Letters of Recommendation

Many of you are meeting with your high school counselors to set your senior schedule and begin discussing letters of recommendation (LOR). But who should you ask?

Background: Most colleges require 2 academic letters of recommendation and 1 guidance counselor recommendation. Some schools will allow more, others less (to know for certain, reach out to schools that you are interested in and confirm). In addition, some majors may recommend LORs from teachers of certain subjects...again, since all schools are different, reach out and ask!

Criteria: When deciding which teacher to ask for an academic LOR, you may want to consider these criteria:

1. The teacher should be from a core subject, not electives (Math, Social Studies, English, Science or Language) and you should be doing well in the course. There are exceptions depending on the student's intended major.

2. The teacher should be from your junior year (this is because the academic LOR convinces schools that a student is ready to take on collegiate work...it is difficult for teachers to say that a Freshman or Sophomore is ready for collegiate work). There are exceptions like if a student took an AP class sophomore year.

3. The student should have a connection/relationship with the teacher (you want the teacher to be able to write a well-informed letter with details). Do you know the teacher from an outside club or sport? Teachers who know you in a capacity beyond the classroom is ideal. In the age of Covid, some students report having difficulty connecting with teachers given the virtual environment. As difficult as it is, please don't give up on trying. There is still plenty of time to make a connection, even virtually. Set a goal to participate at least once every day and even schedule time with teachers to go over concepts so they can get to know you.

4. In an ideal world, the subject would be an academically rigorous class (honors or AP).

5. In an ideal world, the subject should reflect or complement the student’s future major (which proves interest/acumen in a particular area)

Timing:

Believe it or not, teachers get bombarded with requests to write letters. Sometimes they receive so many requests, that they have to turn kids away. So that you are not in that position, you may want to consider asking teachers by the beginning of April. You know what they say, "The early bird gets the LOR worm."