Recommendation Letters

• Not all colleges require teacher recommendation letters. Check the admissions requirements on each college website on your list.
• More selective schools typically require 1 or 2 teacher recommendations.
• If a teacher letter is not required:
  • Ask your counselor if one is necessary to explain how your particular circumstances affected your academic record.
  • If the college allows it, consider sending a letter anyway if you know of a teacher who will write a supportive recommendation. It can enhance your application and perhaps be a determining factor in scholarship awards.

• The recommendation letter is usually written by a junior year teacher in one of your core subjects (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies or a World Language), unless you are applying to a course of study not included in one of these subjects.
• It is sometimes acceptable to send a letter from a freshman or sophomore year teacher, especially if it was an advanced course and/or you are enrolled in a senior year core course under the same instructor. This teacher would be able to speak to your growth over the course of two or more years.
• Ask a teacher who knows you well and who will highlight your strengths in that subject area in the most positive light.
• Applications may require two letters of recommendation. Some require letters from different areas of study to highlight strengths. If not, ask teachers who will write the strongest letters, irrespective of subject area.
• In some cases, the requirement for teacher letters vary by major of study. For example, many engineering departments require one or two letters from math or science teachers.
• If your application expresses a strong interest in a particular course of study, a strong recommendation letter from a teacher of that subject area will reinforce your claim.
• Consider talking to teachers of courses in which you have overcome obstacles to demonstrate significant improvement and perseverance, even if it was not your strongest subject.

• Ask your teacher in person (preferred) or in email.
• If you're unsure about asking a particular teacher, politely ask if he/she is comfortable writing a letter of recommendation for you. This will give you a sense of whether the teacher will write a strong or weak letter for you.
• Ask your teacher if he/she would prefer to receive your materials via email (as attachments) or in paper format.

All recommendation letters are sent directly from the teachers or counselors who write them, not from students. School policy prohibits the teacher or counselor from giving you the letter, even in a sealed envelope. The colleges and scholarship organizations want to ensure that the teacher/counselor's writing is a candid appraisal of your ability. Thus, the letter must be confidential. Letters are never given to students. 

On the Naviance "My Colleges" tab, click on "Letters of Recommendation" to view the status of your teacher letters.

If you applied through the Common App, the "FERPA and Recommendations" section for each college will display the status of each teacher letter you have requested through Fairview procedures. Note that the Common App provides this feature only if the teacher letter was required or specifically allowed as optional by the college through the Common App.

Ask your teacher directly if your letter was sent to the colleges you listed in your Teacher Recommendation Letters Checklist (see Forms box above).

After you submit an application to a college, most will email you a link to a secure website with a login that allows you to check which required components of your application have been received or are still missing. You will not be able to use this system to check receipt of any letters that were not specifically required by the application. If you feel a need to verify receipt, call the college admissions office.

Some colleges start a file for you as soon as they receive any application components, even prior to application submission. Call the college admissions department for more information.

Not all colleges require a Counselor Letter of Recommendation to accompany your application. Check the freshman admission website for each college on your list to see if one is required.

If a counselor letter is not required, ask your counselor if one is necessary to explain how your particular circumstances affected your academic record. Otherwise, do not ask for or send more letters than are required.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all high schools and colleges that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

To ensure the integrity of your recommendation letters, all colleges require you to sign a FERPA Waiver as part of the application process. There is more information on FERPA and why you should sign it at the top of this page. 

• Speak to your counselor personally at the end of your junior year or by August or September of senior year.
• Complete a Student Questionnaire for Counselor (see Forms above right).
• Ask your parent or guardian to complete a Parent Brag Sheet (see Forms above right).
• Make sure your colleges are listed in Naviance under "Colleges I'm Applying To."
• When you request your Official Transcripts for college applications, indicate on the Transcript Request Record if you will require a Counselor Rec Letter for each college you are applying to.
• Submit these forms to the Counseling Office at least ONE MONTH before your earliest application deadline. Learn more about Application Deadlines.

