Letters of recommendation can play an essential role in the admission decision, particularly at the most selective schools. Shedding light on a student's personal qualities, character, intellect, and motivation, letters of recommendation breathe life into an application and illustrate what can't be captured in grades and scores – what it might be like to have a person on the college's campus and in its classrooms.
For many schools – particularly more selective colleges – letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors are essential for evaluating an application. Colleges read the information in these letters carefully, with an eye for the details and nuance that help them gain a greater understanding of the applicant, whether it's the way a person is in the classroom or the difference they've made in the community.
Here's what the Admissions officers have to say about the importance and evaluation of recommendations in the admission process:
"The admission process, at heart, is an academic enterprise. We're agents, if you will, of our faculty. So it's important for us to try to consider what students might be like in our classrooms. Are they going to be a dynamic presence? Are they going to be a little bit more reserved and take in information but not have any ripple effect on others in the classroom? Those are the kinds of things that go through our minds when reading teacher recommendations.
You should almost hear and see that person in the classroom when a teacher provides a very helpful recommendation, particularly when they talk about how that student has impacted their own teaching style. Often, teachers will give you a sense of how a student interacts with others in the classroom. What does that student do by way of his or her presence to the level of intellectual discourse? That's, again, an ideal faculty recommendation. It can be very exciting because you really do get a sense of what might be like for that person to be in one of your classes. That's what you're trying to envision."
James Washington Jr.
Director of admissions, outreach, and visitor relations, Dartmouth College
Your letter of recommendation should help admissions officers get to know you as a multi-dimensional person, even though they've never met you. It should speak to your personal qualities, as well as your academic ability. To get a personal recommendation letter, you should do two things. First, ask people who know you well. Second, tell your recommender what you'd like her to include in your letter and what values, goals, and experiences are most important to you.
Your recommender should describe an observation, interaction, or incident they had with you in a way that illustrates something important about your character. Your letter of recommendation should be able to "show" and not just "tell" the officers about your personality. The letter shouldn't be a summary of your resume; instead, it should focus on just a few critical aspects of who you are as a student and person.
LORs can reflect a lot about your candidature and are important because:
They validate your resume - Universities often refer to the LORs as a validation of achievements you've mentioned in your resume and application. They serve as positive proof of your time at the school or organization.
They give a 3rd person perspective - LORs serve as a third-person's perspective on your candidature. It substantiates your qualities and offers a professor's perspective to another professor, which makes it more reliable.
Provides insight into your team abilities - To claim you're a good leader or a team player is one thing, but having a teacher attest it with incidents that highlight these qualities is another. It adds to the credibility of your statements, making them more believable.
Since letters of recommendation can make a difference in your application, they should come from someone who has seen you perform in an academic or professional setup. You can have the following options to consider getting your LORs from:
Counselor: A letter of recommendation from a counselor highlights your intellectual and personal abilities. These letters focus on your strengths and contributions rather than academic performance.
Teacher: Letters of recommendation from a teacher highlight skills, achievements, notable traits, academic performances, and growth over time.
External: External LORs come from someone who knows you well but is not a family member.
Even when you decide on teachers you want to write your letters of recommendation, make sure these teachers know you well and have seen you in and outside the classroom, and have been a part of your academic and extracurricular journey during the school years. Pick a teacher with whom you've communicated a lot, shared a bit about yourself, and can speak to who you are as a person.
Sources
Mamlet, Robin, and Christine VanDeVelde. College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step. Three Rivers Press, 2011.
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