Recommendation letters, also known as reference letters, are an important part of the college application process. They provide insight into a student's character, academic abilities, and extracurricular involvement from a different perspective than what can be seen on transcripts and test scores.

There are 3 types of recommendation letters.

• Counselor LOR

• Teacher LOR

• Extra LOR

If a college does not ask for any recommendation letters, do not send them. Some colleges only need a LOR for their honors program.

Go to the Freshman application requirements or application checklist section on each college’s website for requirements. Also check common app for college requirements on LOR.

Counselor letters of recommendation are not always required, but for schools that do ask for them, it's important to follow the specific instructions provided by the school. In some cases, counselors may ask students to fill out a "brag sheet" or questionnaire to help them write the letter. These sheets typically ask for information about the student's academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and personal qualities.

• Any scheduling conflicts you had which prevented you from taking some classes of your choice.

• If you had low grades and if there was a compelling reason that led to the lower grades.

• Any family situation that might have impacted your high school career.

For a large public school, its unlikely counselor will know the student personally. Colleges are aware of this and do not place lot of importance on counselor letter.

When it comes to teacher letters of recommendation, it's important to choose teachers who can speak to your academic abilities, work ethic, and personal qualities. Typically, it's best to choose teachers who taught you in core academic subjects during your junior year of high school, as they will have the most recent and in-depth knowledge of your academic performance. If you don't have enough junior year teachers to ask for letters of recommendation, it's perfectly fine to ask teachers from your sophomore year.

Avoid asking senior year teachers for letters of recommendation, unless you had that teacher for other years as well. Senior year teachers may not have had enough time to get to know you well enough to write a strong letter of recommendation by the time you need to submit your application. However, if you have a strong relationship with a teacher from an elective class, it's perfectly fine to ask them for a letter as well.

Check the requirements for each college on your list. Some colleges specifically need from core academic teachers. An ideal teacher is from your core class where you had good grades, likes you and also knows you outside your classroom.

Ask at least one teacher who taught you elective class like Business, Economics, Computer Science and if your college major aligns well with that.

If your college needs two teacher LORs, make sure these teachers are from different subject areas.

It is good to ask 2-3 teachers for an LOR and then decide which teacher should submit for each of colleges on your list. If your school uses Naviance, you can pick and choose on it.

Highly selected colleges may require 2 to 3 teacher recommendations, but most colleges need 1 teacher LOR.

Some teachers/counselors ask for a brag sheet which has specific questions about your academic and extracurricular achievements, to help write your recommendation letter. 

Some tips for the brag sheet 

• If asked to describe yourself in 5 words, use nouns or active verbs instead of adjectives. When you try to write adjectives, you fall into the trap of using the same adjectives that everyone repeats. 

• Try to introduce the theme of your application. 

Try to show different parts of you in the brag sheets to different letter writers.

• What you did in their class

• You’re learning style

• Any leadership or extra opportunities you took advantage of in that class

• Share any anecdotes about your time in that class that can show your personality positively

• For a question that asks about weakness - do not write anything negative. Try to only focus on your strengths.

• Don’t mention any names for your first choice/second choice college etc. The teacher may write about it in the letter for that college but the same letter can get automatically sent to other colleges through Naviance or some other automated system.

Very few schools ask for these extra letters. You can choose your coach, mentor, club advisor, manager at your job etc. Some schools ask for a specific person, for e.g. Dartmouth wants a peer recommender. Only send these extra ones to colleges that ask or allow for them.

Talk to your counselor about LOR at the beginning of Senior year and let them know your school list and due dates for each school.

As for teachers, the best time to ask them is spring of Junior year (April/May) before your school ends. By this time, they know you well and you have an idea of which teachers can give you a good LOR. Some teachers place a limit on how many kids they can write LOR, so you need to ask the teachers early. By the end of your school year, you should secure up to 3 teachers who are willing to write you a LOR. Ask them in person and always follow up with an email thanking them and asking what they need from you for LOR. You can also mention any specifics you discussed with them in person to be included in the letter.

Most teachers and counselors write the letters once the school starts (Senior year) in fall. If your school uses Naviance, the teachers/counselor can see the deadlines. Write a reminder email for them with the list of schools and deadlines. There are some rolling admission programs that you can submit early (even before school starts or in early September), most times these schools do not need LORs or transcripts.

List of Colleges with Rolling Admissions

One important thing to remember is to waive the FERPA rights in common app. You can also sign the FERPA waiver when you link common app and Naviance. This tells the colleges that you have waived your right to see what’s in the LORs. This helps colleges trust the content of letters.