LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

 WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Recommendations are generally NOT required by state colleges or universities except for unusual circumstances (i.e. foreign born, special fine arts talent, serious illness, etc.).
2. In many instances the counselor recommendation is sufficient.  Fill out autobiographical forms with your counselor or provide them with a complete resume and keep your counselor well informed about your activities and goals.  See the resume example in your Post High School Planning Guide for items that should be included in a resume (goals, education, honors/awards, activities with years of involvement and leadership roles, community and work experience, etc.)
3. Selective colleges will require recommendations from teachers as well as counselors.The most helpful recommendations provide descriptions of your skills and work in the classroom, your comparative ability to other students, along with examples and anecdotes illustrating those skills and personal qualities.  You are strongly encouraged to discuss these with your teachers and your counselor.
4. Coaches, advisors, clergy, and employers are other possible sources of recommendation letters.
5. You have a right under U.S. law to view your recommendation letters, although you can waive that right.  You may want to waive the right to see the letter because some admission officers will note your waiver and that may give added credibility to an honest letter from your teacher or counselor.

STEPS FOR SECURING RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Ask the teachers for a recommendation in person and in advance.Generally, the teachers should be ones you have had either junior or senior year.  Be sure to let the teacher know if you will be asking for more than one recommendation, so they can save their letter to adjust for future recommendations.  In the case of scholarship recommendations, provide the teacher with the scholarship criteria information and provide a resume of your activities, honors, employment and community service.
2. Give the teacher at least 10 school days (or more) notice prior to the date by which you’d like to mail the application. You may wish to have the recommendation sent and indicate the deadline date. Consider speaking to teachers you are considering asking to do recommendations before the summer prior to your senior year and provide them with your resume, so they have the summer to give their recommendation some thought.
3. If the application provides a form for the recommendation, fill out the student portion and have the form ready for mailing before giving it to the teacher.
4. Because the teacher is asked to comment on your intellectual and your personal attributes, you might want to provide your resume of activities and interests beyond the specific teacher’s course.
5. Supply the teacher with a STAMPED envelope addressed to the Director of Admissions (or scholarship organization) along with the recommendation form from the college/scholarship organization.  Fill in the return address as:  Lake City High School 300 South Garden Street, Lake City, MN 55051.  If the college/scholarship requires the letter to be sent with the application, be sure to notify the writer(s) to submit the letter to the Transcript Secretary in the Guidance Office and attach a post-it note on your application listing the names of the letter writers and inform the secretary to hold your application until those letters arrive.  It is your responsibility to make sure your letters of recommendation are sent to the guidance office by your teachers.   Periodically check in with your teachers to make sure they have been sent to the guidance office!
6. Approximately ONE WEEK before the letter is due, thank your teachers for writing the letters for you.  If they have already written their letters, they will appreciate the thoughtfulness; if they have not yet written their letters; your comments will remind them of the deadline.