A budding intellectual, Jon is fascinated by new ideas and has a tremendous capacity to weigh many different opinions at the same time. An excellent student and strong leader, Maria stands out with her strong inner voice and assured sense of self. From Potions to Divination to History of Magic, there's no subject that Hermione hasn't mastered through sheer cleverness, effort, and determination.
This one might only work for magical universities. I'm not suggesting that you leave out major strengths of your students, as you want to paint a dynamic picture of them as multifaceted individuals. But you should highlight the most important ones and avoid writing a list of everything they've done and been involved in. Plus, simply repeating a resume says nothing about your relationship with the student. By highlighting her passion for volunteer work, love of historical research, commitment to sports, or fascination with physics, you're giving insight into what drives a student to do what she does and how she communicates and demonstrates her passions to those around her, including yourself.
To best narrow down your thoughts, I've found it helpful to brainstorm what comes to mind when I think about a student. Is she especially intellectually curious, compassionate towards others, or interested in other cultures? Does she excel at creative problem-solving or at energizing others in a group setting? Once you've chosen the most important qualities that an admissions officer should know, think about specific anecdotes and examples you can give to prove them.
Let her actions speak even louder than your words. We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies.
We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Your recommendation letter should definitely include examples. Think of examples as proof of what you're saying.
You can say a student is intellectual or philosophical, but that doesn't communicate very much or explain how you know that. Additionally, you could describe a conversation you had with the student about the role of technology in relationships and how she challenged you with ideas you'd never thought about before. Not only do stories help the student come to life and differentiate her from others with similar qualities, but they also show that you have a strong relationship with the student.
By showing that you know her well, your letter carries even more weight. In the eyes of admissions officers, you become especially qualified to assess her and provide a meaningful statement of support.
Noah has an outgoing and inspiring presence in our school. As the star of our school's spring musical, he impressed everyone with his beautiful singing voice and flare for comedy. I remember laughing along with the crowd during one of his monologues, wondering how he managed to already have such tangible stage presence.
Monica is remarkable for her caring and kindness toward others. After noticing that some students didn't have appropriate winter attire during last year's polar vortex, she organized a Hope Chest and donations closet, where students could "go shopping" for free gloves, scarves, boots, and coats. She even designed the closet to look like a store, with fancy coat hangers and colorful shopping bags. This extra touch and attention to detail showed me how sensitive and attuned she is to the feelings of others.
To best depict your student in a memorable way, you should be careful with your language. Powerful adjectives and statements of high ranking will stand out a lot more than language that sounds generic or lukewarm.
I found word banks of strong adjectives to be helpful when composing and revising letters. When I first sat down to write, all the cliches bounded into my head, eager to be of service.
Not only would these sound cheesy and unspecific, they also don't do much to differentiate the student from anybody else. Sorry, cliches. I know you were just trying to help. Maybe next time. When drafting, and especially when revising, your letter, be on the lookout for ambiguous, generic, or cliche language. Then think about what words you can use that would be more impactful and communicate exactly what you want to say. Instead of writing about how smart a student is, do you want to comment on her creative problem solving or nuanced understanding of complex issues?
Is she particularly innovative in her insights or thorough in her research? Some powerful words include analytical, insightful, curious, observant, innovative, or mastery of a specific subject area.
Others that fall more in the arena of personal and professional strengths include mature, flexible, generous, empathetic, leader, versatile, ethical, motivated, ambitious, resourceful , and strong communication skills. Of course, these descriptors are not sufficient on their own.
As discussed above, you want to use examples from observations or interactions to illustrate what you mean. Two students might both be ambitious but in very different ways. You always want to differentiate the applicant from all the others and comment on what makes her unique. A high ranking, furthermore, can also go a long way from a counselor, especially one who has worked in the school for years.
Statements like these say a lot. Always ready with a book suggestion and eager to get to English class, Juan is the most literary student I've ever worked with in my twelve years at Cumberland High School.
In terms of academic talent, passion, and drive, Kate is one of the top three students I've known in my ten years as an educator. In my decade counseling students at Forks High School, I've never met a student as self-aware or driven as Edward. Saying someone is "above average" doesn't sound too strong, though, so you should probably leave out a statement of ranking unless it's particularly glowing. Finally, your letter can speak to a student's potential and talk about what you envision her doing at college and beyond.