School policy prohibits your counselor from giving you the recommendation letter, even in a sealed envelope. This confidentiality is required so that the colleges and other recipient organizations are ensured that your counselor's statements are a candid and forthright appraisal of your ability. To this end, you must sign the FERPA Agreement included in your college applications so that your materials will be provided to the colleges in a timely manner.

Depending on your colleges' requirements, your counselor will submit your materials electronically or by mail before or on the application due date.

In the Naviance "Colleges I'm Applying to" page, check the "Office Status" of your college. This will indicate if Counseling Office materials required by that college have been submitted for you.

If you applied through the Common App, the "FERPA and Recommendations" section for each college will display the status of the counselor letter you have requested through Fairview procedures. Note that Common App only provides this feature if the counselor letter was required by the college.

After you submit an application to a college, most will email you a link to a secure website with a login that allows you to check which required components of your application have been received or are still missing.

Some colleges start a file for you as soon as they receive any application components, even prior to application submission. Call the college admissions department for more information.

Other Recommenders are writers of additional letters beyond the teacher and counselor recommendations. They know you very well and have worked closely with you for an extended period of time (a summer or longer) and can therefore attest to a significant experience of yours by providing detailed testimonials of your character, abilities or contributions.

The number and types of Other Recommenders that a college accepts will be clearly specified in its application instructions. Examples include but not limited to:

• Employer
• Professor in a for-credit course taken at a college / summer course
• Internship Supervisor
• Research Director or Mentor
• Athletic Coach
• Extra-Curricular Club Sponsor
• Community Service Director
• Clergy or Spiritual Leader
• Visual or Performance Arts Director or Instructor
• College Access Counselor
• Peer (e.g., friend, co-worker, teammate, sibling)
• Parent or Guardian

Check information resources in the following order:

• College admissions websites usually provide specific information about whether they will accept supplementary information from applicants. Search on the words “supplementary” or “additional” submissions or recommendations.
• The college’s online application system should clearly state the number and types of recommenders accepted. If a college accepts Other Recommenders, you will see a prompt for this. The platforms will restrict the number and types of Other Recommenders you can assign according to the specific college policy.
  • In the Common Application, see the “Recommenders and FERPA” section for each college you are applying to. (Note: You may have to complete the Common App “Education” section first before the Recommenders section is viewable.)
  • In the Coalition Application, see the allowed “Uploads” in the “Colleges” section.
  • If your college (or a specific academic department) allows attachment of a portfolio (for auditions, artwork, research papers, etc.), sometimes the college will instead require or allow you to invite an Other Recommender to upload a letter to be attached to the portfolio. This is usually done through a third party app called SlideRoom, and prompts for these invitations will be clearly visible once you specify that you are submitting a portfolio through the Common or Coalition App systems.
• If neither the college admissions website nor the application system provides you with answers, call the admissions office directly. If the college accepts Other Recommendations, be sure to obtain instructions for how to send the extra letter.

• Your Other Recommender knows you very well and will be able to add another perspective and contribute substantial and relevant information not covered by your teachers or counselor.
• Your Other Recommender is able to confirm claims you have made in your application.
• Your counselor or teachers don’t know you well and you feel that the Other Recommender will provide more context regarding your qualities, enthusiasm about a subject area, or abilities that your other letter writers can’t provide.
• Your college recommends, suggests or encourages it.

If your college does not require a letter but recommends, encourages or accepts an optional letter, then by all means, ask your Other Recommender to write a letter if you think the letter would present or confirm a significant experience of yours.

Note that even if you are restricted from submitting a letter from an Other Recommender, you will find that a reference letter from an employer, research advisor, or other adult with whom you have closely worked could provide support for later aspirations, such as a campus job or position in a lab. Some colleges, especially public institutions, do not accept recommendation letters through their application systems but may require them if you are applying to scholarships or honors programs after submission of your application.

