5 Tips for Securing Strong Teacher Recommendations

There are over 1,700 reasons why it’s important to secure strong teacher recommendations for your college application. How did we come up with such a large figure? Well, that’s the current number of colleges and universities that are test-optional or test blind. 

Teacher recommendations have always been an important element of a college application, but with so many schools changing their testing policies in response to the pandemic and seeing record numbers of applications as a result, recommendation letters are more important than ever! Yes, even for students who plan to submit test scores! Letters provide admissions committees with important insights into your academic performance, as well as your personal qualities and overall attitude. A well-written recommendation will tell a story that your GPA (and scores) cannot.

So how do you secure a strong teacher recommendation? After all, you can’t control what a teacher writes about you. Or can you? There are actually specific steps a student can take to ensure two (sometimes three) quality recommendation letters, even in the age of online learning and hybrid classes. 

1. Be Present

Be present. Sounds easy, right? But we’re not just talking about being physically present in the classroom or via Zoom. One of the best ways to ensure strong recommendations is to be an active and engaged student. Participate in discussions and ask questions. This will show your teacher that you’re curious, you take initiative, and you do your work. Pitch in when it comes time for group projects, and don’t be afraid to take the lead when there’s an opportunity. If you’re struggling, reach out for help. And if you’re doing well, reach out anyway. You can strike up a conversation about the topics that interest you most in the class.

Being present is a habit you’ll want to establish early in your high school career. However, if you haven’t been as engaged as you’d like–perhaps because of the pandemic or shyness or a lack of confidence–you can start now. Make one conscious effort per day to engage, whether it’s raising your hand or staying after class to ask a question.

2. Build Connections

Investing in your classes is important, but so is creating connections and relationships within your school community. It’s much easier for you to request a recommendation if you feel comfortable with the teacher, and it’s much easier for them to write the letter if they have a connection with you.

We know that it can be challenging for some students to get to know their teachers, but there are plenty of small actions you can take. Say hello when you pass by teachers, and don’t be afraid to ask how they are doing. Visit teachers during their office hours or study halls, and consider coming to class a few minutes early. This is a great opportunity to strike up conversation and discover shared interests, like sports or music.  You can also join an extracurricular activity they are leading (but only if you’re actually interested in the activity). If you’re in an online or hybrid setting that limits your interactions with teachers, make use of Zoom chat boxes, email, and other forms of digital connection. Trust us, they will be thrilled to see you making the effort to become more than just a face behind the screen. 

3. Choose Recommenders Wisely

Before you start asking for recommendations, take some time to strategize. It’s not as simple as choosing your favorite teacher or the one who gave you the best grade. Think about teachers who can speak to your strengths, as well as your growth over time. It’s also important to pick recommenders who will offer different perspectives about your performance and qualities. Otherwise, you’ll end up with two repetitive letters. 

Subject matter is also a consideration. Ideally, one of your recommenders should connect to your area of interest. For example, if you’re applying as a business major, consider asking your math teacher to write one of your letters. 

Finally, do your best to pick current teachers who can reflect on who you are right now. As much as you might have loved your ninth grade history teacher, you’ve matured a lot (both academically and personally) since then.  We highly recommend trying to secure letters from junior year teachers. If this is truly not possible, it is okay to have a letter of recommendation from a sophomore year teacher that you will also have as a senior. Remember: sophomore year seems recent now, when it’s February of junior year, but the colleges will be reading these letters an entire year later! At that point, sophomore year is ancient history and your choice will raise a red flag about your relationships with junior year teachers.

4. Ask early…and politely give an out. Back off at the first sign of hesitation!

Be sure to secure your recommenders early, so your teacher has plenty of time to write a quality letter. We highly suggest asking for recommendations before the end of your junior year - after spring break is a great time. Many teachers limit the number of letters they write, so you want to make sure you secure a spot before the crowd rushes in during the fall semester of your senior year. 

Don’t just assume that a teacher will agree to write you a recommendation. Formally ask them, and in person if possible. We recommend using the wording: “Do you think you know me well enough to write me a supportive letter of recommendation?” This gives the teacher an out. If the teacher is in any way hesitant, they can decline with the excuse that they don’t know you well enough, and everyone can save face.

