High School Juniors: Ask your teachers for college recommendations NOW!

Yes, it’s the end of the school year and you are focused on final exams, projects, and gearing up for summer, but… Don’t leave school until you have spoken to your teachers about writing your college recommendation! 

College application deadlines will range from September through January of your senior year and most times you will want to include a teacher recommendation.  Spring of your junior year is the best time to start speaking to your teachers about recommendations.  Here is a checklist to get you through the process:

1-      Identify one or two teachers to ask

These should be teachers you connected with who can speak to your academic strengths.  As long as one recommendation comes from a teacher that taught you in class, it is okay to ask another teacher you worked with closely in a club or activity (ie. the sponsor of the High School Robotics club where you were a team captain).  Make sure to check each college application for how many recommendations they will accept. Do NOT submit more than what is requested. Doing so will risk your top recommendation being ignored!

 2-      Approach your teacher after class and in person

If they agree, ask them if they have a special form or “brag sheet” for you to fill out.  If they don’t have a form, let them know you will email them some “highlights” they can reference.  Be sure to thank them ahead of time for writing your recommendation.

 3-      Provide relevant information for use in the recommendation 

Make your teachers’ jobs easier by providing them with highlights of your experience in their class.  A teacher’s recommendation should be specific to their experience with you.  It should explain how you made an impact in the classroom and how you reacted to the challenges you were presented with.

A couple of questions you may want to answer include: How are you different as a result of being in class? What project in class was the most meaningful to you and why? How do you contribute to classroom discussions? What 3-5 adjectives best describe you in class and why?

 4-      Follow up in September with a list of schools you are applying to and their deadlines

Confirm that your teacher is still able to write your recommendation. Let them know what schools you are applying to and when the recommendation is due.

 5-      Practice patience

Typically, there is a gap between when a recommendation is sent and when your application is marked “complete” due to processing delays. If you are concerned about a recommendation that appears late, you can always double-check with your teacher but do so politely.

 6-      Thank your teacher

This is one of those “above and beyond” duties for a teacher and chances are, your favorite teacher is probably a favorite for many others who are also looking for recommendations.

 7-      Let your teacher know where you were accepted and where you plan to attend

Your teacher spent a lot of time writing you a recommendation and is certainly rooting for your success.  Let them know where you plan to attend so they can congratulate you on all of your hard work!

Looking for more information? Grab my FREE Guide to Great Letters of Recommendation.