Letters of Recommendation for College Admissions

Your letters of recommendation will play a very significant role in your college admissions process. Admissions officers will read letters of recommendation to get an idea of how others view you, they can get a understanding through others of who and what you are. So it is very important that you have those people that know you and who you believe can write you the best possible Letters of Recommendation.

Here are a few tips that will help you with your Letters of Recommendation

Organize Yourself:

The requirements regarding your letters of recommendations will vary from school to school. You must be sure that you have read each application you will submit to see how many letters of recommendation each school will require and if there are requirements on who should write your letters. You should keep all requirements of each school together with their application so that you can keep a list of what is important for you to remember the dates your letters are due, who should write your letter, how many are required. This way you will always have the information for each school within reach. It is very crucial that you get organized early so you can decide on whom you want to write your letters of recommendation and you can give them the forms they will need. Remember you should give the people writing your letters enough time to prepare and write your recommendation.

Choosing Who To Write Your Letter of Recommendation:

When you are considering who you wish to write your recommendations, you what to choose people who know you well enough to write your letters of recommendations, and who will make a impression upon the admissions officers reading these letters that were written on your behalf. You should choose teachers, employers, school staff, employers, members of volunteer organizations, etc. The best people to write these letters for you are people you have built up a personal and professional bond, they will know you and your talents and abilities.

When you have chosen who you wish to ask to write your recommendations remember to be polite and tactful when you ask them to write the recommendation. If they are not sure or there is a little bit of hesitation then you should consider having someone else write the letter for you.

Help Them Help You:

If you wish to get good letters of recommendation, you should make sure you provide everything they will need. The best way to do this is to give them a package that includes all they will need. Such as

• A Cover Letter: This letter should formally ask for the recipient to write you a letter of recommendation. Make sure you personalize this with their name. this letter should include the schools your applying to, your major, deadline dates and all other information they will need to write you a good letter

• Remember if you are asking them to write more then one letter supply all the information and materials they need, such as schools, etc.


• The recommendation form: You should have received this within your application packet from the colleges. Make sure you include these for each school. You should make plenty of copies.

• Stamped addressed envelopes: You should put the address to each school on the envelope and make sure there is a stamp.

• Personal resume: Your personal resume includes all personal information and should highlight your accomplishments your resume will help the persons who are writing your letters of recommendation remember details about you.

• An unofficial transcript. You should include a copy of your transcripts so that the person writing your letter can know as much about you as possible.

• A copy of your essay: if possible give a copy of your essay so they can see who and what you are through your essay

• Thank You Note: Make sure you do not forget to send a thank you note for all of the help they have provided you. Remember they are taking their personal time to do you a favor. Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate what they have done.


Remember your Letters of Recommendation are very important and you have to choose the right people to write them for you.