I was a sophomore in high school when I first wrote about the importance of recommendation letters for Fastweb. Back then, I had to hunt the internet for tips I could give my audience. Now though, as a senior, I am a veteran in all things recommendation letter related. The only searching I had to do this time was through my memory to reminisce about the steps I executed correctly and the efforts I could have improved upon. I finally have the opportunity to give you some real advice.
If you don’t get anything else from this article, I want you to leave knowing the following: The more personal a recommendation letter is, the better its overall quality will be.
You do not want your teacher to write about your grades or GPA. Though these are important factors in the overall college admissions process, they are already included in other parts of your application. Repeating this data in the recommendation letter will only seem redundant. This space can be better used by discussing your character traits like your strengths, fears, and dreams.
3) Avoid constantly talking about your accomplishments to your teacher. Not only does this make you seem self-absorbed, it also increases the chances of your recommendation essentially reiterating your resume. Remember, the recommendation letter is an opportunity for college admissions officers to see you as a unique individual, rather than a high school student who simply completed a checklist to gain entry into their university.
Don’t be afraid to let your teacher know that you compromised sleep to study for a physics test or that your fear of public speaking paralyzed you on stage in front of a live audience. These smaller details of your shortcomings will make for a more genuine recommendation letter that reflects much more than your grades. This doesn’t mean that you should discuss only failure but let it be known that your success didn’t come easy.
Getting to know your teachers and putting your best foot forward takes a considerable amount of time and effort and you risk wasting it all if you ask for the recommendation too late.
You can base when to ask your teachers for a recommendation letter on when your college application deadlines occur. If you are applying to schools early action or early decision, those applications are usually due early November. Your regular decision applications are typically due early January. Try to ask your teachers at least one month in advance.
At my high school, students are encouraged to ask for recommendations in the second semester of junior year or the summer before senior year. This may seem very early, but it certainly saved me a lot of anxiety before my early applications. Before November, I was responsible only for sending a reminder email about the recommendation letters. I had already done the heavy lifting well in advance.
Asking for Recommendation Letters for College Applications
When and how to ask for letters of recommendation for the college admissions process.

A student shares her expert advice on letters of recommendation for college applications.