College Admissions Counseling Blog

Good recommendations are important for students applying to college, particularly those who seek admission to the most selective colleges. There are many ways to make sure you get good recommendations. Some of these include the following.

1) Ask the recommender if they can give you a good recommendation
2) Ask teachers who know you well inside and outside the classroom if possible.
3) Ask in advance for the recommendation so that the person has adequate time to prepare the recommendation.
4) Check with students in the grade above you for their opinion on who writes strong recommendations.
5) Provide each recommender a bio sheet about you and your accomplishments including any pertinent information about your performance in that teachers classroom.

However, there are certain ways NOT to get a recommendation. One of these is discussed in a recent blog at The Right Thing. In essence a parent of a student sent a teacher who had been asked to do a recommendation some suggested language to use in the recommendation.

Most colleges want a true evaluation of you from the people who are writing your recommendations. Yes, they understand that generally these will be good recommendations but they are not looking for your parents appraisal of you. Besides insulting the person you asked to write the recommendation, writing your own recommendation is unethical and should never be done.

Finding the right college isn't about cheating to do so. You want to find the right college for you based on who you really are.