<p>Can the recommendations be sent in before the actual applications ? Will the colleges hold the recommendations until the applications, scores, etc.. are received by the college ? Thanks</p>
<p>The common app doesn't come out till July, so if you want teachers to write letters over the summer (which most guidance counselors suggest), do they just staple the letter to the Common App Rec Form? The only thing is that specific questions are asked on the form, that may not be answered in the letter.</p>
<p>bump. nice post.</p>
<p>When should we ask for rec's? Should I ask before school ends? Both of the teachers I'm thinking of asking have only known me for a semester since I'm at a new school, but they both will probably be my teachers next year too. We go back to school early August, so maybe I should wait to ask until August or Sept?</p>
<p>Here are some basic rec tips:</p>
<p>1) When asking, just ask, "Would you be willing to write a recommendation for me?" Short, sweet and to the point is best. If they say something to the effect of, "Would there be someone better?" don't push them to write it. That's just a nice way of saying, "You weren't a stellar student and my rec's not gonna be good."
2) Ask well ahead of time. Give teachers AT LEAST a month, if not more considering the number of recs they are probably writing if they are a popular teacher. There's no right time to ask (before summer is just as good as August/September), but definitely ask by the beginning of October (earlier if you are applying ED/EA).
3) Be prepared. Have all of the recommendation forms for every school you are applying to filled out. Definitely have one for each school (don't make the teacher make copies of the Common App form, that's just rude) Have stamped, pre-addressed envelopes. I'd suggest two stamps and then check with the school for which sized envelopes. At my school, they want the school stamp as your return address rather than your own return address (check with your guidance office).
4) Help them out. Give them a resume and a cover letter detailing why you are grateful they (specifically) agreed to write you a recommendation (mention some anecdotes from their class to jog their memory). Put all of this in a manila folder and have it with you when you ask.
5) Check up on them about two weeks prior to the due date: "Hey Mr/Ms. ________, Just wanted to remind you that recommendations are due in two weeks! Thanks again for writing them."
6) After the due date has passed, thank the teacher with a gift (homemade bread, gift certificate to a restaurant, etc.). Some people wait until after they get in to get something specific to the school they selected (a mug or something from the school store), but my philosophy was that if you thank them after it kinda seems like you weren't going to thank them if you hadn't gotten in.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>A professor of mine at Harvey Mudd has an excellent list of things he asks people to do before he writes them a letter of recommendation. I will post the link, and I would recommend you follow it for every one of your letter writers.</p>
<p>Marlgirl and many others make excellent suggestions. I would like to share a different point of view, regarding supplying resumes to the teachers. My daughter went through the process this year. She goes to a large public school, but is in a smaller program where her teachers know her well (the counselor, who is overloaded, not so much.) An outside college counselor recommended against providing the intended recommending teachers with a resume, because that in her opinion might make the recommendation duplicative of what the student her/himself might include on the Common App or other application forms. Her thought was that each piece in the student's file should reveal more of who he/she is -- that adcoms don't want repetition ad infinitum.</p>
<p>She did do as Roger Dooley and other here suggest and ask the teachers whether they felt would be willing to do her letters. None asked for a resume. On the other hand, her counselor did, as he is in charge of so many students, so it was supplied.</p>
<p>Beyond that, all I can say is make the admin process as easy as possible for the teachers. You might want to organize the envelopes by Common App vs. non Common App and also by due date. Good luck!</p>
<p>That's a great post bad1017. I just also want to add and reiterate a few things. At my school, all the seniors are supposed to fill out a "Senior Resume." Not only are there questions about what you've done so far, but also questions about your goals/beliefs/etc. Some of these questions are taken from popular essay topics of colleges, like "What you love to do so much you lose track of time and why?" or "A person or experience that caused your view of the world to change." I think it's very important that your recommenders know your quirks and style, not just what you do, because that would be so onedimensional and ordinary. Furthermore, even if teachers "know you," I doubt that you'd tell them everything aobut yourself. Perhaps you can ask your counselor to make up one of these resumes. </p>
<p>I had a folder system where I would include a copy of my Senior Resume in one side, and all the forms filled out in the other with pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelopes. I would write the due date for each college/scholarship on the inside of the folder.</p>
<p>One of my teachers required at least one months notice, or else she wouldn't write it. So make sure you give them plenty of time. </p>
<p>And most important, make sure to thank them.</p>
<p>Oh, and also in this resume where rec letters from two friends and a section for you parents to fill out. I know by spending time doing the Senior Resume, I received fantastic recs (that's what they said).</p>
<p>^ Agreed. My school has everyone who needs a guidance counselor rec fill out a senior questionnaire... stuff like what we like to do, what we feel we've been able to contribute to the school, what we're proud of, what we would like to accomplish, etc. If you have to do one of these, I really advise that you spend a lot of time thinking about it and writing. The person who wrote my letter didn't know me at all (~500 graduating seniors and 3 assistant principals who do recs), but I'm sure it helped that my questionnaire was so detailed.</p>
