Letters of Recommendation
First Things First
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):
UCAS:
For UCAS you are asking your letter writer to write a statement of how you are academically and personally prepared for the course. Choosing teachers who teach you related subjects is key.
Look at the UCAS course acceptance minimums. If they say as an example that Maths HL is required, then perhaps your maths teacher might be someone to consider. If you are applying for a course where you see a crossover between two subjects (eg: Architecture and you wish to include both a Maths and Art teacher) it is possible to ask 2, but no more than 2 teachers. After you have asked them in person, your Counselor will let each teacher know how long their comments should be and then compile the two statements into a cohesive statement.
Here is your step by step guide to the TLOR process for the UK:
Decide who you want to write your teacher part of your recommendation.
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.
If they say yes then share with them your Brag Sheet electronically
Set a meeting with your counselor to:
Share with them the request form
Talk through your process and what you want said in the counselor part of the recommendation.
Your counselor will then contact you teacher with instructions and approximate character count.
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.
US and any non-UK program
These programs are ones that are asking for a letter of recommendation, on school letterhead and with the teachers signature. These will be longer than the comments for the UK so please make sure to give your teachers time to write these. You should ask a month before when you wish to submit your application at a minimum.
These letters can be finished at any time and will be held in Bridge U until they are needed for your application process.
Here is your step by step guide to the TLOR and CLOR process for Non-UK programs:
Decide which teachers can talk about you as a person both in and outside of the classroom. Choose someone you have a good relationship with. These letters will be uploaded to Bridge U by the teachers and then sent on to your school by the School Counselor. Please note that your School Counselor will also, most likely need to write you a letter-- so remember to ask them as well. CLOR (Counselors Letter of Recommendation)
Have a draft of your Personal Statment/Essay form ready to share. (See Below)
In person ask your teachers and your Counselor if they would be willing to write you a letter of recommendation. (They will say no if they do not feel that they can write you a supportive letter)
Share your Brag Sheet with your Counselor and your Teachers whom you have asked.
For your teacher, NOT for the Counselor, put in a request for a TLOR into Bridge U and send them an electronic invite to upload their letter to Bridge U when it is done. (Your counselor gets this request automatically)
Check in with your letter writers, Counselor and Teachers, to see if they have any questions and make sure that they know your deadlines.
Your Personal Statement/Essay forms:
Bonus: You will also share these with your LOR 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