As students approach their senior year, or forward-thinking students proceed their junior year, a college’s need for letters of recommendation becomes apparent. Wilsonville High School students know of the resources provided, including a Google Classroom elucidating the steps necessary to acquire a letter of rec.

The issue of the matter is ensuring whether students are made aware of everything necessary to receive a preeminent letter of recommendation. Whether this includes etiquette, when, or who to ask, all ideas hold significance when it comes to taking this step for college-focused students. 

Ms. Willard, the College and Career Coordinator at WVHS, reiterates the need to research the college(s) a student is preparing to apply for. Across the USA, statistically 80% of colleges implicate the importance of letters of recommendation, contrasted to 20% that may not even accept one.

More so, colleges differ within their wants of who writes an applicant’s letter of recommendation. Whether they wish for a core teacher, a counselor, or someone else, it’s up for debate concerning each individual university’s preference. In all respects, researching your college(s) views around letters of recommendation is vital before taking steps to receive one. 

A trend among high school students is veering towards senior year acting as the catalyst pushing them to start all steps for applications to colleges, trades, universities, etc. Contradicting this commonality within students, requesting letters of recommendation within a student’s junior year may prove more beneficial. 

Many colleges require letters specifically from a junior year core teacher, and inevitably a teacher will write the most thorough letter within the duration of the year they teach you. Therefore, it is ideal to request a letter of recommendation at the end of a student’s junior year instead of the beginning or middle of their senior year. 

Specifically within a student’s junior year, they should heighten their awareness of connections they craft with their teachers. Certainly, the better a student-to-teacher connection, the better a letter of recommendation. Teachers will produce more personal and thoughtful letters to students that conveyed they truthfully care about their teachers. 

Mr. Fitzgerald, a versatile teacher at WVHS leading 3 different courses, recounts a time when a student’s idea of their relationship, and Fitzgerald’s idea of their relationship did not match. He states, “It’s a great honor to write a thorough and helpful letter of recommendation, one you know will help a student get accepted, but to do that, you have to know the kid.” 

Mr. Fitzgerald mentions that he would never write a bad letter of recommendation, though solely knowing a student based on their senior biographies makes it difficult. Fitzgerald continues, saying that he wishes to highlight both a student within the classroom and outside of the classroom.

Therefore, it is essential for your teacher to know you more than confined to an awkward “hi” exchanged at the beginning of class to write a letter of rec. In the end, he was able to produce a letter, though his confidence that it would be able to help the student was essentially not there. 

Sadie Hibbard, a senior attending Wilsonville High School, notes this relationship between teacher-to-student connection and letters of recommendation. She states,

“I’m asking Jared because during Junior year I feel like he really got to know me as a student, and he will be able to write a personal letter of recommendation about me.”

Besides the if, who, and when, how should a student plan on requesting a letter of recommendation? Senior Kiah Fee states that she’s,

“Planning on asking for a letter of recommendation through a professionally written email.” 

While this is a common route for students, emailing may not exhibit quality etiquette. Ms. Willard responds to this way of requesting a letter of rec, explaining that,

“Teachers appreciate when students meet to have an in-person conversation.” She continues, assuring that the meeting doesn’t have to be formal, just a check-in during lunch or after school, but it marks a positive impression on the teacher. 

Altogether, these tactics may positively help shape your received letter. Letters of recommendation hold authority over significant impact on college admissions, and therefore it is in one’s best interest to go about receiving a letter in the right manner.