How can I secure amazing teacher recommendations for my college application?

For all selective colleges, teacher recommendations are a very important part of the admissions decisions process. They not only give colleges a first-hand window on your academic performance and intellectual abilities but also show who you are as a person. Your teacher has seen you both in and out of class, interacting with other students and participating in the classroom countless times. They’ve also seen many of your finished projects and assignments, both while in progress and finished. From these letters, colleges can get a better sense of how you’ll perform academically and interpersonally on campus. They’re often crucial to getting admitted. 

Many colleges ask for two teacher recommendations and one counselor recommendation, and we highly recommend that students ask their junior year teachers and/or their sophomore year teachers they will have again senior year. That way, they know you well enough to write a detailed letter advocating for you.

That means that the process of securing great teacher recommendations should ideally start sophomore year, as you may be asking a sophomore year teacher to write on your behalf. Most students and parents are under the impression that this is something you don’t have to think about until junior spring, but that is not true. Here are some tips to help you make sure you impress colleges with your teacher recommendations.

1. Start building and fostering relationships with teachers from Day One.

Since you should ask teachers who will have taught you during junior year or sophomore year+senior year, it’s important to have good relationships with all of your teachers if possible You don’t know whom you’ll end up asking. It is beneficial to have at least one letter from a teacher in a subject that is relevant to your intended major. For example, if you want to be a art history major, a recommendation from your AP US History teacher would be awesome. However, you probably do not know your intended major yet, or it may change. Cast your net wide and start getting to know all your teachers from day one. If you don’t end up asking them to recommend you, the strong relationship you’ll have may affect your learning and grades positively anyway.

2. Make sure that you’re standing out amongst the crowd.

Chances are, other students will be asking the same teachers as you for recommendations. This is the first reason why it’s good to stand out. The second reason is that on their recommendations through the Common App, teachers fill out ratings for you that compares you to other students. They are asked to rank you on “soft” skills like “concern for others” and “reaction to setbacks” in addition to writing a letter about your academic promise, curiosity, and personality. 

The chart below contains roughly the same ranking criteria and scale teachers see, just in a modified chart format. Teachers see drop down menus for ranking each quality. 

Review the ranking criteria below, and try from Day One to show these qualities. For example, you can set goals for yourself such as participating in class discussion at least 3-5 times per class, which would mean prepping and studying the material well in advance. This would affect your “productive class discussion” and “confidence” rankings and perhaps even “creative, original thought” and “intellectual promise.”

3. Ask your teachers for recommendations spring of junior year.

The best time to start this conversation is junior year when they remember you well. It could give them a head start on working on some of these over the summer, too. Remember that your teachers are probably writing multiple letters, and at some point, they have to turn students away if they reach capacity. You don’t want to be left out by asking last minute.  It’s also disrespectful to ask your teachers last minute. They have full-time jobs plus prep and grading to do! Give them ample time to write a thoughtful letter about you instead of a rushed one or not at all.

4. If your school doesn’t make a “brag packet” for you to give to teachers, create one and give this to them before they write their recommendations for you.

In addition to allowing your teachers a generous amount of time to write these, make their jobs easier and their letters better by giving them the information they need. Your teachers most likely have over 80 students, and while they might know you pretty well, they won’t remember every single thing that happened over the school year. 

Most school college counseling offices address this issue by giving students a “brag sheet” to fill out and submit to teachers. This not only includes the colleges they are interested in but also more reflective questions on topics like their favorite projects, strengths and weaknesses, and memorable moments from the year. If your school doesn’t give one of these out or has one that is too simple, our counselors can help you create a “brag sheet” that’ll really help your teachers write about you. With these, you essentially guide their writing and make sure what you think should be written about you is more likely to actually appear on the letter.

5. Send thank you notes.

Finally, don’t forget to thank your teachers. These letters probably take about an hour or more to write for most of them, and they are not getting paid to do this. A coffee and a pastry would be nice, too, in addition to a thank you note!