References and recommendations

  • Choose your references carefully.  Choose teachers and community members who know you and can speak about you as an individual.  Give them at least 2 weeks notice when requesting a letter and give them the form from the college to fill out. Many teachers receive multiple requests for letters and may not be able to drop everything to complete your letter.  Give your recommender a copy of the activities and coursework that you have done in high school. The more information that they have the better the letter will be. Also, once you have a letter be sure to thank the person that wrote it for you. Letters of recommendation should be sent to schools even if they do not request them. If you are a borderline student, a strong letter of recommendation may help your application.