the list of colleges you want to apply to (mix of reaches, matches and safeties), take or retake any SAT/ACT, and ID the teachers for requesting the LOR’s BEFORE the school starts, i.e., this summer, and create packets for these teachers. Otherwise, your fall semester would be lot more stressful.

As far as I’m aware, no schools ask for both teacher evaluations and LOR’s, so I’m assuming it’s the same. In any case, you should think carefully about which teachers to request LOR’s from. These teachers should, preferably, be the ones who know you the best (and hopefully like you) and from whom you’d gotten good grades. Ideally, you’d want to request LOR’s from teachers in different fields, i.e., in humanities/social sciences and science, etc.

What my son did during the summer before his senior year – after having done all of the above – was to send an email each to the teachers whether they’d be willing to write the LOR’s. Once he had received their approval (gauge the tone of their email responses carefully. If any “red flags,” you might want to reconsider), he sent them a follow up email letting them know that he’ll bring a “packet” of relevant information to each teacher shortly after the school starts. This way, the teacher can continue to enjoy his or her own summer break without having to be disrupted and without being surprised by the unexpected LOR request when you show up in his office in the fall.

My son’s “packet” consisted of: 1) short cover letter detailing what his goals are and how the LOR would help him get there; 2) resume-like list of his EC accomplishments beginning with his academic stats (GPA, class rank, SAT scores); and 3) the list of schools he’s applying to WITH the LOR deadlines in bold.

When the school started in the fall, with all these things accomplished already during the summer, everything just went very smoothly. My son had given his teachers a plenty of time to think about how they want to write him the LOR’s, and they were expecting him to show up in their offices with his packet.

Lastly, don’t forget to thank these teachers and the school guidance counselor once the final application is submitted. A small gesture, often neglected, can go a long way.

8

I think this is helpful but not sure if you should send it to a teacher.
http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs