<p>I already asked the teachers and they were very happy to write recs for me.
Since I am applying early and regular action, I want to get everything to teachers at the very beginning of the school year.</p>
<p>I want to know the exact list of thing I need to give to teachers
like what size envelop? how much postage? printed or digital forms? cover letters? etc since I am pretty clueless about this whole thing. just want to get them out of the way as early as i can.</p>
<p>If you want to go all out...</p>
<p>pre-addressed 10 by 13 envelopes (so your teachers won't need to fold anything)</p>
<p>however much postage you think you'll need, and then a dollar more <a href="not%20already%20placed%20on%20the%20envelopes,%20but%20attached%20with%20a%20paper%20clip%20or%20something">to be safe, don't ask for it back, some teachers will keep it, some will return it (if you see them again soon after)</a></p>
<p>printed versions of the digital forms (you can attach even a second copy in case they mess up on the first should they write in pen)</p>
<p>cover letter discussing which college you want a rec for (or which colleges), your intended major if you have one in mind, if you have pre-professional goals, deadline for your recommendation to be postmarked, etc</p>
<p>and check back to see if they have sent the rec(s) or if you need to pick them up and ship them yourself.</p>
<p>(sometimes, teachers will send recs in official school letter heads though, so you should ask beforehand and if so, you can save the envelopes, but include the school addresses in the cover letter and offer to pick up the sealed letters after the recs are complete to address the envelopes yourself)</p>
<p>[oh, remember your teachers who did recs for you when Christmas comes around - you should give them gifts since they took their free time to write them for you (they don't have to be expensive gifts, even chocolate would be nice)]</p>
<p>Make it very easy for the teachers, which also means that they must know you well enough or have things to say about you.</p>
<p>1) 41 cents postage times how many schools you want them to send to.
2) provide the college names and the addresses (most teachers like to use school envelopes and letterhead).
3) Give them plenty of time & remind them & let them ask you questions.
4) Give fully instructions for each school (some colleges are different in requirements)</p>
<p>For my school there is a sheet the says a request for letter of recommendation. I'm not sure if you have that but the things that are written are:</p>
<p>1) name (make sure your teacher spells that right, and also some apps say refer to student as he/she not "John/Mary")
2) phone number
3) gpa and the unofficial transcript can help your teacher to refer to your courses easily
4) rank
5) sat
6) act
7) intended major
8) career plan</p>
<p>9) advance coursework (and also when you took them)
10) acadmic awards and honors (and also approx. when you got them)
11) community service
12) extracurricular
13) work experience</p>
<p>14) special interests, hobbies or talents</p>
<p>15) what do you consider your strengths as a person and as a student?</p>
<p>16) Pleas share any other infor that would be helpful, such as obstacles you have overcome, and indicate what information the writer should highlight fo this particular letter of recommendation.</p>
<p>The best advice is to PROVIDE AS MUCH INFO AS YOU CAN on a COMPILED, BULLETED LIST so that your teachers can easily access them, and perhaps questions 15 and 16 show more of your personal goals and character. </p>
<p>Tell them </p>
<p>1) who it needs to be addresed to
2) double space/single space
3) length of letter
4) signature
5) teacher information (usually college have this cover sheet that wants the recommender's basic information).
6) sealed or not sealed</p>
<p>As far as i know i can't think of anything more</p>
<p>oh yeah</p>
<p>upon completion please: return to student of mail in enclosed envelope.</p>
<p>For some of mine, I included in my app, for a couple the teacher/counselor just sent them.</p>
<p>Also, pick teachers that know you well enough so that you don't need to give them a lot of extra information (though a list of your interests, ecs, etc that bravura suggested would be good for teachers who don't know you that well).</p>
<p>The best recommendations come from teachers who need no help from you and can write about your personality and perhaps give anecdotes from their experiences with you from their own memories of you.</p>
<p>Occasionally teachers also have their own questionnaires, so ask if they have any questions that they want you to answer.</p>
<p>tako! Cupertino? do you go to MV? Tino? Homestead?
