Step 12
Recommendations
Recommendation letters give private school admissions teams another perspective on your academic work, character, and contributions. Most applications require current English and math teachers plus a counselor, principal, or advisor. An optional teacher, coach, or music instructor can add value when that person shares something new. Ask early enough for each recommender to write a specific, meaningful letter rather than rushing near the deadline.
Which Should I Do?
- Honestly, I would go with all, as long as they strengthen your application.
- Only submit an additional recommendation if it offers a new, meaningful perspective on your character, skills, or accomplishments different than what is already mentioned by your other recommenders.
- For me, I chose all recommendations, including a third teacher (my French teacher), and an extra one from my Taekwondo instructor.
What if I want to do more?
- Even though you can't include more recommendations, there is another way to include another perspective.
- You can ask the desired mentor to write a short recommendation and then give that to your counselor, if you have one.
- For example, I wanted to include my 7th grade English teacher, so I just included it in the counselor one.
- This way, their words are still present in your application.
When?
Ask your mentors for recommendations from late November to early December. This is to ensure they have enough time to write meaningful LORs.
Which are Required?
- The required recommendations are from your current math and English teacher and your counselor/principal/advisor.
- Third teacher recommendations and outside of school recommendations are all optional.