Ask for Your Letters of Recommendation Now! Here’s Why, Who, & How.
Commencement Speeches Actually Worth Watching
May 31, 2020College Opening Plans Will Fail
July 26, 2020Ask for your letters of recommendation. Now.
Letters will be more valuable this year than ever.
Free resume template here
.Here's why
Either way you slice it, teachers are going to have a rough fall. If you're at home, they're building a new curriculum, trying to catch you up, and dealing with a ton of pressure from above and below. If you're in school, they're trying to catch you up, deal with you guys being out of a school environment for six months, and cope with pressure from above and below.
Bad moods, long hours, and a lot of stress lead to not-so-great letters of recommendation.
Right now, teachers are in the best mood they will be in for the rest of 2020. So, ask.
Who to Ask?
First off, figure out how many you'll need. Since you can't read the letters, only ask for as many as you need. It's the considerate thing to do. To figure out your needs, create or get on the Common Application and/or Coalition Application and add the schools you're applying to or think you'll apply to. Once added, you'll be able to see how many recommenders you need under each of their supplemental information sections. Those of you applying to selective colleges will generally need between one and three.
Think of your recommenders as fulfilling specific roles
You'll need a recommender who has had you in a core subject, preferably for multiple courses.
You'll need a recommender who knows you well. He or she can be a teacher you've had every year, like a band or chorus teacher. It can also be a teacher or community member who knows you well: a coach, religious leader, activity leader, advisor, or mentor.
Ideally, your core teacher recommender will also know you on multiple levels.
What makes a good recommender?
Don't do this...
Mrs. Jones, you're the best teacher at Hill Valley High, and like, you made me so interested in science because you're the greatest teacher ever. Like that one time, you taught me about the plants and photosynthesis. No one has ever taught that better, like ever….
(3 minutes later)
...Anyways can you write me a letter for college and stuff?
Do this…
Mrs. Jones, I wanted to reach out now that we're through the school year. With everything going on, I thought I'd do the best I could to get a jumpstart on my college applications. I also figure teachers will be busy in the fall, and it may be more considerate to ask for letters of recommendation earlier. I really enjoyed your course XXXX, particularly xxxxxx, and working/playing/singing/whatevering with you on YYYY, especially that concert/tourney/whatever, and, like, I want to know if you'd be willing to write me a strong letter of recommendation for college in the fall?
How to Ask?
Asking in-person is best, but it is likely to be impractical for many of you. A phone call is next best (adults are pleasantly surprised when you use your phone as a phone). Email is the third-best option. Don't do it over text. That said, don't exceed the bounds of your relationship.
Get to the point relatively quickly, and don't compliment them (overly) before you do.
Don't just ask for a letter. Ask for a strong letter.
She says yes. You thank her very much.
Here are the next steps:
You promptly send them a thank you email with your brag sheet or resume attached.
You then, promptly, invite her to be a recommender on your Common App or Coalition Account.
Brag Sheets/Resumes
A brag sheet or resume is a list of your accomplishments in high school. It often includes grades, coursework, activities (in and out of school), volunteering, and employment. Some schools have their own template; some don't. If you're going the brag sheet route, and your school has a template, I suggest using it.
I prefer, however, a resume for several reasons.
You can download our template here.
Resume Guidelines
Your resume should be one page. Almost none of you, and I'm talking 1 in 1,000, should have more than one page. I'm significantly older, and if I were to update my resume, I'd make sure it was one page.
Formatting is important. Try to keep entries to one line if possible, and avoid two-line entries that only have a few words on the second line.
Prioritize. Your most recent and important stuff should be at the top of each section, other stuff lower.
Make it active. Use present tense verbs for things you're still involved in, past tense for things you aren't. Generally, incomplete sentences are fine. The general idea is that the reader sees you as a person of action.
You'll find sample text in the template. I included a wide variety of sample activities, to show how I'd write these up. Don't be intimidated by the entries; they're fictional and meant only for example.
While I think this is a good resume template for almost any high school or college student, you may need to alter it a bit to fit your needs. If you speak multiple languages at home, but you haven't studied that in school, you'll want to find a way to include that or other skills/interests that aren't formal. Often, a short section at the top is the best way to do that.
