Letters of Recommendation
Letter of Recommendations
Do you need one? Often you do NOT need one from either your counselor or your teachers. It is your responsibility to know, so please check with the institution you are applying to or that scholarship application you are completing. Teachers do not need extra work, so make sure you know if you need a letter of recommendation.
If you do indeed need a recommendation letter, have you PERSONALLY asked the Los Alamos High School adults for recommendations? Never assume people will receive an electronic request. Before you request a letter of recommendation in MaiaLearning or directly through the college website, please have that conversation with your advisor, or your favorite teacher, or your school counselor. Follow up on any further electronic requests you submit.
Have you completed your Brag Sheet? This is the document you'll fill out and share with your letter writer so they can best write their letter on your behalf.
A letter of recommendation is very time consuming and writers put great effort into writing the best letter they can. Please allow 4-6 weeks for a request.
At minimum, follow these steps.
Double check your application actually requires a letter. Many applications do not need a letter of recommendation.
Complete your Brag Sheet provided by your English teachers or counselor. This is a multi-page document you complete on your interests, strengths, extracurricular activities, etc. Make several copies of this checklist. Brag Sheet
Request a meeting 4-6 weeks prior to your deadline with the teacher, counselor, coach, etc. Ask them face to face if they would write a letter and provide them with the checklist you completed earlier.
Create a request in MaiaLearning for LAHS employees to submit their letters of recommendation. Many schools have their own application form/website that you may use instead.
If you need a mentor or employer (non-LAPS employee) to submit a letter of recommendation, use the Common Application (if the school is a Common App school) to submit email addresses for recommendation letters.
Two weeks prior to your deadline request a reminder meeting or email.
Final follow-up: send a thank you email or card to your recommenders!
MAIALEARNING and RECOMMENDERS
Students will request recommendations within MaiaLearning. Only one recommendation can be uploaded per teacher, and it can be sent to any colleges on the student's list. Please NOTE - speak to your letter writer in person FIRST and confirm they will write a letter on your behalf. A notification in their MaiaLearning account should not be the first time they are seeing that you would like them to write a letter on your behalf.
On the left-side navigation menu, click Universities and select Recommendations.
A list of recommenders are at the top left of the page.
Search by name or browse the list, and check the box next to the teachers you want recommendations from.
Specify the date you need the recommendation by. (Required)
You can upload a brag sheet to to help teachers create your recommendation letter. You will see (an arrow Download) Brag Sheet Template button.
Download the template
Fill out the form and then save it in PDF format
Then you'll need to Upload Brag Sheet with your information.
Type a brief note to your recommender in the "Enter a note..." field. (Required) [Remember, you should have had a conversation with your recommender before you do any of these steps.]
All of your requests and their statuses are listed at the bottom of the page. You can return to this page at any time to add, cancel, or check the status of your requests.
Click SaveCompleted means the teacher has uploaded your recommendation letter.
If the request is Incomplete, the teacher has not uploaded a letter yet. You can update the brag sheet or cancel the request as long as the request is still incomplete.
Miscellaneous
If you complete the Common Application yes you will need letters
Use MaiaLearning for letters of recommendation - ask a teacher for a recommendation in the MaiaLearning system, allow 6 weeks before deadline.
YOU MUST STILL ASK YOUR LETTER WRITER FACE-TO-FACE, AS WELL
Complete the letter of recommendation checklist online
Common application requires Counselor recommendation through MaiaLearning
University of California and NM schools do not require recommendations
Texas schools have a common application called Apply Texas
Letter of Recommendation etiquette.pdf