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Securing Letters of Rec
Strong letters of recommendation for scholarships, college applications, and internships are an integral part of the application process. What your teachers, counselors, mentors, advisors, and coaches say in their letters can either make or break your application.
Your recommendation letter should help admissions officers get to know you as a multi-dimensional person, even though they've never met you. It should speak to your personal qualities, as well as your academic ability. To get a strong recommendation letter, you should do two things:
First, ask people who know you well.
Second, tell your recommender what you'd like her to include in your letter and what values, goals, and experiences are most important to you.
To help you with step two, we have created a template for your to complete whenever you need a letter of recommendation. We suggest sending the form to the person after they have agreed to write for you. Be as specific and thorough as possible when completing the form; it is better to give your recommenders too much information than too little.
Be sure to give your recommenders plenty of time to write the letter. We recommend asking at least two weeks before the deadline. Send a friendly reminder one week and then one day before the application letter is due.