If there is any sign of hesitation at all, immediately abort the mission and find a new teacher! And certainly, never, ever argue with a teacher about this. Honestly, the kindest thing a teacher can do for a student is to show hesitation or decline to write a letter. This person is telling you in so many words that they are unable to write you a great letter … listen to that feedback! No letter is much better than a mediocre letter, which is basically the kiss of death to any college application.

5. Create a highlight reel

Regardless of how well your teacher knows you, they don’t know EVERYTHING. That’s why it’s extremely helpful to create a ‘highlight reel.’ Provide your recommender with information about your personal strengths, achievements, and interests. Of course you’ll  want to share highlights about your performance in their class, and the more specific you can be, the better!

Jog their memory about the cool project you spent months researching; the really challenging science labs you mastered; or the improvements you made to your study habits. And if the subject relates to your career interests or intended major, let your teacher know! It’s also a good idea to share your related involvements outside of the classroom, so your teacher has the ‘full picture’ and can speak to your contributions in other areas of school life that may relate to their subject matter.

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HOW WE HELP STUDENTS SECURE STRONG TEACHER RECOMMENDATIONS

As part of our college counseling services, we work closely with students to develop a strategy for teacher recommendations and set specific goals well before it’s time to actually ask the teachers. We check in on the teacher recommendation strategy throughout the year, and ultimately help students create ‘highlight reel’ narratives for each teacher through a multi-step process that begins with our customized questionnaires.

If you would like to learn more about our services or schedule a session, please visit our website.

Tyler's University of Richmond Experience

Tyler is joining us on the blog today to share his perspective on the University of Richmond!

While he’s discussing Richmond in particular, this is useful for anyone applying anywhere. pay attention to the characteristics that kept Tyler happy this year in the midst of what could have been a much worse situation, and consider asking related questions at interviews and visits (see the very end for a few ideas!).

Keep reading to learn about his freshman year, and if you do want to learn even more about Richmond in particular, check out our profile - a sneak peek of the dozens of college profiles available in our Membership Vault!

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Hello everyone! It’s Tyler, and today I wanted to share my thoughts about why University of Richmond was the best college fit for me, even amidst a global pandemic. I will be discussing why I believe that the University of Richmond can support and satisfy all career paths, why they handled COVID-19 so well, and how the school is helping me pursue my ultimate career path with all of my unique interests.

Student and Career Support

One of the first and most exciting aspects of University of Richmond that I encountered during my freshman year was the faculty and staff’s commitment to making sure that my University of Richmond experience was exactly what was promised during the application process - even though the world was in a very different place!

The first thing I noticed was how outgoing the professors were and how willing they were to walk around the room, or talk with you on Zoom, looking to help students and work with them to understand the material being presented. Every single professor I had this year was enthusiastic about getting to know what made each of their students unique and special. For example, my first year seminar professor would stay back after class and encourage students to go up and ask questions about assignments, or even just chit chat.

In addition, the professors at University of Richmond were very much invested in the mental health of the students they were teaching, and would ask students halfway through the semester if they needed more time on particularly challenging topics or assignments, or even give us a day off to catch our breaths. This level of support, on top of making every student feel known and cared for, is what made every class I have had so far at Richmond truly special.

Career Services and Charting a Path to the Future at Richmond

At the beginning of the first semester, every student at Richmond was assigned an academic advisor to help tailor students’ curriculum to their respective interests and passions. I simply had no idea just how much this academic support, as well as the friendship I made with my academic advisor, would help me throughout this truly bizarre year.

The first months of my freshman year were exciting and new, meeting friends and getting to know my roommate, as well as acclimating to all of the COVID guidelines and procedures. However, as time passed, I noticed there was a problem with one of my classes.

I had signed up for an Intermediate Intensive Spanish course to fulfill my language requirement, and soon decided that I had no business being in it - my Spanish language skills were not advanced enough. I needed help, was struggling to keep up, and could sense that I was falling behind. I decided to get back in touch with my academic advisor, which ended up being the single most valuable decision of my freshman year of college.

I assumed that my advisor would tell me to drop the class and take an easier level of Spanish, but that’s not what happened at all. Instead, we formulated a plan during our meeting as to how I could focus more of my time on Spanish over other less intensive classes. She also showed me how to search for one of the many on-campus tutors that Richmond has available, so that I would have this extra resource.

