How to Ask For a Letter of Recommendation For College Admissions

Lifelaunchr is a regular contributor to the Edmodo Blog. With articles written by Venkates Swaminathan, Founder/CEO of LifeLaunchr, the site provides parents and students with virtual and in-person coaching for all aspects of college planning, starting as early as freshman year. Watch for a new post regularly on the Edmodo blog and find out how you or your student can better prepare for a life-changing experience in college.


For most high-school students, college applications are the first time they’ll ask for a letter of recommendation. But it likely won’t be the last time, since many job applications require letters of recommendation as well. So the process you follow for college is a good learning experience and teaches a skill that can be very valuable later in life.

Why Colleges Ask For Letters of Recommendation

Colleges ask for letters of recommendation to learn something about you that they can’t easily get from your transcripts, test scores, or résumé. Specifically, they want to know:

  • What your character is like: Are you a person of integrity? Have you shown character traits that are important to college success, like resilience and grit?

Tips For Asking For a Letter of Recommendation

All that said, here are some key tips students should be aware of as they approach this process.

  • Start Early: For college admissions, as in life, the process of getting a recommendation starts long before you ask. Build relationships with teachers in school. If it’s a subject you enjoy or a teacher you have a good connection with, build a relationship that could eventually lead to a letter of recommendation.

Make building relationships a habit as early as high school. It’s a habit that will pay off in spades over a lifetime. No matter what career or field of study you pursue, relationships drive success. And those relationships pay off when it comes time to ask for recommendations.

Edmodo

Edmodo is a safe, collaborative online learning environment for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. The Edmodo blog is where the Edmodo team makes announcements and features articles written by top Edtech thought leaders.

Venkates Swaminathan

Written by

Venkates Swaminathan is the founder and CEO of LifeLaunchr (https://www.lifelaunchr.com), a virtual platform that provides expert college admissions coaching.

Edmodo

Edmodo

Edmodo is a safe, collaborative online learning environment for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. The Edmodo blog is where the Edmodo team makes announcements and features articles written by top Edtech thought leaders.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade