How to Ask a Teacher For a Letter of Recommendation

Learning how to ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation Is crucial for maximizing the competitiveness of your application.. A teacher's recommendation letter allows universities to identify your academic and personal strengths from an unbiased third party perspective.

What makes teachers the most suitable people to pen these letters? Well, they have witnessed your academic performance first-hand in the classroom, and they’ve spent enough time with you over the course of the academic year to accurately report on your personality and character. This guide will teach you how and when to ask teachers for letters of recommendation in order to maximize your chances of gaining admission to a great university. 

How to Choose the Right Teachers for a Letter of Recommendation

Before asking for a letter of recommendation from a teacher, you must ensure you’ve chosen the right teacher to ask. Here's how to do that:

1. Choose Teachers Who Know You Well

When seeking a teacher’s recommendation, it's always advisable to ask a teacher who knows you not only as a student but also as a person. Someone who has taught you for many years–possibly even across multiple classes–will be able to attest to your strengths better than any other person. Since you’ll be asking them to review not only your academic performance but also your working habits, character, and approach to collaborating with other people in the classroom, you’ll want to ensure that the writer has multiple stories to support their claims about you.

“You can have the smartest person in the world write a recommendation letter for you, but if that letter has nothing unique to say about you, it makes no difference.” 

Gabe Gladstein - CEO, Indigo Research in Behind the Scenes of Ivy League Admissions

2. Select Teachers from Subjects That Align with Your Interests, but Also Demonstrate Wide-Ranging Academic Excellence

You’ll need to secure two teacher recommendation letters for the vast majority of universities you’ll end up applying to. Some universities have specific requirements for recommendation letters, so be sure to investigate those for schools you want to apply to. Generally speaking, however, if you’re interested in applying for a STEM major, it is best to ask one STEM teacher and one humanities teacher to demonstrate that you can excel in both academic areas. If you’re applying for a humanities major, it’s a good idea to ask a STEM teacher for one of your letters for the same reason. If you’re applying for something related to business or economics, it’s ok to replace one of these letters with one from a business or economics teacher. However, while these combinations represent the ideal teacher recommendation letter strategy, you should prioritize asking teachers who know you well and in whose classes you have earned high marks. What a teacher writes about you is always more important than what they taught you!

3. Consider Teachers Who Are Familiar with Your Extracurricular Involvement

Some of the most compelling recommendation letters are written by teachers who also have spent meaningful time with you outside the classroom. If a teacher supervises a club in which you are active or coaches a sports or robotics team you are a member of, they will be able to weigh in on your leadership and teamwork skills, as well as your drive and moral character. These qualities are highly desirable in college admissions because they demonstrate that the applicant is not just a studious individual, but also a contributing member of the school community. 

4. Think About the Teacher’s Writing Ability

The quality and formatting of the teacher recommendation letter are just as important as the message being conveyed. It's crucial that the teacher writing your reference letter knows you very well, but it’s also important that the teacher is a strong writer who can deliver a neat and presentable letter. If you are unsure about a teacher's writing skills, look back at the feedback they have given you on your past work in their class. Teachers who consistently provide detailed, thoughtful comments on your work are more likely to write strong recommendation letters. Also, be sure to observe their writing in class. Check if their handwriting is legible and if their notes are well-organized.

How to Ask a Teacher For a Letter of Recommendation

Requesting a recommendation letter from a teacher in your school is not as hard as you think. Here are some steps to do it right 

1. Ask in Person

Asking for a letter of recommendation in person is far more courteous and effective than requesting one over email. This is because face-to-face communication allows you to show humility and gratitude, which makes your request more compelling. Going directly to the teacher makes a strong impression right off the bat, and it gives them the opportunity to ask any clarifying or logistical questions to make sure they provide you with the best possible final product. Be sure to ask your teachers for your recommendation letters during a time when they are not busy. This may be after class, during office hours, or during an appointment you made in advance. Avoid asking during exam weeks or any time when there is a pending deadline for group projects or large assignments.

2. Ask During 11th Grade Spring Before Summer Begins

Writing a letter of recommendation takes a long time. It requires the teacher to reflect on their experiences with you and highlight what makes you unique to help you stand out to admissions officers. It is courteous to ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation before summer break so the teacher can use their time off to put time into your letter. If you ask a teacher in the fall when they are overwhelmed with other letter requests as well as their standard professional responsibilities, your letter will likely be rushed and less detailed. Additionally, many teachers get so many requests for recommendation letters that they run out of space in their schedules to write any more of them. Asking before summer break minimizes the chances that the teacher you choose to ask will be at capacity.

