What Are Letters of Recommendation?
The majority of colleges and universities in the United States will request that you submit two to five letters of recommendation along with your general application. Letters of recommendation are one to two paged letters you will collect from specific people that discuss your personal, professional, and academic qualities and attributes that will make you a perfect match for the program to which you are applying. Letters of recommendations typically come from:
School principals, teachers, or advisors
Directors, professors, or advisors from a previously attended college or university
Directors or supervisors at organizations for which you've worked or volunteered
Letters of recommendation should be collected from people who know you, like you, and can account for some of your greatest qualities and accomplishments. Consider requesting letters of recommendation from professors for whom you've earned good grades, supervisors with whom you've worked well, and organizations with which you've gained success.
Colleges and universities will require that you submit your letters of recommendation online, via mail, or, in rare circumstances, by email. The people who write your letters of recommendation will either:
Submit their electronic recommendations directly to the college or university through a website specified by the college or university to which you are applying;
Submit their paper recommendations on letterhead (a special piece of paper that contains a heading with the name, address, and logo of their organization) directly to the college or university (in which case the letter will need to be "sealed" by the school); or
Email their letters of recommendation directly to you or a person specified by the college or university to which you are applying
Why are Letters of Recommendation Important?
Colleges and universities use letters of recommendation to verify that all of the wonderful things that you've said about yourself in your application and your personal statement are true, or, at the very least, verifiable by some of the people with whom you've had academic and/or professional interactions. They offer the colleges and universities to which you are applying an outside perspective of who you are as a person and what you are capable of as an academic. The letters of recommendation that you collect should reinforce your positive beliefs of yourself and, ideally, outline some of the qualities that you didn't mention in your application or personal statement. It is important to gather your letters of recommendation from people who appreciate you, respect you, and care about your plans for the future. It is not critical that your recommenders see you as faultless or perfect, but it is necessary that they see you as a solid person capable of achieving and accomplishing your academic dreams and goals. It is critical that that you collect letters of recommendation that substantiate your claims of admirable characteristics and accomplishments and reassure the colleges and universities to which you are applying that you would be a wonderful addition to their programs.
How do I Collect Letters of Recommendation?
Begin by getting clear about what types of recommendations you need to collect and how they need to be submitted. Colleges and universities should provide you with this specific information and, in some cases, with specific forms that should be filled out by you or your recommender. If you are unclear about the process by which you need to collect your letters of recommendation, call the college or university to ask for help. Once you are clear about what types of letters are needed and how to submit them, make a list of people with whom you've had meaningful academic or professional interactions. Select those people with whom you have a great connection or who you feel have the greatest understanding of you as a person and scholar.
Take special care to select people who are directly connected to your academic goals or to the industry into which you wish to enter at the conclusion of your program (for example, if you plan on getting your degree in social work and have volunteered at a mental health agency, consider asking the director of the organization for a recommendation). Make contact with those people immediately. Talk to them about your goals, your reasons for applying to particular colleges or universities, and the specific requirements of the letter of recommendation. Ask them if they would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for you. If they are, provide them with the specific instructions given to you by the college or university. Give them a deadline and let them know that you are available for questions.
A Few Tips and Reminders for Obtaining Great Letters of Recommendations
1. Pick people who like you! Don't request letters from people who can't honestly discuss your very best.
2. Give your writers at least two weeks to complete your letters and avoid bumping your writers up against the school's to which you're applying deadline.
3. Ask your writers to focus the majority of the letter on why you would succeed academically and a minority on your personal and professional boons (though each should be highlighted and included).
4. Feel free to use the same letters of recommendation for multiple colleges but diversify if some letters or recommenders would be better suited for different programs.
5. Again, follow the instructions given by the college or university to which you are applying carefully-do not diverge from their requirements.
6. If you would like to use letters of recommendation from previous years' applications, contact the writers of the recommendations and ask that they revise them (assuming some things have changed since the last time they wrote the letters) and change the date. Do not reuse old recommendations without having them revised and re-dated.
7. Don't be shy to ask for what you want and need! Be confident and assume that most people would be happy to give you a letter of recommendation.
8. Submit your letters on time! Their deadline is every bit as important as the deadline set for the application.
9. Devote an appropriate amount of time to securing good letters! They are extremely important and can influence the final decisions made by the people viewing your application. They can also set you apart from other similar applicants.
10. Finally, keep in mind that all colleges and universities are unique and that each will have its own set of requirements and expectations. It is imperative that you follow instructions closely!
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