Letters of Recommendation
Thank you for your interest in having me write you a letter of recommendation. First, unless we are in a quarantine, ask me or any other adult in person for a letter of recommendation. I know that it’s nerve-racking, but it's a common courtesy for any request of this nature. It takes about a half an hour to forty- five minutes to craft and edit a letter and then fill out an application. Multiply that by 20-30 students annually and you get the idea. Second, I will need at least two weeks of lead time before any deadline for submission. Third, please understand that while I may like you, I may still say "no" to your request for a variety of reasons—none of which should be construed as a personal rejection. Once I have agreed to write one for you, please follow up with an email confirmation and include the following
Email me with the dates the letters and/or teacher evaluations are due, and include the following
After reviewing the class syllabus on this site's course sub-pages under "Courses and Introduction," write a short paragraph on what you learned in our class, both your challenges and successes. Be forthcoming. It's always desirable to admissions officers when I can speak of your humility alongside your honors. And by "humility," I mean your ability to accurately self-assess the student you are and to clearly envision the person you want to be.
Choose two assignments on which you worked to the highest level of your potential in class and explain how you did this.
How well did you fulfill the class expectations of respect and responsibility? Were you on time? Did you complete your work on time? Did you listen to others and show empathy, understanding and tolerance of other points of view?
Establish a student account in Xello (via Clever) and the Common Application, if applying to schools that use the Common App. For rising seniors, Xello opens in August. If you're having trouble with one of both of these tasks, counselors will provide directions during class presentations in the fall.
Once you've indicated the school to which you are applying, I can tailor a recommendation suited to that college or university (an application to Juilliard should emphasize different skills you've demonstrated from an application to, say, the Colorado School of Mines). Xello also indicates when your letters of recommendations and teacher evaluations are submitted and complete. I will also get requests through the Common Application portal, but it's nice to give me a heads-up via email (see #1) so I don't miss any deadlines.
Thank you for entrusting me to write your letter of recommendation.
Yours,
Glenn Morgan
