Letters of Recommendation

A letter of recommendation for college admission is a short document typically written by a teacher, counselor, coach, or mentor highlighting your strengths and potential contributions to a school. If all of the quantitative aspects of two students’ college admission profiles are similar, the letter of recommendation can be critical for the decision. You must carefully choose who will write your letters of recommendation and be thoughtful and responsible when asking for them. It is preferred that you ask the staff member in-person. Ideally, give the person three to four weeks, but never less than two weeks to complete the recommendation. Most faculty and staff are very busy and have numerous recommendations to write, so you want to be courteous. 

Please fill out this form as accurately and completely as possible. Don’t be afraid to “brag” about yourself a little. Your counselor will use this information in recommending you for scholarships, college admission, and other honors/awards. 

Follow-up with a SchooLinks request to the teacher(s): Go to “Colleges” → “College Applications” and click on the edit pencil of a college to add the recommendation request.

In the middle section under “Recommendation Letters” you can choose a recommender to invite. Click “+Request Teacher Recommendation” or “Add recommender”. All teachers are pre-populated into the system. Once you find and select your teacher’s name, click “Submit Request”. Your teacher will receive an email request to upload and send your letter. You will need to repeat this process for each college that requires a teacher letter of recommendation. Do NOT use this section to request an “other recommender” or a counselor recommendation letter. This section is for teachers only. See below for information on “other recommendation letters”. You can view the status of all of your recommendation letters by clicking on: “College” →  “College Applications” → “Recommendation Tracker” (on the left side)

The answer to this question is that it depends. Colleges often ask for two or three letters of recommendation, but each institution has different requirements. Some colleges do not want any letters of recommendation at all and will not read them if received. Always check and be sure how many letters you need and from whom before asking anyone to write a letter for you.   

FERPA gives you the right to review confidential letters of recommendation provided as part of that application after you enroll. In the application you'll be asked if you want to waive the right to review confidential letters of recommendation. Waiving your right lets colleges know that you do not intend to read your recommendations, which helps reassure colleges that the letters are candid and truthful. If you choose not to waive your right, some recommenders may decline to write a letter for you, and some colleges may disregard letters submitted on your behalf. Many college admissions officers will attach more weight to a confidential recommendation because they then know that the recommendation they are reading is more likely to be completely candid.

Not all colleges require a counselor recommendation letter. Please do NOT request a letter from your counselor unless the college requires it. Contact your counselor to request a counselor recommendation letter, if required. Your counselor will NOT write your letter until you complete the Brag Sheet. Common App schools will automatically populate a Counselor Recommendation Letter request in SchooLinks, if required. For Non Common App schools, if your school requires a counselor recommendation letter and it did not automatically populate, please contact your counselor.

If your college allows you to have an outside or other recommender (employer, clergy member, coach, etc.), do NOT use SchooLinks to request this letter of recommendation. You can use your Common App to request an “Other Recommender” by going to the “Recommenders and FERPA” section of your Common App.