Teacher Letters of Recommendation

Teacher Letters of Recommendation June 4, 2012 Let your teachers know in advance of the summer months that you would love to have letters of recommendation from them. Give them the time to write them! It only makes sense (photo credit: Luc Viatour). Rising seniors, as youre finishing up your junior year, its time to start planning for the college admissions process. One thing you can be doing right now is approaching the teachers who you hope will be writing your letters of recommendation in the fall. Now is the time. Not in the fall. Now. Whys that? Because teachers are overwhelmed during the school year. Theyre busy writing lesson plans, grading tests, and spending time with you. Many teachers prefer to write their letters of recommendation over the summer months when they dont have much to do and arent under a whole lot of stress. The summer is such an easy time for teachers to knock out their letters of recommendation. And when teachers have a lot of time to write their letters of recommendation, you can bet that these letters will inherently be stronger for it. Do you think a teacher will write a better letter in between prepping a class for a midterm and grading a pop quiz or do you think a teacher will write a better letter when they can sit back, relax, and drink an iced tea? The answer is most definitely the latter. We know because weve seen it time and again. There is an advantage to giving your teachers plenty of time to write their letters of recommendation. And your teachers will appreciate you for it. You showed a respect for them and their time. Thats something that, believe it or not, could even come across in your teacher letters of recommendation! So ask your teachers (and always ask nicely) if theyd write a letter of recommendation on your behalf now. Dont wait. Theres absolutely no point in waiting if you already know which teachers you intend to ask. Give them the chance to write your letter on their time, in the comfort of their surroundings. Its the best way to go. Teacher Letters of Recommendation Teacher Letters of Recommendation July 20, 2012 Always thank your guidance counselor and teachers for their letters of recommendation. Connie Britton played a guidance counselor on Friday Night Lights. Thats the only reason shes pictured (photo credit: Jenn Deering Davis). Teacher letters of recommendation are very important in the highly selective college admissions process. Dont forget to thank your guidance counselor and teachers for writing their letters of recommendation on your behalf! Too many students forget to do this. Too many students upset their teachers and guidance counselor by taking their time for granted, by not expressing gratitude for the time they put in out of their busy schedules to write letters on your behalf. Its a big faux pas, one that our students at Ivy Coach are taught never to make. Do you know how easy it is for a teacher or guidance counselor to change some content in your letter of recommendation? Theyre the ones who submit these letters. Its not like you read them. They can write what they want. Theyve got all that power. So why make the foolish mistake of not demonstrating your appreciation for all that theyve done for you? You shouldnt only thank them for fear theyll change your letter of recommendation for the worse. You should also thank them because they did something really nice for you. In life, when someone does something very nice for you, you should thank them and try to do something very nice for them back or at least pay it forward like Haley Joel Osment did in Pay It Forward. So say thank you! In fact, write thank you as well. Write a really nice note to your teachers and guidance counselor. Let them know how much it means to you for them to have done this on your behalf. Let them know that theyve touched you and had an impact on your life. Its pretty simple social psychology. Get it right! And, while youre here, check out this newsletter on Effective Letters of Recommendation.