<p>My son has asked someone to write a recommendation letter on his behalf. This person is involved in my son's main EC which is outside of school. The recommendation will be in the format of a letter, and will be in addition to the two teacher evaluations required by the common app.</p>
<p>My question is, can the recommender use "Dear Sir or Madam" or should the letters be personally addressed to the dean of admissions or regional adcom at each school? </p>
<p>Also, should the recommender include any specific info on the document to make it easier for the college to file the letter accurately? For instance, should there be a heading at the top with my son's name, name of high school, and possibly other info?</p>
<p>If it’s a rec letter about Admissions, “Dear Admissions Committee Representative.” This leaves no doubt that what the letter is relates specifically to College/University admissions.</p>
<p>My favorite salutation for formal letters is what the French use: “Cher Colleague,” but that’s not the same situation.</p>
<p>A college prof I used to work for used “To the Admissions Committee” on the many recs she wrote (or “To the Selection Committee” if the letter was for a scholarship). She would state the name of the student and the school within the first couple of sentences, e.g., “Please accept this letter of recommendation in support of John Doe, who is currently a student in my Advanced Calculus class at XYZ University.”</p>