Speak to your recommender personally and confirm that he/she is comfortable writing a letter for you. This should be done toward the end of or soon after your experience so that that they are able to recall and provide detailed anecdotes of your work and character. Writers should be given at least one month (or more if possible) before your earliest application deadline to compose a meaningful letter for you. Inform your recommender that you will not be able to view the letter.

Ask your Other Recommender if he/she is comfortable with uploading letters. If so, obtain the email address that he/she prefers to use for communications from your colleges. If any of your colleges are Common Application or Coalition Application members, this email will also be used to invite your recommender to upload a letter directly to those systems through a provided link.

If your Other Recommender would prefer to directly fax, email or mail the letter to your colleges, tell him/her that you will check with the colleges for further instructions.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a finalized college application list before you initiate this conversation with your Other Recommender. He/she will able to begin composing your letter while you complete your college research. Return with instructions for each college well before your earliest deadline. See next FAQ for more details.

• Obtain the email address he/she prefers to use for communications from your colleges. If any of your colleges are Common Application or Coalition Application members, this email will also be used to invite your recommender to upload a letter directly to those systems through a provided link.

• A written reflection to help clarify and provide detail for what you would like highlighted in the letter.
• Identifying information to be included at the top of your letter. Typically this includes:
• Full name you will be using in your applications 

• Date of birth
• High school name, city and state

• NOTE: Some colleges that accept emailed letters of recommendation have security systems that DO NOT allow them to open attachments. In these cases, be sure you include in your instructions that the letter should be included in the BODY of the email.
• If the letters must be mailed, provide stamped, pre-addressed envelopes. The college admissions website or office will provide you with the exact address.

• If you are applying to several colleges through the Common Application, the system will send an email to your Other Recommender with an invitation to upload the letter directly to the platform. The letter only needs to be uploaded ONCE to the Common Application and your writer will not be able to see your college list. The system will attach the letter to your application for those colleges which you have chosen to assign the recommender. Your recommender will be able to upload the letter before or after your application is submitted.

• If you are applying to colleges through the Coalition Application, the submission process is similar to the Common App procedure.

• Likewise, if you are submitting a SlideRoom portfolio, such as auditions, artwork, or research papers, and the college requires or accepts an accompanying recommendation letter, the submission process is the same through the SlideRoom app. To learn more about SlideRoom portfolio submissions, see Common App Instructions for Fairview Students.

• If your Other Recommender is uncomfortable with uploads through emailed invitations, provide him/her with instructions for alternative means of submission (fax, email or mail) obtained directly from the college admissions offices.

The Other Recommenders section of the Common and the Coalition Application systems will indicate that the letter was submitted by your recommender. You will NOT be able to view the letter.

Other application systems may or may not provide this information. Speak to your letter writer, and if the letter has been submitted, call the admissions office for verbal confirmation of receipt.

After you submit the main application, most colleges will provide a portal and login where you can track all REQUIRED components of your application.

• If the letter was submitted by or soon after the deadline through the Common, Coalition or college-specific application website, the submission status will be clearly noted on the site’s Recommenders page and you can be assured that the college has downloaded the letter and added it to your file.
• If the letter was submitted through the electronic application more than several days after the deadline OR it was submitted via email or snail mail, call the college admissions office and request verbal confirmation.

If you do not see a way to assign Other Recommender letters to a college through its application system, but you feel that an extra letter would attest to a significant part of your experience, call the college admissions office and explain your situation. If they allow you send the extra letter, obtain instructions for the best way to send it (email or snail mail?), and provide your recommender with the necessary information.

One more letter that conveys the same information you have already sent in your completed application will not usually make a difference.

However, a letter that testifies to new AND significant information about you might. For instance, a strong letter from a teacher in a different subject area may offer an alternative perspective of your accomplishments in a classroom setting. If you neglected to send a letter with your application from an employer, professor, coach or any other mentor who can attest to your character or contributions, then by all means, send the letter!