Which teachers to ask for recommendation letters

Sara Harberson is the founder of Application Nation, which provides personalized advice to college applicants and their families, and Admissions Revolution, a free, on demand video membership that demystifies college admissions. Application Nation. Admissions Revolution. Privacy Policy. Asking Teachers for Recommendation Letters— Edition. As spring is upon us and the end of the school year is within reach, my attention shifts to high school juniors.

One of the first big steps of the college admissions process is asking teachers for recommendation letters. Here is what you need to know about choosing teachers for letters of recommendation one year into a pandemic: 1.

Check some of the admissions websites for the colleges on your list to find out if and how many teacher recommendation letters are required. The counselor rec even ranks above the essay. Basically, if it comes down to you and another candidate—all else being equal—your letters of recommendation can get you in or keep you out. And, according to a presentation co-led by our friend Sara Urquidez at a AP conference, rec letters can also help decide who gets scholarships and who gets into honors programs.

In this student guide, we focus on how to approach your teachers for a rec letter. Your school counselor may also write you one—ask to find out. Either way, a word to the wise: Make sure your counselor knows who you are.

According to Sara, your counselor is the person that admissions representatives will call if they have questions about your application. Make a copy of this counselor questionnaire , fill it out and either email it to them or print it and hand-deliver it. They will love you for it. First things first. Find out which schools on your list require a teacher letter of recommendation for college or two! Be sure you double check that. Pick teachers who can highlight separate strengths.

About class, work, life. Get to know them too. Finally, to help your teachers get to know YOU better, click here. Make your own copy of the document, fill it out and either email it to them OR print it and deliver in person.

Step 1: Grab paper and pencil, or open a new doc for notes…. Step 2: And then open this up. What could you improve on? What are concrete, actionable steps you could take to improve? And what are actions you could take, with integrity, to shift the words that come to their minds? When I was a senior in high school, a guy went around telling people we were going to prom together without asking me. Yeah, no. This is just as bad. I mean way in advance—like, end-of-junior-year advance, if possible.

A rule of thumb: The more time you give your teachers, the more they will love you and the better your letter will turn out. An email ask should be a last resort. Be bold, young grasshopper! Make sure you ask one-on-one. Know your teachers and school counselors on behalf of your teachers may have their own process—and follow it. For example, they may have their own questionnaire for you to fill out and they might tell you to fill it out immediately.

Whatever it is, follow through and respect their timeline. The more you ask of a teacher, the more you should plan to give them in return. These rec letters—especially the good ones—can take three hours to write. They do them out of kindness and care on top of their other work. At the very least, plan to write thank-you notes. To keep it simple, the sooner your application is due, the sooner you need to ask.

But be sure to ask at an appropriate time. The most important thing when choosing your recommenders is to choose people who know you well—both in and out of the classroom. There are some other guidelines as well: You should only ask teachers you've had during junior and senior year of high school and preferably one you've had more than once. But the teachers you choose should still be core subject teachers—math, science, history, English, or foreign language. Colleges will also require a letter of recommendation from your high school counselor, which makes it important to foster a relationship with them throughout your high school experience.

Letters of recommendation should be sought before the end of junior year, and you should always ask in person. Also let your recommenders know your submission plans.

For example, if you're applying Early Decision or Early Action, your recommender should have your letter ready by early to mid-October. And it doesn't hurt to send an email reminder in August, along with a thank you. Bottom line: ask people who know you well and ask early! Get all the answers you seek in our Ask the Experts - College Admission section!

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Use the following rules of thumb as a guide to asking for letters of recommendations: Core academic teachers you have had your junior and senior years of high school Academic teachers you have had for four years band, foreign language, art, etc.