This meeting not only allowed me to develop an actionable plan to later succeed in this Spanish class, but my advisor cleared my head of worry and doubt, and was able to give me the confidence I needed to finish the semester strong. In a school environment, I have never had someone more invested in my personal success and well-being than she was.

In addition to helping me with this challenge I had in Spanish, my advisor also spent hours over the semester meeting with me about my interests and getting to know me on a personal level in order to help me chart my career path. As a student, I am interested in entrepreneurship, science, and leadership studies, and hope to blend the three in some form at Richmond.

Although this seems like a rather odd combination of interests, at Richmond this is just another one of the many combinations of interests that they will work into a unique curriculum for you. My advisor showed me the robotics projects and classes available, and explained what I needed to know in order to double major and minor in anything I wanted! I could major in Leadership Studies and Business, and minor in Computer Science and Art History if that is what I wanted to do!

The endless possibilities of classes to take and paths to go down at Richmond make it the perfect place for anybody who wants to dive into new and interesting fields, and who wants to discover new and exciting passions.

How Richmond Handled COVID-!9

So, I know what is on everyone’s mind right now. You’re most likely saying to yourself, “Yeah Tyler, all this sounds wonderful, but does it really matter if you are spending the whole semester in your room or in quarantine?” This is a valid question, but Richmond, in my opinion, did a superb job of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

A lot of schools in Virginia, as well as across the country, decided that they would only have classes online and have students be confined to their rooms for the majority of their experience at school. While this seemed like the safest option, what schools did not realize was the willingness for their students to break the rules. The whole semester long, I would hear my friends talking about how they would sneak out and break the rules, because the rules were too harsh and restrictive on new freshman. More restraints on students and their freedom on campus tended to breed more rule-breaking and inevitably, more cases of COVID on their college campuses. (Note from Colleen: we heard many, many reports of the same!).

However, this is not what Richmond had in mind. Yes, we could not eat together in the dining hall or gather in large places as a community, but we could have people in our rooms to socialize, and bond freely with our dorm-mates. What Richmond did so well was finding a perfect middle ground. They realized the inevitability of rule-breaking due to excessive restrictions, and allowed students reasonable social opportunities that would limit the number of people to a safe amount while allowing for the students to have somewhat of a normal college experience.

From what I can remember, the most cases we had on campus at a single time was 30, which is considerably less than other schools around the country. I am not saying that the school year wasn’t difficult and that COVID did not put a damper on my college experience, because it definitely did. What I am saying is that Richmond tried their best to preserve the mental health of their student body through socializing at a safe and respectable level, which ultimately made my experience much more bearable during such a difficult and frustrating year.

In Conclusion

I think most college students this year would agree with the statement that going to school, feeling motivated and making friends was very hard. I was lucky because I was able to make some great friends in the form of my hall-mates and my roommate, however, not every student was as lucky as me, and I realize that. No school in the country knew the best way to combat this pandemic, and everyone was simply trying to do their best with what they thought would keep their students and faculty safe.

However, despite all of the hardships faced this year, the University of Richmond did their best to maintain the happiness and mental health of their student population, while continuing their engaging and captivating education through attentive professors and caring faculty members.

The University of Richmond is a special place, and although I have yet to see its full potential in the presence of a normal school year, from what I experienced so far, I can already tell you that Richmond will continue to inspire me to chart my own path and push me to become a greater version of myself. I cannot wait to see what the next three years have in store for me at the University of Richmond!

key takeaways

Juniors may want to reflect on Tyler’s experience and whether it prompts questions of their own for the schools on their list - whether Richmond is in that group or not! We always recommend that students prepare 3-5 questions to ask during admissions interviews or high school visits, so this is a great time to jot some notes down.

Here are a few potential questions that relate to the topics he mentioned:

• How did your institution handle academic instruction and student life during the Covid-19 pandemic? OR In your opinion, what were the best and worst decisions your institution made during the Covid-19 pandemic? This question would not be appropriate for an alumni interview, but could be great for an interview held by an upperclassman or admissions officer. While Covid will likely be long gone by the time rising seniors arrive on campus in Fall 2022, the answer may provide insight on the school’s priorities in the midst of a crisis - or perhaps on an ongoing basis!

• What is the role of an academic advisor at your institution? How often do academic advisors meet with students? Do students meet with their advisor one-on-one or in small groups? It always baffles me that many medium-to-large schools do not provide one-on-one advising; instead, they have small groups of students meeting with their advisor at once. This is generally not a fact that is advertised to prospective students, so make sure to ask! The answers to these questions will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of individualized attention.

