College Admissions Guidance

Blog posts about college admissions topics such as essays, extracurriculars,  planning, mental health, etc.

How to Plan For Your Recommendation Letters

future planning networking senior year Apr 10, 2023

Recommendation letters are a crucial component of the college application process, and in this article, I’d like to provide some insights about their nature as well as resources from both myself and other sources.

 

Here’s an advice document detailing how it’s important to build a relationship with your counselor, and what you can do to cultivate it: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vg7uYXn5RFJv1NIuJ9QyuU9WYCAU867hk9MMhy5dpYE/edit?usp=sharing 

 

Use the counselor as an important resource to research scholarship options and also for internship advice they have. Make them feel important. The most important recommendation you get is from the school counselor. Your teacher recommendations matter and you will get those, but this one tends to get ignored and can make a difference. 

 

There is a great article in the Huffington Post on the role this plays and the difference to the college student and ways of getting to it: https://professionals.collegeboard.org/guidance/applications/counselor-tips 

 

Here’s an article that explains the difference between the two types of recommendations and samples of what they can write for you; you’ll see that opportunity at hand. http://www.acm.edu/uploads/cms/documents/writing_the_counselor_letter_of_recommendation.pdf

 

This article talks about the process the counselor takes to write up the recommendation letter: https://professionals.collegeboard.org/guidance/applications/counselor-tips

 

Your relationship with your counselor matters; staying in touch every quarter, getting their advice and affirmation on your plans, that person knowing how hard you are working to balance schedules, almost picturing in your mind what they will exactly write in the recommendation letter. The counselors change at schools, so having an email trail record of the conversations is important if you have to forward that to the next person that takes over so they have context and can give you leverage. 

 

Lastly, take a look at the links below while you think about what recommendation letters you need, and the samples as well:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J0TLKQBMHvDvWDA6EFfqjIgnkxAhqfLbEs5Ad3oqn10/edit?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://blog.prepscholar.com/4-amazing-recommendation-letter-samples

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xW3c-0l8TcBXCKxPB9zIod0dX7ZqOIUAhialzCm_Svg/edit?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VZCK7fbklLVUIQlr1ZWWuAdE0pO1-IdA/view?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K5xpr9TCf30IbczRxp2Qd7DVMIfW1Sy3IQBdq6ahPME/edit?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2017/09/11/essay-advice-counselors-writing-recommendations-students

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MKIOf5ZiN_G84syLb6jMWKBijRKYpxI8/view?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1giFe10FraMYKk7Tf8AFQKjHzKXsJKCaw/view?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TsRoQOL0aoWnPR5vmQgC6Uycvg6XMEeX/view?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QhK7mcjo3TYkYvINy35PKgXp_Elp6xi7r2v_fWfHV3M/edit?usp=drive_web&authuser=1

Join Our Newsletter


 

Download A Copy of our 41 Admissions Facts


Subscribe to our comprehensive email newsletter for the best college applications content regarding your year at high school!

Schedule a Meeting
Contact Us

Phone: +1 (510) 353-3164

[email protected] 

43255 Mission Blvd #102, Fremont, CA 94539