Ready for college? Want stellar recommendations from your teachers to give you the edge you need for getting into your dream school? RIT’s application checklist is a great guide! RIT shares that a school counselor recommendation is preferred, teacher recommendations are welcome, and any additional recommendation letters will be considered (minimum of 1 recommendation letter required, suggested maximum of 3-5). Recommenders are welcome to email their letters to admissions@rit.edu.
Here are some of my tips on how you can prepare your teachers to write glowing recommendations that will make you stand out.
First, what's so important about teacher recommendations?
Teacher recommendations allow colleges to see what people who know you well think about you as a student. What have you learned? How have you grown? All of that is significant to colleges. They want to learn more about you through your teachers' perspectives, not just your application and essays! These recommendations can provide a more intimate and personal view of you as a student.
This means you want to prepare your teachers with all the information they might need. Writing recommendations isn't easy, even for experienced teachers!
Which teachers should I ask?
I recommend asking teachers with whom you had significant contact. Were you part of a club headed by a specific teacher? Did you ask lots of questions and engage in meaningful conversations? Did you show substantial growth during your time in that class? These are all excellent reasons to ask that specific teacher for a recommendation!
Try to stick with high school teachers, since they have the best view of who you are now. While you may have had amazing elementary teachers, they would know less about your current abilities and character than your recent instructors.
Gathering Information
If you want your teachers to write glowing reviews, make sure to provide them with the right information. You can do this in several ways: giving them a resume, a list of achievements, samples of assignments you completed, or reminders about memorable moments from your time together. It's also useful to let them know which colleges you plan to apply to so they have proper context.
Out of these options, my biggest recommendations are informing your teacher about the colleges you're applying to and providing samples of past assignments and achievements. These help your instructor better remember events throughout the year that could interest colleges! It's even better if the assignment you submit relates to your intended major. For example, submitting a programming assignment would be more relevant than a writing sample if you're applying to a computer science program.
Other Guidelines
Sometimes recommendations must follow specific formats. Most often, this involves word count limits, but sometimes colleges have more detailed requirements. Send your teachers any information about word counts and submission guidelines for each school.
Once you've provided all your information and given the forms to your instructors, you're ready to wait, knowing you've done everything needed. Now go forth and submit those applications with confidence!
About the author
My name is Elizabeth Sanabria, a New Media Interactive Development major, hailing from Yonkers, New York. My life passions are drawing, writing, and as expected for a RIT student- playing video games. I’m ready to share what RIT and the surrounding Rochester area has to offer for prospective students and newcomers!
