Recommendations

Most schools on the Common App will require 2 recommendations to go alongside an application. These are usually required to be from an academic teacher who has taught the student for a duration of time. There is also a counselor recommendation, from someone who is your school's designated college counselor. Your school may have multiple, and this person is bound to send a recommendation to the colleges you apply to. This person also usually ranks you in terms of leadership, extracurriculars, and academics, in buckets from the top 1%, top 5%, top 10%, and so on. The amount of people in each bucket will depend on your counselor and your school size. Sometimes there is an option for additional recommendations as well, but we'll get into that later. Recommendations carry a lot of weight in the admissions process and it is important to make sure you approach this aspect of the college admissions process attentively. Many colleges use these recommendations as a way to gain additional insight into the applicant, as well as informally verify that the student has truly completed the activities they have listed on their common app.

How to Approach a Recommender

A recommender for college apps can take many different forms. When approaching someone who you think could potentially write you a recommendation, it is important to be polite and respectful. This goes for your college counselor, as well as others from whom you are asking for a recommendation. You should show yourself to be earnest, attentively listen to any feedback given, and do your best to make a good impression on the recommender. One should keep in mind that the recommender is doing them a favor and may be writing recommendations for multiple people. Being polite yet persistent is absolutely crucial to this process.

When scheduling meetings, you should be courteous and accommodating to show that you take the college application process seriously. This communicates to the recommender how important their recommendation is to you.

Getting a Good Recommendation

It is useful to consider who you are approaching for a recommendation. Is this person a good writer? Do they know you well? If they are a teacher, do they teach a subject that you wish to pursue in your higher education? These are all important questions worth asking yourself when choosing who to ask to be your recommender.

Most recommenders, regardless of whether they have known you for 6 months or 6 years are probably not aware of everything you do outside of school, or even inside of school for that matter. Thus, it is important to politely include an outline of the activities or awards that you would like to be included in your recommendation. Some schools will provide you with a self-assessment form where you provide this information directly. If yours does not, it is probably best for the students to create it themselves.

Another strategy worth noting is emphasizing different activities to different recommenders. In doing so, you are allowing recommenders to share different aspects of your profile. If there is a very major activity you have participated in; you can have multiple recommenders talk about it in their respective letters.

Additional Recommendations

Some schools allow space on the application for additional recommenders. These spaces can range from one extra recommender to 5 extra recommenders at other schools. Having some people in mind (and informed) who have a good opinion of you can go a long way when sprung upon by these additional recommendation options as you go through the common app.

Those who can give you these additional recommendations can vary, but generally, it is important to go with those who know you well and are motivated to write a good recommendation for you. People who have taught you, supervised you, and worked with you are usually good places to start.