How to get strong Recommendation Letters from Teachers and School Counsellors

While the personal statement’s purpose is for you to tell your own story in the best light, the letters are there to show that others think highly of you too. It’s not enough just for you to sing your own praises though - others need to corroborate this for it to be worth something. In addition, the letters describe the kind of student you have been, and are likely to become, from the perspective of those who’ve taught and led you - this is a very valuable insight for a university to have as they can trust the accounts will be unembellished and come from the side of educational instruction rather than reception.

In general, US universities typically require:

• 1–2 teacher recommendations.
• 1 counselor recommendation (these are not always necessary, particularly if you’ve not attended a US high school, but if one is then try asking someone like a form tutor or a person in a pastoral role who you’ve interacted with).
  

As you won’t know those in charge of admitting you to the university, these letters are critical to the holistic review process as they help admissions tutors understand your character, academic habits, and contributions in a community context. They complement the more objective numerical achievements provided in your application.

It’s vital you give some thought to who you’re going to ask to write your letters, and that you provide them with everything they need to do so. By picking the right people and making sure they have all the requisite information at hand, you leave nothing to chance and are more likely to receive the letter you want.

When choosing teachers to ask for a letter, you’re choosing the person not the subject, and they’re writing about you, not your grades. Obviously subjects and grades matter to some extent, particularly if you want to study their subject, but the people you choose should write about your overall academic abilities, not just your latest grades in a given subject. Equally, their role is also to consider your potential and how well they think you’ll fare in higher education, rather than dwelling exclusively on your past successes.

Ideally, select teachers from core academic subjects and ones you’ve done well in. That will make it easier for the teachers to write a positive account of you under their tutelage and easier for admissions tutors to see the relevance of what they say to future academic study. It’s a good idea to steer clear of teachers you’ve crossed swords with or who might tell a version of a story different from your own.

To make your letters a relevant as possible, try to ask teachers who’ve taught subjects related to your chosen course, provided you’re fairly sure they’ll write positively about you. This isn’t vital, but it does add an extra level of pertinence to what they say when viewed from the perspective of those admitting you to that degree.

You want to make it as easy and hassle-free for your teachers and counselors to write their letters so they don’t feel inconvenienced. As such, when approaching them for the letters, be respectful and courteous, and emphasise that you know it’s a significant undertaking for them, but let them know that you’d appreciate it greatly and that you chose them over others for particular reasons. Give them as much time as you can so they can write a considered and well-constructed letter, rather than one that was dashed-off the day before the deadline.

• Provide a brag sheet or summary of achievements, goals, and meaningful experiences. It’s also a good idea to set out what you hope their letter will contribute in terms of focus, whether that’s filling in the context behind particular grades or reinforcing your love of a subject. This is to help the teacher or counselor determine what to include, what to leave out, and what the emphasis of the letter should be.
• Share your university list and any relevant information about what different schools value. This will ensure the teacher or counselor has the background information to your application and to know what the universities will want to see.
• Offer examples or anecdotes they might not know about. Your teacher and counselor won’t know everything about your time at school, and there’ll be plenty that you’d like them to draw on to inform their letters, so share this information with them if you think it’ll help.
• Above all, be polite and appreciative – writing these letters takes time. They don’t have to do it (they can always refuse), and it’s a great undertaking by them for you and your future, so show your gratitude and appreciation when requesting the letter and afterwards when it’s complete.

• Concrete details and examples will always win against vague and generic praise. The tutors want to see that the people you asked know you intimately, as that allows them to place their confidence in what’s been written about you.
• It comes across as suspicious if a letter is fawning and unremittingly flattering, as it sounds like either you’ve written it yourself or the teacher or counselor has been heavily guided about what to write. Ensure you let them write the letter they want to write.
  
• The letters you request should complement your application, particularly your personal statement, so ensure there are no contradictions as this will come across as questionable and the tutors will lose confidence in your application.
• One of the purposes of these letters is to fill in the blank space between achievements or setbacks. Context is everything. So if your grades aren’t what they should be, or you faltered somewhere down the line, or you overcame adversity to achieve something extraordinary, try to have the letters reflect this and show that this has been an ongoing journey for you.
  

A-List is here to assist with all aspects of your US university application, not least with the writing of letters of recommendation. Through our University Consulting Package you will receive guidance from specialists on how best to construct such a letter, what it should touch on, and how to make it as impactful as possible.

Our advisors help students prepare effective materials and liaise with schools to ensure they are well-informed about the purpose and format of recommendation letters, and how to write an effective one.