Most students treat the recommendation letter as someone else's job. They ask a teacher, say "whenever you have time," and hope for the best. This approach produces generic letters that help no one.
Strong letters of recommendation come from a deliberate process. Here's how to run it correctly.
Who to Ask
The Common App requires 1 school counselor letter and typically 2 teacher letters. Most schools accept up to 2 additional letters (optional).
Choosing Your Two Teacher Recommenders
Ask teachers who know you well, not just teachers who gave you high grades.
An A in AP Chemistry tells the admissions office you got an A. A letter from your AP Chemistry teacher describing how you proposed an alternative experimental design during a class lab—and how that habit of intellectual curiosity showed up across the semester—tells them something they couldn't get anywhere else.
Best candidates:
- Teachers from junior or senior year (more recent is better)
- Teachers in subjects related to your intended major or demonstrated interests
- Teachers who have seen you struggle, recover, ask questions, or go beyond the assignment
- Teachers who would write you a specific letter, not a form letter
Avoid:
- Teachers who don't remember you well
- Teachers whose class you coasted through without engagement
- Coaches, mentors, or extracurricular advisors for the required teacher slots (fine for optional additional letters)
- Teachers who seem unenthusiastic when you ask
Choosing Additional Recommenders (Optional)
If a school allows an optional third letter and you have a recommender who can speak to a significant dimension of who you are that your teachers can't—a supervisor, research mentor, coach, or community leader—it can add value. Only submit an additional letter if it genuinely adds new information. A third letter that overlaps with the first two weakens your file.
When to Ask
Ask in late May or early June for November applications.
This gives recommenders the entire summer to write, draft, and refine. Teachers who agree in September for a November deadline are often writing under time pressure, and that shows.
The worst approach: waiting until October to ask a teacher for a November 1 deadline. You may get a letter, but you're unlikely to get their best one.
Ask in person, not by email. Schedule a time to talk. Bring a brief document about your goals (see below). Make it a real conversation, not an administrative request.
What to Give Your Recommenders
This is the part most students miss entirely.
Your recommenders need context. Give them a document—sometimes called a "brag sheet"—that includes:
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Your activities and achievements. A brief summary of what you've done outside class. They don't know about the research project you did over the summer or the nonprofit you founded.
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Why you're applying to these schools. What you want to study, what you hope to do with it, why it matters to you.
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Specific memories you hope they'll include. This takes some courage, but it's appropriate: "I remember you asked our class to find a flaw in a classical proof, and I stayed after class for 20 minutes talking through it with you. If you remember that, I'd love for it to appear in the letter." You're not writing their letter—you're helping them remember what made them good at teaching you.
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Any context that might be useful. A health situation, family responsibility, or circumstance that affected your academic performance and that you want reflected.
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Deadlines for each school. Give them a clear list. Some recommenders need multiple weeks; others can turn around a letter in days. Know which type each person is.
How to Make It Easy for Them
Set up Common App or Coalition App's recommender invites early. Send the formal request through the platform as soon as you've had the in-person conversation. The platform sends reminders automatically.
Check in gently, once. A brief email 2–3 weeks before the deadline: "I wanted to confirm you have everything you need for my [School Name] application due [date]. Happy to provide anything else." That's it.
Don't send multiple follow-up emails. One check-in is appropriate. Repeated follow-ups are stressful for the recommender and reflect poorly.
After the Letters Are Submitted
Send a thank-you note. Handwritten is better than email. This is a professional courtesy that most students skip, and recommenders remember the ones who don't.
Update your recommenders on outcomes. When you hear back from schools in March and April, let your recommenders know where you're going. They invested in you. They want to know.
Counselor Letter vs. Teacher Letters: What's Different
Your school counselor letter is different from teacher letters in one important way: the counselor is expected to provide context about your school, your standing within your class, and any institutional context that shapes how to read your application. This letter is less personal and more contextual.
Help your counselor by having a meeting early. Bring your brag sheet. Explain your college list and what you're looking for. Counselors write many letters—the ones who know your story most specifically can contextualize it most helpfully.
If your school has a high counselor-to-student ratio (meaning your counselor handles hundreds of students), it's especially important to make time for a real conversation. Don't assume they know your story.
Common Mistakes
Asking teachers who gave you good grades but don't know you. Grade ≠ strong recommendation. The teacher who watched you grow, struggle, or go beyond the assignment is more valuable.
Giving no materials. "Just write whatever you think is best" guarantees a generic letter. Give your recommender the context they need to write a specific one.
Asking too late. October is late for November deadlines. June is right.
Not waiving your right to view the letters. When setting up recommenders in Common App, you're given the option to waive your right to read the letters. Waive it. Schools give less weight to letters the student has read, and recommenders write more candidly when they know the student won't see the letter.
Use Counsely's Profile Builder to track your recommenders, deadlines, and application materials in one place.