Get Your Teacher Recommendations Now

Juniors, we’re talking to you.

Even if you don’t know what schools you’re applying to, the time to ask for a Letter of Recommendation is now. If you’re applying to almost any private college at all, you’ll need a Letter of Recommendation.

By asking for a letter early, college counselors know you’re

1. Making life easier for yourself. You will be busy next year.
2. Making life easier for your teacher and he or she will appreciate it. More importantly, that appreciation may be reflected in your letter!

By giving a teacher more time to write the letter, you’re giving him or her more opportunity to write a letter tailored for you. The best letters of recommendation say something special about you. They provide insight about you, your talents, abilities, strengths, positive qualities, merits, achievements and more.

Choose who you ask wisely and carefully. Make sure you choose someone who likes you. You will most likely never even see the letter that is written about you so it needs to be someone you feel comfortable with.

Different schools may require different formats for Letters of Recommendation. However, the majority of students will be using the Common Application to apply to schools. This means it’s suggested that your teacher writes a general letter for you. Also, the idea here is that the teacher will store your letter on the computer and thus be able to paste it into whatever official letter of recommendation form you provide when the time comes.

International College Counselors note to International Students: Don’t feel you need to ask an English teacher because you think they’ll write the best. The letters need to be in English if you’re applying to a U.S. school, but the teacher can “Google” translate it or have someone in the school translate it. An exception to this would be if you know a school’s admissions office accepts recommendations in other languages and has someone on staff who can read them.

Please click here to read How to Ask for an Early Letter of Recommendation

If you have any questions on Letters of Recommendation and are a client of International College Counselors, please give one of our college advisors a call or send an email.