4 Education Information

Recommendation letters are probably the most underlooked (and consequently underutilized) tools in the admissions process for Ivy League schools.

There’s a basic reason why - students are afraid of their bosses/teachers/coaches. They’re afraid of going for what they really want - a strong, positive letter of rec that highlights achievements and re-affirms the student’s strengths.

Part of the answer is simple: get over yourself. Be courageous. That’s something personal that this story won’t be able to help you acquire.

But I can help you understand the process. And following these steps will greatly increase your chance of getting the exact letter of recommendation you’d hoped for - one that Yale, Princeton, and the best colleges around the globe will enjoy reading.

Here it goes:

1. Identify the recommenders who a) know you very well and b) you performed the best in their classes. These teachers will write the best letters of recommendation. Ideally they’re the same teachers that sponsor club and sports activities in which you are involved. If not, I’d recommend asking some of them to sponsor new clubs that you’d be starting. Win-win

2. Have your parents meet with that teacher/coach. I didn’t do this, but in retrospect I should have. Teacher-parent conferences are a helpful way to strengthen the student-teacher connection, and a great way for parents to indirectly express their concerns/wishes (and their kid’s wishes) to the teacher. Just make sure this type of meeting isn’t too aggressive. I actually remember reading teacher recommendations which casually referenced controlling parents…these don’t go over too well with your plans to get into Harvard

3. Prepare a letter addressed individually to that teacher. In a hand-written letter, talk about the following things:

-What universities and why - in more than just a few words

-Why that teacher was your top choice to write a recommendation

-A few achievements that you’re most proud of, and any successes that were either in that teacher’s classes or sponsored clubs

-What your overall story is for the Ivy Leagues

4. Prepare a resume. This should be the exact same one for the Common Application. Attach this for additional background

5. Schedule an in-person meeting with your teacher when asking them to write the recommendation. In this talk, make sure you cover items similar to Step #3 - why you’re applying to Ivy League universities, why you think you should get in, what your story is that you’re telling admissions readers, and why you thought they’d be a great recommender. Don’t simply ask them to write a letter, smile politely, and leave it at that. This in-person meeting is crucial to providing your teacher more info about your particular interests

6. GIVE YOUR TEACHER PLENTY OF TIME TO WRITE THE LETTER. A week is too fast. A month should be fine. This is yet another example of how early planning is necessary for Ivy League colleges

7. Followup subtly. If you haven’t heard a response from Mrs. Jones or Mr. Daniels and there’s 1 weeks before application deadlines, politely inquire about the status of your letter

8. Thank them and thank them again! Give them a gift and/or card to express your gratitude. This may not be the last time you’ll ask for their help and they’ve just done something that took up a lot of time

Step #5 is extremely important. Do everything else wrong, but as long as you execute Step #5 well, your recommender will have the info they need to write you something thats personalized and unique. After reading 1000s of these letters, you can quickly spot the genuine, heartfelt ones versus the generic ones.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 10:14 am and is filed under schools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.