Student Guidelines for Teacher Letters of Recommendation for College Admissions

Students: Please follow the following guidelines for requesting recommendations:

  1. Choose teachers (usually two will be enough) who have taught you in Grade 11 or 12, and who know you well.
  1. Once you have identified at least two good choices for teachers to write on your behalf, talk to them privately to ask if they can write enthusiastically on your behalf. Give teachers at least a few weeks to write, tell them which colleges and universities you will be applying, explain that the letters need to be finished and submitted to the HS Counseling Office at least one week before your earliest application deadline, and remind them of the following:
  2. letters should be written on the computer and emailed to Kari to print on AISE letterhead;
  3. teachers should write one letter for a student that can be sent to all of universities to which he or she will apply;
  4. What teachers write is confidential, and is never shown to the students unless the teacher wishes to do so.
  5. After the letters have been printed, teachers need to come by the counseling office to sign them. The HS Counseling Office will make copies and enclose them in college application packets.
  1. On this sheet are questions that you should answer to refresh a teacher’s memory about you as a student. Please help the teacher write effectively for you by answering them as specifically as you can and then handing a completed sheet to the teacher who agrees to write a recommendation for you.

Student printed name:

Teacher:

The printed names of colleges or universities to which you are applying:

The earliest admission application deadline:

The following questions are to be answered by the STUDENT:

  1. What class(es) did you take from this teacher?
  2. What are some of the things the teacher did to make this class interesting or fun for you?
  3. What was your favorite thing about this class?
  4. What about this class ws most challenging or difficult?
  5. What new or improved skills or knowledge did you gain from this class?
  6. Were there any specific books, ideas, issues or activities in this class that made a big impact on you?
  7. How did you contribute to building and maintaining a positive class atmosphere?
  8. What will you remember most from this class?
  9. Is there anything else you want to mention that will help your teacher when writing a letter on your behalf?