Getting the letters of recommendation to the requesting college. Again, pretty much follow the rules…some want them sent directly from the recommender to the college, some want them enclosed in a sealed envelope that you include with your application. In the case of direct mailing, you should provide the addressed and stamped envelope to your teacher.

Most times, you don’t get to see what is written…though some faculty give a copy to you…never hurts to ask. But almost always, the recommender is asked to indicate a preference to allow you to see the letter (after it has been received by the college) or not. Some times the recommender is told, before they write the letter, the file is open to the student. Again, it depends on the college policy.

To make sure independently sent letters match up to your application, be sure your name is clearly printed on all relevant materials. In the past, Soc Sec # were commonly used with the name. But in this era of identity theft. you need to so something to make sure there is no mix up. So, perhaps your mailing address should be put on all the documents so there can be little chance things won’t match up with your application. [Hint: I would also put a pre-paid post card in with the letter of recommendation. The post card was addressed to myself and on the back, I created a form that indicated / stated: this is to acknowledge receipt of ____ for (my name) and I would leave space for them to fill in the date. I put a sticky note on the front of the post card saying something to the effect, please mail to confirm receipt of this letter of recommendation.

Additional suggestion:

Think carefully about who you ask….you want to stack the deck in your favor and be sure that person will write an excellent one for you. If you ask a teacher, consider how well they know you.

Your approach is simple. Ask if they would write a letter of recommendation for you. Explain your situation and needs, and provide sufficient information so they can do a good job for you. (The info you provide is detailed below.)

Consider the true intent of the letter of recommendation…to fill the gaps and gain insight about you that don’t show up in a GPA number or test score.

It doesn’t matter so much WHO writes the letter as much as the quality of the content relative to the needs of the committee evaluating your application. (Some schools want a letter from a teacher and one from a non-teacher.)

From my experience on application review and scholarship review committees…most schools are trying to find “outstanding” students. So a key factor in the letter has to clearly set you apart from other applicants. You need to figure out what criteria or characteristics the school values in students they see as outstanding.

Generally, consider what makes a good worker…because in one sense, your job as a student is to study…and the college/university and professors are like your bosses…only they usually pay you with a grade.

Consider you goals…what you want to do, and why you want to do it…and AFTER you graduate, what will you do to with your education and degree. It’s a given one of your goals is to graduate…and what you want to do is associated with your major….but what they don’t know is why you are interested in the major…and once you are educated, what will you do with your degree….and how that might reflect on the college.

And now, the challenge is to find someone who knows you well enough to answer those questions for the school by writing a letter of recommendation for you. And get real, how many of teachers really get to know their students that well…unless of course, you engage them in conversations through the term. Many schools are concerned how well you will study and function in their institution.

If you need an idea of what characteristics make a good worker (and believe me, there are many of them that apply to being an “outstanding student”) visit http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/public/c… and learn about SCANS…a study done by the US Dept of Labor.

Use the SCANS checklist to document your studies and performance. In other words, do a personal inventory using the SCANS checklists. Look at job descriptions for your intended major / profession. Do a SCANS checklist of the job description….compare/contras… it to your personal inventory to see how well prepared you are for that job….any differences point out what you may need to study to acquire the necessary knowledge/skills for that job. Use the SCANS checklists to assess your college course…and know what knowledge and skills you got from them.

Put it all together….be sure the letters of recommendation include specific facts to support the statements…and that key words from the SCANS checklists show up in the letter. Best way to have that happen is to give a draft letter to the person you ask for the recommendation….along with a copy of your resume, transcripts, and a biographical essay or an essay about why you chose your major. In other words, do your homework and provide the writer with all the tools and facts necessary to do a good job. They can toss your draft….or, they can use it…modify it…embellish it….but if they have to start from scratch…and have little to go on…how can you reasonable expect them to do a good job for you?

I have read many letters of recommendation from various sources….its the quality and factual content of the letter that is more important than the title of the writer.

When a teacher writes “one of the best students I ever had” I really have to wonder…so how many students is that? and best is relative…if all of the other students had bad grades and one student was on the high end of the bad grades…that makes the high scorer the “best” of the low grades…

Whomever you approach, do them the courtesy of providing them with the background materials to do a good job…along with sufficient time to do it…clearly stating the deadline, where the letter is to be sent, along with an pre-stamped and addressed envelope.

Sure hopes this helps. Good luck and best wishes…

Yes, you should have the people mail the recommendations themselves. As a matter of courtesy, you should include a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope for them to mail them in.

Do I need to give them separate forms for each school that requires a reccomendation and ask them to mail each to the right school?

Yes, each school will require their own recommendation. You will have to make sure you give the person/people writing the recommendation(s) enough addressed envelopes so that they are sure to mail all you need.

Do I get to see what they write before they send it?

No, you will not get to see what they write.

If I am applying online to most of my schools, how does the teacher reccomendation find its way to my online application? Will the school match it up?

Yes, the school will match it up, providing that all your information is on the letter of recommendation. The forms should have a section for you to fill out with your information, which will be included when your recommendation is mailed in.