8 Tips For Great Recommendation Letters

As if completing your scholarship application was not difficult enough – now you need to ask your teachers for letters of recommendation. Ouch!  Not only is this usually an uncomfortable thing for most students to do….they also tend to put it off until the last minute. Not good – it puts you and your teachers in a very bad situation. Here’s some tips to make sure you get the letters you need – when you need them! 

1) Ask for your recommendation letters at least six weeks in advance. Your teachers are busy – and this gives them the time to really write the letter that they want to write and that you need for them to write!

2) Make your request in writing and deliver it in person. If you need something special emphasized in the letter, let them know at this time.

3) Follow up: Two weeks after your request, remind them with a note in their mailboxes, and then 7 days after that, make a visit to their classroom. Remind them in person that your deadline is approaching, and that you will come by in a few days to pick it up. Thank him or her again for their effort.

4) Stop by a few days later – just poke your head in and ask when you can come by and pick up your letter. Get a commitment at this point!

5) Ask for more letters than you really think you need. (awards may vary in the number of letters needed). If you think you need two – ask for letters from 4 people.

6) If you are applying for several scholarship awards ask your teacher or whoever, if they could put their letter on a CD, so that you can print out the letters and bring them back for their signature.

7) Who to ask for a recommendation letter? Obviously, an instructor in a topic that relates to the scholarship you are applying for is important – if you are applying for an art scholarship, then your art instructor s recommendation is very important! But, other letters can be from teachers in unrelated classes, as most scholarship funders look for well-rounded students to make the awards to.

Use your high school letterhead, when possible.

Originally posted 2009-04-15 20:03:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter.

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