Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are often part of scholarship applications. Below are some tips for getting recommendations:

1. People to ask for letters of recommendation can be school teachers, counselors, administrators, church leaders, coworkers, bosses, or community organization leaders.

2. Collect around 3 general recommendations and put them in your scholarship folder. When a scholarship requests letters of recommendation, these can easily be tweaked depending on scholarship criteria.

3. Provide the person recommending with a copy of your resume and the scholarship information. This will allow them to write a more specific recommendation for you.

4. Give the person recommending at least 2 weeks notice to get the recommendation completed.

5. Follow correct instructions for the submission of the letters of recommendation. Some have specific requirements to keep the recommendation confidential.

For help writing good recommendations, go to http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs.