We often say that there are very few things under your control in the admissions process: your grades, your activities, your essays and applications, your test scores, and—believe it or not—your recommendation letters.
If you’re a junior and you haven’t yet identified your recommenders, now is the time to make the ask! And if you’re wondering WHO to ask and how the process works, read on for the answers to all your rec letter questions.
WHAT are recommendation letters?
Recommendation letters are used by admissions officers to get third-party insights into students from their educators.
Students and their families are NOT allowed to read the recommendation letters. In fact, waiving FERPA access—forfeiting the right to read the letters—is required to submit college applications.
WHO is writing recommendation letters?
For most colleges, students will have recommendation letters from their guidance counselor and TWO core academic subject teachers.
The guidance counselor is required to write recommendation letters for all of their students. If you have not already begun to foster a relationship and dialogue with your counselor, then you should do so sooner rather than later.
Guidance counselors have to write so many recommendation letters; if they truly know a student and can speak to specific insights, it will show in the letter. This requires knowing the student’s personal and academic journey through high school.
For the teachers, core academic subjects mean English, history, science, math, and foreign language. Economics or Psychology do not really qualify, even at AP level, unless one of those subjects is a clearly intended major.
Furthermore, admissions officers generally prefer that both teachers come from junior year. This, however, is not a set-in-stone rule. If you had a 10th-grade teacher who absolutely loved you and will write an incredible letter, then choose that teacher over a junior-year teacher whose letter will not read as passionately.
Or, if you had a teacher in 10th grade and are set to have them again in 12th grade, or if a ninth-grade teacher doubles as a coach or advisor for a club where you have a prominent leadership role, then these teachers may be worthy of consideration.
As you can see, picking your teacher recommenders is as much an art as it is a science. The most important things, though, are…
1. Have at least ONE junior-year teacher.
2. Pick teachers who truly know and appreciate you. When in doubt, pick the one who loves you more.
3. If you know what you want to study, one of your recommendations should be from a teacher of a related subject. (For example, prospective engineers will want a math or science teacher as one of their recommenders.)
WHEN should I be asking teachers to write recommendation letters?
Students should start reaching out to teachers as early as the winter of junior year. In other words, if you’re a junior and you haven’t asked yet—now is the time! Better earlier than later; many teachers will cap how many recommendation letters they will write, and they will prioritize students who ask earlier.
Ideally, teachers will write their rec letters over the summer so that the letters are ready to go by the time a student is submitting their applications in the late summer or early fall.
WHERE do students submit recommendation letters?
The Common App makes submitting recommendation letters as straightforward as possible. You will “assign” your recommenders in the Common App—meaning that, once you have talked to your recommenders, you will invite your teachers and counselor to submit a letter via the Common App itself.
Follow this link for a guide that outlines the process. (And there is also a useful FAQ page about recommendations, FERPA waivers, and any other questions you might encounter.)
For the Coalition and other colleges that have their own applications, the process is similar. You can invite recommendation writers to submit their letters just as you would on the Common App.
The Coalition’s guide to inviting recommenders can be found here.
WHY are recommendation letters important?
Recommendation letters provide invaluable insights into who a student is both inside and outside of the classroom. At minimum, a rec letter can validate work ethic and give context to a student’s grades and academic accomplishments.
At maximum, it can say what a student should not—or really cannot—say in their essay.
For example, if a student has overcome a medical diagnosis or personal adversities, even if they addressed this in an essay or the Additional Information section, it may be valuable for a third-party adult, like a guidance counselor, to offer other context and commentary.
As another example, let’s say a student is a real leader in the classroom, someone whom others look up to, or is just an unfailingly generous, universally loved person. If you wrote this about yourself, it would be very hard not to sound self-congratulatory and conceited—but those same words from a teacher’s perspective could prove a tremendous asset.
We hope this clarifies the rec letter process! If you’re still feeling torn about who to ask, the expert coaches at Ivy Experience are always happy to help you strategize and advise on your specific situation. Reach out today!