yay someone from same school district</p>
<p>Questions:</p>
<p>for example if i am applying to like 5 Common App schools, how many copies of the form should i give them? </p>
<p>do colleges not like copied versions or what?</p>
<p>are teachers suppose to type them up or write by hand?</p>
<p>what should the return addresses be?</p>
<p>Bumpp! I'd like to know the answers to the last set of questions the OP asked too! I only have a week left of school so it's now or never. >_<</p>
<p>i wud but mai teecherz hayt me LOL</p>
<p>if i missed it, oops, but a resume so they will be reminded aabout all you have done, some use, some don't but it doesnt hurt</p>
<p>You can't very well hand a teacher a set of instructions on how they should fill out your recommendation form, but you might try to gauge whether the teacher is experienced, particularly for letters/forms for elite colleges. These schools are usually looking for evidence of passion, creativity, intellectual curiousity, and the ability to elevate the level of classroom discussion. An anecdote or two that illustrate these are far superior to bland generalizations like, "very creative". In an elite college letter of recommendation, being described as "hard working" is a mixed blessing - they don't want goof-offs, but that can make the student sound like someone who grinds through the material or, even worse, NEEDS to work hard to keep up with the class. And, to the extent that the teacher can describe some characteristic or behavior of the student as one of the best he/she has encountered in many years, so much the better.</p>
<p>Some general conversation with the teacher (before asking her to do your Harvard recommendation) might help you see if she understands.</p>
<p>Every year, one hears about a teacher who sinks a student at one or more colleges with an unexpectedly bad recommendation. While there's no defense against a teacher who is completely dishonest and holds a grudge, I do think it's a good idea to ask something like, "Based on my time in your classes and what you know about my other activities, do you think you can write a very positive recommendation for ______?" A teacher with a shred of honesty will either say "Yes" if he is enthusiastic about you or will give a more qualified response if he thinks the college is a poor match or if he has had some problem with you or your work.</p>
<p>I typed up a list of things I had been involved with along with projects/assignments I had done well on in their class to give them a little to go on... I had them seal+sign the envelopes and give them back to me to mail. Afterwards I gave them large chocolate bars as a thank you.</p>
<p>Check with your college counselor to see what's your school's procedure. We may be a bit spoiled, but my D's school handled everything. When teachers finished with their recommendation letters, they gave those letters to the college counselor's office. My D then gave the office a list of schools she is applying to. The office then put the packet together to send out to each school - the packet included counselor's rec, 2 teacher's rec, transcript and awards you have received. My D was only responsible for sending in her applications on time and any other supplemental material.</p>
<p>My son's school recommends that students talk to the teachers who they might want to write recommendations late in junior year to see if the teacher feels comfortable writing an enthusiastic letter. It beats asking a teacher in October, only to find out he/she is not willing to write such a letter.</p>
<p>I would suggest highlighting interests/awards. etc. related to that teacher's subject area -- you don't want an English teacher getting sidetracked by talking about all your math and science fair awards instead of the creative, fresh essays you wrote in his class.</p>
<p>The biggest recommendation for teacher recommendations -- give them to the teachers as early as possible. This is something they do as a labor of love, and you don't want to p.o. a great reference by giving her a week to respond. <em>That</em> reflects on your time management/organizational skills, something which the teacher is usually asked to evaluate on the recommendation form!</p>
<p>My daughter's guidance counselor specifically asked each of her students to provide a resume (in addition to the school-mandated brag sheet).</p>
<p>Conveniently, the resume was also what the teacher recommenders wanted my daughter to provide. </p>
<p>A letter to the teacher might be a good idea, though, if there's something important about you that your resume doesn't convey.</p>
<p>a resume or something containing similar information is a good thing even if you think the teacher knows you extremely well. They have a lot of students, and even if you're one of the better ones it makes things easier for them if they've got the facts on hand so that they can double check before they write something.</p>
<p>Also, tell them WHY you are applying to each college if there's something specific that you're impressed by. This can help them to add an extra level of personalization, or even just help them to know what sort of angle to approach it from.</p>
<p>If you aren't sure if the teacher will write you a strong rec, just ask ahead of time "Do you think you'd be willing to write me a strong letter or rec?" or something to that affect. It gives the teacher a chance to back away if needed and you'll know if you'll be getting a good one or not.</p>
<p>My school had a mandatory brag sheet but I also attached a copy of my essays and my resume so that they could see what aspects of myself I planned on showcasing, so to speak. One copy of the Common App rec form is fine but I also stuck some blank pieces of printer paper in because my school allows each teacher so many sheets of paper a year. Make sure you provide envelopes, address labels, and stamps. </p>
<p>Put everything in a folder so that your teacher can keep it all together. I also put my schedule on the folder so that the teacher would have no problem contacting me.</p>
<p>stanford actually has a very specific envelope size. so check that out before you send the materials to your teachers.</p>
<p>Also, some teachers will pretty much look at what you put on your resume and incorporate as much of that information into the rec as possible. So in a way, what you put on the resume molds what goes into your rec.</p>
<p>My teachers also asked me to please give them the adhesive seal kind of envelope to send the recs in, since they get really tired of licking 10 envelopes for every student. I think that's a nice thought</p>
<p>Zucky, that is a great idea about the envelopes. Thanks!</p>
<p>You obviously need to give them the proper forms, envelopes, and postage. In addition I think a resume or bullet list of information that is 1) relevant to that discipline and 2) another that is not relevant to that discipline would be good. I also gave a copy of my transcript and a copy of my essays. If they want quick info, the transcript the bullet list/resume give them that info, if they want more info they can read the essays you wrote. I probably gave my teachers far too much info, but I figured that they could just choose not to read all of it...</p>