• Your institution claims that students can easily double-major or double-minor, but how exactly would that work? Would I have to stay for five years in order to do this? Would someone help me put my schedule together to make sure that I am approaching my course planning in as efficient of a manner as possible? As someone who is working with a number of graduating seniors on their freshman year course registration, I can promise you that this can be a challenge at most schools. There’s a lot to consider, and if it feels easy, you probably aren’t doing it right. So wouldn’t it be great to have help?

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Reader Questions: Teacher Recommendations (Part Two)

Today, we are finishing up our second part of the response to our reader question about teacher recommendation letters. Have a burning question about school, college, or graduate admissions, or even high school in general? Please shoot us an email and we will make sure to address it in a future post!

To recap, our reader asked:

My daughter goes to Madison and loves her teachers, but there are so many students in each class. Every time we attend an information session, colleges talk about the importance teacher recommendation letters. I’m starting to get nervous that she will wind up with a “blah” letter just because her teachers are so busy. I just don’t think they know her very well. Are these actually that important? Is there anything we can do to get around this?

Our first post detailed the best way to ask a teacher to write a letter of recommendation. Today, we will focus on how we help students provide their teachers with meaningful notes that result in great recommendation letters. Note: we are certainly not suggesting that you write the letter for your teacher! This probably goes without saying, but writing the letter on your teacher’s behalf is not the right approach. Besides the fact that it is fraudulent, it would also be really insulting to hand your teacher a pre-written letter.

Here at DC College Counseling, we begin by giving every student a detailed questionnaire. We have carefully chosen questions that allow our students to articulate their strengths and academic interests while also reminding their busy teachers of their performance in class throughout the year - from accomplishments to challenges. Each of our questions are targeted to make sure that the teacher has all of the information he needs to write a superb letter - putting the burden of the leg work on the student and making sure that nothing is overlooked. Parents and students tackling this type of work at home can come up with their own sets of questions that relate to the student’s progress and performance in the classroom environment.

Here are some tips consider while answering these questionnaires:

Tip #1: Provide as much information as possible!  In addition to basic ideas, such as your favorite units and overall performance in their classes, we also encourage you to think of ways that their classes have impacted you in real life, inspired you in your extracurricular activities, or could relate to your chosen academic path. Ask yourself questions such as: 

• Did you create a truly explosive project for your chemistry class? 

• Have you developed new and exciting interests because of cultures you studied in a foreign language class? 

• Are you pursuing admission at colleges with strong STEM programs because you were so inspired by your Algebra II or Physics teacher? 

• Have you gained any related experience from summer jobs or internships? 

• Do you have a closer relationship with a family member because of something that you learned about world history? 

Providing details your teachers might have forgotten will help them enliven their pictures of you! 

Tip #2: Keep your letters different! Since your teachers will be using your request letters to inform the content their recommendations, we also encourage you keep your request letters quite different from one another. These letters should be personal and illustrate different strengths. Moreover, you want the college admissions folks to get a broad range of your abilities and personality, rather than multiple letters simply repeating the same things. It’s fine to cover the same themes (after all, that would only make sense - your strengths and weaknesses as a student are likely to be relatively similar from class to class, regardless of the specific course content). However, this is the time to think back to the “show, don’t tell” advice that you have probably heard so many times. Make sure to include plenty of anecdotes unique to that particular course. Your teacher can then pick and choose which to include - or maybe these will jog her mind to think of an entirely different anecdote to share!

Tip #3: Don’t worry if you didn’t get the highest grade from your favorite teacher!  We ask our students to address that type of scenario in the questionnaires (if applicable), because teachers generally respect a student who struggled but put forward their best effort. Odds are good that a student in this situation will have exhibited many other qualities worth praising beyond the actual grade itself. 

Tip #4: Get some help! Once our students complete their two separate questionnaires (one for each letter), we will review their responses and weigh in to identify the most important pieces of information: the details that will trigger their teachers’ fondest and most important memories of their time together in the classroom. We will also help our students fill in any major gaps that could resonate with college admissions committees. Once that questionnaire is complete, we help our students transform their answers – using only the information that our students have written – into a narrative format that is chock-full of informative information. Students working at home should ask their parents or maybe even a different teacher for help with this process. It can be useful to have another set of eyes to help differentiate compelling material from fluff, or even worse - excuses!

