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Who Should Follow This Page? |
Letters of
Recommendation
Ask Adults to Complete Recommendation Forms
on Your Behalf
Request Letters of Recommendation (or Recommendation Forms) in the last week of September through the first week of October – DON’T DELAY IN MAKING REQUESTS. Your teachers, counselors, coaches, employers, and community leaders receive numerous requests for recommendations and with their busy schedules, they have very limited time. So don’t wait until the last minute to ask.
Requests may include both recommendations for college admission as well as for scholarships. Typically, it takes adult recommenders 2-to-3 weeks to complete requests, so again, submit your requests early.
For each college (and scholarship) application that requires a Letter of Recommendation, ask teachers, counselors, coaches, employers, or community members that know your excellent work and know you as an excellent student and person. If an adult doesn’t really know you or your achievements, they will not be able to write an outstanding letter of recommendation on your behalf.
For colleges not using the Common Application (or Universal Application), you must research each college’s requirements for submitting letters of recommendation. These schools may require teachers and counselors to submit their recommendations online through the college’s website, to mail school-specific recommendation forms, or to mail traditional letters of recommendation on high school letterhead.
For colleges using the Common Application, students must first ask their teachers and counselor which method they are using to submit their recommendations, either (1) submitting electronic letters using Common Application online procedures, or (2) using Common Application paper recommendation forms. After asking each teacher and counselor, students need to either, (1) complete the set-up process so teachers and counselors can submit their recommendations using the Common Application online procedures (instructions for the set-up process are provided below) or (2), print copies of paper recommendation forms from the Common Application website for recommenders to complete and mail to each college.
For teachers and counselors to be able to use the Common Application online procedures, students MUST first "invite" teachers and counselors through the Common Application website. After teachers and counselors are “invited,” they will be notified via e-mail on how and when to submit student recommendations.
Before starting the process of “inviting” teachers and counselors, be sure you (the student) have the following information:
- Your high school's CEEB number and street address.
- Your counselor’s first and last name, title, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number.
- Each teacher's first and last name and e-mail address.
NOTE: If your high school uses the Naviance eDoc method of submitting letters of recommendation, see your counselor for instructions on how letters of recommendation are to be submitted. If your high school does not use the Naviance eDoc method, follow the instructions below (the instructions below apply to the majority of student applicants).
BELOW ARE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO “INVITE” TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS TO SUBMIT ELECTRONIC LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION USING THE COMMON APPLICATION ONLINE PROCEDURES:
1. Register with the Common Application.
- Go to the Common Application home page and click on "Never Registered? Go here" at the center of the page bottom.
- Fill in your name, address, e-mail address, etc.
- Create a user name and password (write down your user name and password!).
- Click the "Register" button on the page bottom.
2. Next, click the ”Education” button in the list on the left side of the page.
3. Fill in all the requested information, including your counselor’s name, title, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number. Click the “Save & Check for Errors” button at the page bottom.
4. Next, click the “My Colleges” button in the list on the left side of the page.
5. Enter the names of each of your colleges, one-by-one, into the narrow window left of the “QuickAdd” button. After you enter a portion of a college’s name, the full name of that college will appear in a drop down window. Click on the full name of the college and then on the “QuickAdd” button. Repeat this procedure for each of your colleges.
6. Next, click the "School Forms" button in the list on the left side of the page.
7. On the next page, check the small box on the top left side of the “Release Authorization” box to give permission to your the high school(s) (and community colleges, if you took classes) to send your records to the Common Application so the records can be forwarded to the colleges you are applying to.
Also, click one of the bubbles under the Important Privacy Notice heading.
Type your name and today’s date in the signature window and date windows at the page bottom.
Click the “Save” button.
8. The next page may indicate your high school uses Naviance eDocs. If so, contact your high school counselor for instructions. If your high school does not use Naviance eDocs, click the "Invite Official" button at the page bottom.
9. In the “Personal Data” box, click the "Counselor" bubble. Also, consider checking the box, “I understand that, upon inviting a School Official, I will no longer be able to alter my Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) release authorization.” Then click the “Send Invitation” button at the page bottom.
10. Next, invite all of your teacher recommenders. On the same “School Forms” page, click on the “Invite Official” button below the name of your counselor.
- In the “Personal Data” box, click the "Teacher" bubble.
- Enter your teacher’s title, name, and e-mail address.
- In the “Teachers Only” box, click on “Select” in the small window and choose the subject taught by this teacher from the pull-down list of subjects.
- Click the “Send Invitation” button on the page bottom.
11. To invite additional teachers, click again on the "Invite Official" button below your counselor’s name in the “Recommenders” box.
12. Repeat the steps described in 10. above to add additional teachers.
13. After you have added all of your teacher recommenders, on the same "School Forms" page, click on the name of one of your colleges shown at the center top of the page in the dark red “My Colleges” box.
14. Near the page bottom, click on “Select” in the small window and choose the name of a teacher who is to send a letter of recommendation to this college.
15. Click the “Save” button at the page bottom.
16. If you wish to have an additional teacher send a letter of recommendation to this college, click the “Add Recommendation” button at the page bottom and repeat 14. and 15. above.
17. Repeat 13. through 16. above for each of your colleges.
18. Your counselor and teachers will be contacted via e-mail from the Common Application website to complete and submit their recommendation online.
You can verify your recommenders have submitted their letters of recommendation by viewing the “School Forms” page at anytime. On the “School Forms” page, click on the name of one of your colleges shown at the center top of the page in the dark red “My Colleges” box.
There will be a notation next to each recommender’s name at the page bottom indicating whether or not they have submitted their letter of recommendation to this college.
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