Admissions officers are aiming to build a class of dynamic, diverse students with a range of talents and interests. Student is an active member of the Feminist Club at Bryan Adams. When Salem College sent their representative to talk to our students, Student attended the meeting. When the admissions representative spoke of negotiating future salaries, Student asked the right questions to dig deeper into income inequality.
Student is interested in being a foremost voice in the movement for equality. She will not be able to vote until she receives citizenship, but she can and will work for the issues that matter to her. Her immigration status bars her from receiving federal funds to finance her education. Her parents are hard-working taxpayers who have contributed to and participated in our economic system. Now their house is the most charming on the block and their daughter has aspirational dreams to attend a prestigious college.
Student, like her parents, has built a strong academic foundation by taking the most rigorous course load available, including 11 Pre-AP classes and 9 AP classes. Is there another way? The organized narrative structure is broken into these parts:. This is your narrative section, where you introduce the key takeaways you want the reps to, well, take away, about your student. Keep it to a paragraph, maybe two. Bring on the bullet points.
This is where you give, in bite-sized pieces, academic context about your student. Are they the only one in the class who took AP U. History their sophomore year? Did their grades plummet due to a nasty bout of mono? Activities, Interests, and Areas of Impact. Again, stick to bullet points. What does your student do out of class? Any clubs, jobs, church, volunteering? How do they invest in their school or community? How do they make the worlds of those around them a better place?
This is where you include those descriptions, and offer a final affirming plug for your student. It tells us the key bits of information we need to know about a student and allows us to gain some context about their experience. Also, from an admissions office leadership level perspective and from someone who looks at hundreds of borderline cases each year, there are days where I might need to sort through files in a day, so having clear headings and gaining information quickly about why we should move forward with this student, once again, would be very helpful.
The headings, bolded areas and bullet points make it easy to find key points and reference during committee. It makes it so easy to get the information quickly. Thanks for changing the format! The bullets allow for me to quickly glance at what the recommender thinks are the most important aspects of the student.
I wish everyone was using it. If I ever switch sides of the desk, I will call you to ask for permission to use the format. It is very reader- friendly. I could easily go to the section I needed and find the information I was looking for. Letter of Recommendation for Jane Doe. Distinctive Qualities. Jane Doe is one of the most influential student-leaders in the short history of Chadwick International. Whether founding a club, captaining a varsity sport, playing in a national honors band, organizing a charity event, helping a new student, or lending an ear to a friend, she is always making a difference in the lives of others.
Our community has benefitted tremendously from her leadership, compassion, and thoughtfulness. Jane is among a handful of pioneers who joined Chadwick International in the second year that the school opened.
She is a very comfortable and considerate friend, who listens to my every word when I experience hardship. I usually don't try to reveal my concerns to my peers, and I try to endure and resolve by myself.
However, I feel comfortable sharing my concerns with Jane, and she always supports my decision. She is also a great student, who strives for academic excellence, and she is a great cross-country captain. I am sure that Jane will spread positive energy to the campus that she will join next year.
She was a founding member of our Key Club and helped apply for the charter for our school. Jane is also a four-year captain of our varsity cheerleading team and a two-year captain of our cross-country team, yet she is probably the most humble student in our senior class.
Collectively, our college counselors have spent more than fifty years in college admission and college guidance, and in that time we have worked with thousands of talented students. We can honestly say that Jane Doe is one of the very best students with whom any of us have ever worked!
She has amassed a sterling record at Chadwick International, both in and out of the classroom, and our entire community will miss her dearly next year. Academic History.
Jane has excelled across the curriculum while enrolled in the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. She had an incredible start in the DP this past year. Additionally, Jane is very mature in how she looks at the world and often inspires others by considering new ideas, thinking deeply, and engaging in the life of our community both in the classroom and out.
With five grades of seven and one grade of five at the end of the junior year, she has established herself as one of the top scholars at Chadwick International.
Jane has performed consistently well in each of her subjects and all of her teachers admire the strength of her intellect. She is a diligent student who has a gift for writing, which enables her to express economic principles and concepts clearly and concisely.