<p>Also, if you have several colleges on the Common App, all of my teachers wanted just one rec form that they could make copies of later... who wants to fill out the same form 10 times? I included some money for them to make the copies (5-10 cents per page of forms or something?) so they wouldn't have to spend anything. Really, the best thing to do is to ask what they would prefer.</p>
<p>It might help your teachers if you can remind them of specific assignments that you did really well on/enjoyed doing, or any anecdotes from their class. Also, I recommend that you give each teacher a nice chart listing all the colleges they have to send recommendations to, DEADLINE!!, any special comments, and a blank box that they can check off once they finish or send it off. And address the envelopes for them. Copying addresses is really tedious.</p>
<p>Bravuro, your postage rate is correct ONLY if you use business envelopes, and not if you use the l0" x 13" size suggested to avoid folding.</p>
<p>I made this mistake last year. If you use a 10 x 13 envelope then it's considered "oversize." You must use more than the usual 41cent stamp that a business envelope (folded) requires.</p>
<p>Ask at the post office, "what is first class postage when you use a l0 x l3 inch envelope?" If the answer comes back 41 cents, then ask again b/c they weren't listening to you!!</p>
<p>And, after the rec has been sent, a warm, handwritten thank you note!!!!</p>
<p>For each recommendation, include a stamped, self-addressed postcard. Match it up with the envelope or sheet for that college/university. Put a "sticky" on it, asking the teacher to include it in the envelope for the recommendation for that school/program. On the back of the envelope, write, "X College has received a recommendation for Y Applicant from Ms. Z of XYZ High School." Many admissions offices will put these in the mail when they receive the recommendations. </p>
<p>That was how we came to suspect that there was a problem with one of the recommendations for my daughter, who applied early decision: postcards came back from the college for all but one of her recommendations. She went to the counselor, who sweetly got right on it. Sure enough, a teacher had misunderstood the deadline, but the recommendation was faxed out very quickly (albeit after the deadline), followed by a paper copy in snail mail (and the postcard came back a few days later). Everything turned out fine, and she was admitted.</p>
<p>Watching the cards come back (the application itself went by paper copy, return receipt requested) was comforting and helped diminish the anxiety of the wait. It also gave my daughter an occasion to thank the recommenders BEFORE she knew what the decision was ("I received the postcard saying that College X has gotten the recommendation you wrote for me. This seems like a good time to tell how much I appreciate your writing for me..."</p>
<p>hehe.... i asked for my rec a week before it was due...</p>
<p>wait, so the teachers (or the student) send the recs seperately from the application? I thought apps ask for a certain amount of recs and then you send it with the app.</p>
<p>I am an incoming HS senior so I haven't actually applied to anyplace yet, so I wouldnt rly know...but that's how I imagined it would be. I didn't know it would all be seperate and then the colleges would just match it up with ur app i guess.</p>
<p>IB.flip, it varies school by school. Some schools collect your part of the app and the teacher recs, add the transcript and then send all of it for you. At other schools (like mine). Each part of the application was sent individually. I sent in my essays and resume and whatnot. My teachers sent the recs. My counselor sent her rec and the transcript. It just depends on your school. Check with your GC and ask them how it works at your school.</p>
<p>I'm already in college and haven't done my transfer applications yet, but when I submit my scholarship applications (which are really quite similar), I always give my professors:</p>
<p>1) My full resume, including explanations of duties done for each office or other important information</p>
<p>2) A "quick hits" version of my resume (like one paragraph) that includes just the highlights, including things I really would like included if possible</p>
<p>3) A page explaining the scholarship and why I'm applying for it -- so maybe you could do a page explaining the college and why you want to attend</p>
<p>4) A list of all of the requirements for the recommendation, including the due date</p>
<p>I've become very close to the two professors that handle all of my recommendations, and as a result I don't usually need to give them any extra info about myself, but I originally also included a quick bio piece with my name, address, age, major, favorite course taken, family background, and other things that might be helpful.</p>
<p>I also always check to make sure the professors know how to send the recommendation -- does it get mailed separately or go into the main package? Always let them know that in advance so it gets sent properly. Your teachers will probably automatically do this, but if it's given back to you to mail, make sure they sealed and signed the back!</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I do NOT provide envelopes and postage because my college requires mail to be sent out using our logo-addressed envelopes with typed addresses, and each academic division pays for the postage for their faculty members. I've never heard of high schools doing that, though. Students already in college, however, should check on that.</p>
<p>And whatever you do, please remember to send a thank-you note, as well as give a personal thank-you. They aren't obligated to do these things, and they appreciate you appreciating them. :)</p>
<p>does 10 oz. make sense for one 10X13 envelope?</p>
<p>I believe the weight limit for a first-class mail large envelope is 13 oz... which is more than enough for a couple sheets of paper. 10 oz should be fine, too.</p>
<p>My school pays for any letter sent out by a teacher so that wasn't a problem. I would recommend you to give the teachers the deadline dates and not give them the recommendation forms the day before. And don't make one teacher write recommendations for too many schools.</p>