3. Include Necessary Details

When requesting a letter of recommendation, it's important that you give your teacher all the information they will need to write a strong letter. You may want to include a list of your accomplishments in a resume, as well as specific examples of your contributions to and successes in that teacher’s class. 

Too much information, however, can result in a letter that merely echoes information already presented on your transcript or resume. Leave to your recommender the task of highlighting what they see as most important, and you'll get a more meaningful letter. Don't forget to include the deadline, submission instructions, and any other required documents.

4. Send a Reminder

Teachers are often juggling so many duties that they might lose track of your recommendation letter deadline. It’s ok to politely remind them of the date by which you need the letter if it seems that they are running behind. Just be sure to remind them at least a week or two before your deadline to give them time to act on your request. In the note, be sure to thank them for agreeing to pen the letter for you in the first place!

5. Show Appreciation and Send a Follow-Up

Having signed off on the letter of recommendation and sent it on its way, the next order of business is to thank your teacher. Here's how to thank teachers for writing letters of recommendation: write a simple ‘Thank you’ note by hand or send a few words in an email message. They will appreciate the gesture and will feel better about you as a person.

Besides saying “thank you,” it's also important to brief your teacher about the status of your application and to inform them of the result, whether you get in or not. Next time, it will be easier to ask for their recommendation in the future since they are aware of your progress and achievements.

How Many Teachers Should You Approach for Recommendation Letters

As we’ve mentioned, the number of teachers to ask for recommendation letters depends on the requirements of your desired college, but generally, most colleges request two teacher recommendation letters. Again, students should double-check since certain institutions may request fewer letters (for example, the UCs don’t request any letters of recommendation). Also, note that quality is far more important than quantity when it comes to recommendation letters. It's better to have two good letters than several generic ones. In most cases, two letters are enough, but have another teacher in mind in case your preferred teachers are unable to write a letter for you.

Tips for Getting the Best Letters of Recommendation

Here’s how you can ensure you get the best letters of recommendation:

1. Ask Early

Start approaching your teachers well before the submission deadlines for your applications. Give your teachers enough time to write a letter full of inspiring details to prove that you are an ideal applicant for colleges.

2. If You Sense Hesitation, Ask Someone Else

Take note of the teacher’s response when you ask for a recommendation. If they appear to be apprehensive or have doubts, this may be a signal that they do not feel capable of writing a compelling letter. In such cases, the best thing to do is to gracefully thank them and look for another teacher who will give a more glowing recommendation.

3. Handle Any Mail-in Duties or Purchases

Taking care of the logistics of the mail-in or email-in duties or any needed purchases is an easy way to facilitate your teacher’s recommendation. If mailing the recommendation will be part of the process, let your teacher know that you will provide a printed and prepaid envelope and a stamp. Offering to assist in the process tells the teacher that you are responsible and thoughtful.

Letter of Recommendation Etiquette

Unless you have a relationship with your instructor, avoid barraging them with emails during midterms or finals. Also, don’t schedule a meeting during school breaks or over a long weekend, as this will signal that you are not respectful of the teacher’s time. Finally, don’t forget that some teachers take the summer months off from responding to their school emails. Plan ahead, and if you need a way to reach the teacher over the summer, ask respectfully for other avenues of communication that the teacher prefers.

Boost Your Application with Research Opportunities

If you follow this guide, you’ll have success securing strong letters of recommendation from your teachers, and this will tangibly strengthen your applications to universities!

If you’re looking for other ways to boost your competitiveness for top universities, check out our Indigo Research program. As admissions become more competitive by the year, being able to list a unique experience will differentiate you from the thousands of other applicants. Working on an interesting research project reflects your initiative, intellectual curiosity, and love for pursuing academic excellence. Indigo Research can provide the perfect opportunity for this kind of student-led independent research experience.

Indigo matches students with mentors who are experts in their fields to complete high-level research projects aimed at publication. Indigo also hosts the Indigo Academic Conference, which allows students to complete such a project and present their discoveries to university-level academics once they finish. Students who deliver their research projects at this conference can also earn college credits from the University of California, Santa Barbara. These credits serve as tangible proof of a student’s ability to work and succeed at the college level. These credits are also accepted and transferable to numerous other major universities in the UK and the US. Institutions in these countries consider credits from established universities like UCSB as a marker of academic discipline and rigor. This transferability opens doors for students pursuing higher education at top-class institutions abroad.

If you want to know how you can finish a publishable research paper while earning college credits from UCSB, check out our Indigo Research programs and book an initial consultation with us today. We offer flexible research opportunities with top university professors that will suit your passions. 

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