She has scored well on her summative assessments and I have used her writing as an exemplar to other students. She is a joy to have in class and contributes significantly to the learning atmosphere. She has performed well in each assessment, is fully engaged in the learning process, and frequently contributes to class discussion. It has been a pleasure to see Jane breeze through each assessment. It is impossible for us to fully convey the incredible influence that Jane has had on our community in the space of this recommendation.
We know that her application will highlight the extent of her involvement in extracurricular activities, thus we will only focus on a two areas. One cannot think of our cross-country team without thinking about Jane. She has been one of the most influential members of our squad over the past four years, and not merely because of her selections as CI MVP and All-Conference Team. As a ninth-grader, Jane passed out in the middle of a race and had to be rushed to a hospital.
She missed several weeks of competition, but her commitment to the team never waivered. Even her parents questioned why she was attending practices and meets instead of doing her homework or studying for exams.
Nevertheless, Jane became a member of the support team, preparing music playlists for the three-hour round-trip bus rides, cheering on runners during practices and meets, and helping massage sore legs afterwards. In doing so, she became a phenomenal role model to fellow athletes. Jane is an incredibly talented musician.
She has been the first-chair flautist in our Orchestra since the ninth-grade. Not only was Jane selected to participate in the event, but she was also asked to speak on behalf of our school no easy task for any teenager, particularly when asked to speak in your second language. Time and again, Jane has represented our school with maturity and sophistication on national and international stages. Additional Comments. Jane is clearly a leader both in the classroom and in our community, and she will be an exceptional addition to a college campus next year.
Jane is respected and honest, and her opinions and participation are valued by everyone with whom she has made contact. She works hard and sets a great example for her peers. Jane is also is a young woman of extraordinary intellectual capacity without a shred of pretension. We are honored to present her as a candidate for admission to your Class of We urge you to give her thorough consideration for admission.
We know the faculty and staff of Chadwick International join us in giving Jane Doe our strongest and most heartfelt recommendation. Shout-out to Michelle Rasich, director of college counseling at Rowland Hall, who helped curate these examples! Click here. Send this form to your students or print out the PDF and have them fill it out by hand. Congratulations — and phew!
Something that can make this guide better? Email us at help collegeessayguy. Happy reading! Watch the lessons on your own or via the live option.
Graduate School. Counselor Resource Hub. Online Courses. All Counselor Resources. Free Resources. Be sure to ask your professor if they are able to provide a recommendation for you. This gives them an out if they don't have time or don't feel that they can give you a strong reference. Below you will find an example of a letter of recommendation for graduate school and also an example of a letter thanking the reference provider for recommending you. This is an example of a recommendation letter for graduate school.
Download the graduate school reference letter template compatible with Google Docs and Word Online. Business City, NY I highly recommend Emily Smith as a candidate for graduate school. While a student at Salitus, Emily maintained a 3.
She excelled as the top student in the senior-level Teaching Methods course I teach; her other instructors in our department speak highly of her performance in their classes, as well. In addition to her classwork, Emily was also employed in various positions including teaching a museum program to fourth-grade classes in the Saratoga Springs School District, teaching both adults and children to ride horses, and managing horse show participation for a local riding stable.
She accomplished all these tasks with great initiative and with a very positive attitude. Emily has a wonderful rapport with people of all ages, especially the "at-risk" children she worked with at Carroll Hill School and Prospect Child and Family Center. Emily has a special talent working with the children who need more guidance and support than those typically found in a traditional classroom setting.
Her ability to connect with her students and her talent at teaching simple concepts, as well as more advanced topics, are both truly superior.
She has excellent written and verbal communication skills, is extremely organized, reliable, and computer literate. Emily would be a tremendous asset to your program and I recommend her to you without reservation.
If you have any further questions with regard to her background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also review a thank you letter written to show appreciation for a reference for graduate school. Thank you very much for the reference to Anycity Graduate School. I learned so much from you during my undergraduate career at Salitus, and I believe your faith in me gave me the confidence to achieve more than I thought possible.
I just learned that I have been accepted into the program! I really appreciate your support and the time you took to write personally to your colleagues at Anycity Graduate School on my behalf.
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