The Importance of Teachers’ Recommendation Letters
A couple of years ago, by no design of my own, I had 3 students whose academic records and career interests were so similar that I had to do not a double, but a triple take every time I go over each of their case files. All 3 of them are within a 100-mile geographical area (which is coincidentally small considering my students are from all parts of the world). They all want to major in CS-related engineering. They all have similarly impressive GPAs and AP/SAT scores. They all have a solid list of extra-curricular activities. Even their family backgrounds are similar: sons of immigrant parents from the same country, with parents who are all in IT-related jobs.
As far as college application is concerned, their school lists look uncannily alike, but the coincidence is often the product of students who decided on a STEM route early in their “career.” At the back of my mind, I know (read: slightly worried) there’s a chance that these 3 students might even be seen as competitors in the process of admissions consideration.
So, what were their application outcomes? All of them received a good number of admission offers. However, there was only one that got accepted by ALL of their “most-desired” schools: Yale, MIT, Harvard, Carnegie-Mellon and Cornell. While the other 2 ultimately enrolled in top-tier colleges, only one of them (Student “A”) had options and could even negotiate for financial aid packages with the many offers from top-tier schools. What made the difference? As their college application co-pilot, my personal take is: Teachers’ recommendation letters.
Allow me to explain my guess. At 11th grade, A. had already secured guarantees of letters of recommendations from two teachers. One teacher had a template “brag sheet/questionnaire” for all students that she would write recommendations for, so she can get to know what the students are like outside of her class. For the other teacher, A. has proactively written up a similar report about various aspects of his life outside of the class he took with him, so the recommendation letter can be more substantial than a cursory, run of the mill formality. Meanwhile, the other two students did not have any recommendation letters secured till the summer before 12th grade.
Another strong tell-tale sign is the way the students interacted with me, which I believe is also reflective of how they interacted with other adults in their lives. A. exhibited much independence, initiative and maturity; he would ask questions that were specific and would move the work forward without my pushing him; he showed much organizational and multi-tasking skills and was always ahead of deadlines. In the busiest months of the application season, he never for once showed any tint of feeling the pressure crushing down on him. As a teacher who have interacted with hundreds and even thousands of students in my life, he stood out as one of the most memorable ones. I am sure the school teachers who wrote his recommendation letters have noted the strength in his character.
Unfortunately, this aspect of a student’s application is not something that can be cultivated overnight. It may be hidden behind grades and other merits, but in the long run, the inner strength in a person is what will aid him/her in the long marathon of life. Of course, not all hopes are lost. Good recommendation letters can be the deal clincher when you are put side-by-side with other similarly strong applicants. There are things that every student can do to secure some good recommendation letters.
(1) Start early. Starting thinking and scouting for possible teachers at the onset of 11th grade, or even in 10th grade. It’s never too early to plan ahead. You can even find out from the juniors and seniors when you’re in 10th grade who the teachers care about writing recommendations that will make an impact, not just because it’s part of their job description. Such teachers tend to have questionnaires for students to fill out so they can write more than a generic “this student is good, admit her” type of letters.
(2) Establish good relationships. Never underestimate the power of networking. And, yes, networking starts as early as, if not earlier, than high school. It’s not just about relationships with your peers. Your relationships with your teachers are important, and recommendation letters is but one of them that can affect you in longer terms than just high school.
(3) Write a brag sheet. Many teachers have a questionnaire for students to fill out aspects of their lives outside of the academic context that they share with the students. The information will help the teachers write more about the students. Now, if the teacher you want a recommendation from does not have such a questionnaire, feel free to write them a short introduction of yourself and what information you believe would help your teacher write a stronger recommendation. This would also show you to be motivated and that you care.
What if no teachers want to write me a recommendation letter? A student may ask. Professionally speaking, if a teacher is not able to write you a good recommendation, he/she is likely to say no when you ask. Unfortunately, there are students who simply do not shine enough, so they have a hard time getting any teacher to write recommendations. (Yes, such things happen. Just make sure you don’t get yourself into this type of situation!) But, even a student with a low GPA can show teachers his/her sincerity and drive. I once had a student with a GPA of only 2.85, partly because he came to the US pretty recently and struggled with classes which were all taught in English. His never-say-die attitude saved the day as he took whatever it takes to assure his teachers his dedication to improve himself and do better in college. He is currently enrolled in a college that has consistently ranked in the top 70s. My point is, it’s never too late to save the day. (I wrote a separate post about this student: https://www.acaciadmissions.com/admission-case-studies-success-stories/low-gpa-tried-hard-case-study)