Students who follow the above guidelines will be in fantastic shape, no matter how many letters of recommendation their teachers need to write. Remember, though - this entire system will only work if you have positive anecdotes to share and a good experience to reference. If you are disrespectful, fail to do your homework, and chat with your neighbor instead of paying attention all year long, all the notes in the world are not going to help you!

We tackle this process with our ongoing clients in late spring of junior year, typically after spring break. However, we can help other students on a one-time basis through 11th grade strategy sessions. Book yours today!

Reader Questions: Teacher Recommendations (Part One)

Today, we are back to our “Reader Questions” series! Have a burning question about school, college, or graduate admissions, or even high school in general? Please shoot us an email and we will make sure to address it in a future post!

Q: My daughter goes to Madison and loves her teachers, but there are so many students in each class. Every time we attend an information session, colleges talk about the importance teacher recommendation letters. I’m starting to get nervous that she will wind up with a “blah” letter just because her teachers are so busy. I just don’t think they know her very well. Are these actually that important? Is there anything we can do to get around this?

A: Yes, teacher recommendation letters are very important! As colleges and universities attempt to determine who a student is and how a student might fit within their academic environment, letters of recommendation give admissions committees a chance to learn about an applicant’s talents and personality in the classroom setting from someone they know they can trust: teachers.

One very, very common mistake is that teachers are not really given the support they need to write these letters. Most simply don’t know how to write a good letter - they don’t know what that entails. When I worked in admissions, I saw this all. the. time.

Let’s start with recognizing the ways in which a seemingly nice letter can hurt an applicant. First, we have the “generic letter”.

“I highly recommend Joey. He is an asset to my classroom and a pleasure to see each day. He takes his work seriously and is a good role model to his classmates. I am confident that he will bring this same work ethic to college and will achieve much success.”

Nope. We just learned absolutely nothing about Joey. The committee thinks: “This teacher knows nothing about Joey. He was probably a good student but must not have distinguished himself very much.” This is the most common type of recommendation I see from well-meaning teachers who think that they are writing a beautiful letter.

Next, we have the “let’s change the subject” letter.

“Allison has the nicest smile - it brightens the entire classroom every day and makes it a great place to learn. She’s also an amazing lacrosse player and brought the entire team to the state championship!”

Nope. When an admissions committee reads about that smile, or the lacrosse championship, they think: “this teacher had nothing else to write about. Allison must not be as great in math class as she is at lacrosse!'“

Next, we have the “growth and potential” letter.

“Matthew has achieved so much growth since he began at Langley as a freshman. I know that he will continue to grow more as a person and a student during his college years, and look forward to hearing about his continued improvement when faced with the rigors of college life.”

Nope. When an admissions committee reads about an outside activity that is not related to the course, they think “Oh boy. This teacher had absolutely nothing positive to say about Matthew, even in terms of extracurricular activities or personality! We are not going to take a chance on Matthew’s potential for growth when we could take a student instead that has already achieved that growth!”

So, you have reason to be concerned. The good news is that the recommendation letter challenge is very easy to overcome. The first step is to ask the teacher the right way.

1. Tell the teacher what you need and give him an out. This is not the time to be shy. Moreover, don’t put pressure on them: no teacher wants to disappoint a student, but a teacher with hesitations is not the right person to be writing this letter. I recommend that all of my students ask for letters of recommendation with the following language: “Do you think you know me well enough to write me a supportive letter of recommendation?”

You are making it very clear that you need a recommendation that is supportive, while also making it very easy for the teacher to decline the request on the basis of how well they know you.

2. Next, ask the teacher if she has a questionnaire that she uses to collect information to write the letter. Many teachers today have questionnaires like this (more so at private schools, but there will be some teachers at every school that use these). Good for them! Teachers that ask students to fill out questionnaires are generally experienced recommendation-writers.

3. If the teacher does not have a questionnaire, offer to provide your own notes to assist in the process. No, you are not telling your teacher what to write. He can ignore every word. However, you are doing the hard work for him. You are giving him examples and anecdotes that he can’t possibly remember because he teaches a hundred kids at a time.

Next up: preparing the notes and/or questionnaire answers. We have you covered - stay tuned!