Letters of Recommendation

First and foremost your teachers believe in you! They want to write you amazing letters of recommendation!  Please follow the flow chart below and give your teachers a months notice before your deadlines!  Plan ahead!  

The goal is to have layers that overlap a bit so that the reader can see the connections but that each layer enrich the over all picture/story of who you are and why this program is a good fit for you!  This means that it is important that your writer have a sense of the information you also reference in your application.  Each of these parts comes together to create a whole picture of who you are as a student, a person, a leader, and a community member.

All Letters of Recommendation are: 

• Confidential and must be sent from TISA directly to the Receiving School/Program

• Are processed through the Registrar and or Counselors. 

• The School Counselor will need to write a letter, or be a submitter for many University applications- so you need to include them in your process. 

If you are requesting a letter of recommendation for a summer program admissions process or any other reason that is not direct University entry then please click the above button. 

How to Request a Letter of Recommendation (LOR): 

Here is your step by step guide to the Letter of Recommendation process: 

1. Decide who you want to write your teacher part of your recommendation

• This can be between 2-4 people

• For programs on the "ladder" side choose people who teach academic subjects that aline with your course. 

• For programs on the "tree" side choose teachers who know you - it is a good idea to choose one who teaches a science or math topic, and one who teachers a social studies, english, or language class. Then perhaps choose an additional  staff member who knows you best- this could be an other teacher or a  sports coach or your TAO coach as an example. 

2. Once you know who, go ask them in person if they would be willing to write you a statement in support of your academic and personal preparation for our chosen course. This should be a minimum of a month before you wish to send your application. 

3. If they say yes then share with them your Brag Sheet electronically

4. Now, go on to Bridge U and make an Electronic invitation/reuquest.  This will open the portal where your letter will reside untll it is ready to be sent. 

5.  Set a meeting with your counselor to: 

• Share with them the brag sheet form

• Talk through your process and what you want said in the counselor recommendation.

6. Check in with your teacher and counselor at a later date to see if they have any additional questions, and to remind them of your deadlines.

The Brag Sheet:

So the brag sheet is a document where you get to process your skills and strenths and figure out what you wish to highlight in your applications.  It give you an opportunity to filter through the experiences and learning you have done in Secondary School so that you can develop the story you want to tell in your personal statements or essays.  Then bonus is that this can also be shared with your recomendation writers so they can better support your process. 

Use this link to download your Brag Sheet.  You may use either but they are directed to give you and your recommender information that should assist with the writing process: both essay/personal statement and LOR. 

Elevator Pitch: Writing an  "Elevator Pitch" can help you to figure out what are the most important-- it can help you to narrow down your ideas to THE things that you want a University to know about you when they are done reading your application.  You only have a page to write so knowing what to leave in and leave out is a huge step in the right direction.  It can also be helpful to your LOR writer to key in on that information too, so that all of the pieces (LOR, Essay, Transcript etc.. ) fit together to help the Admissions rep to see the amazing you!  Here are some articles and videos to give you some examples of what this might look like.  

 Here are a few : 

Master your Elevator Pitch for the College Application Process

How to create your 30 second elevator pitch

Northeastern University talks Elevator Pitch