Autumn signifies several things for Americans: Red leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, lots of farmed foods, Thanksgiving, and for high school seniors, college applications. To aid seniors during this journey, Eastlake’s College and Career Center hosts weekly visits from admissions officers representing colleges across the nation. Last week, Alice Flood, the Assistant Dean of Admissions from Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR) visited and offered insight into letters of recommendation.

Many colleges require letters of recommendation from teachers or other figures who can offer additional perspectives on a student, with some selective colleges requiring up to three letters. Flood said that the purpose of these letters is to provide a “snapshot into what you’re like in the classroom,” especially in terms of providing additional context for a student’s transcript.

For example, if a student faced difficulties in a specific course as is apparent in their transcript, but found ways to overcome this, the letter of recommendation could include information on how the student grew or was able to persevere.

The personal nature of letters of recommendation means the best letters often come from teachers who are familiar with the student and therefore able to describe the student’s skills and personality well. Flood suggests students ask teachers who has taught them in a core academic class, such as English, math, sciences, or foreign languages.

In addition, some colleges allow additional letters from other figures such as coaches, managers, or theater directors.

More selective colleges often require letters of recommendation from school counselors as well. At Eastlake, students must submit a Microsoft Forms responding to a set of questions provided by the counseling department in order to request these letters.

As seniors are now deep in the college application process, they must remember that writing letters of recommendation is a time-consuming process. It is important to ask (respectfully) earlier on to ensure that teachers have plenty of time to fit these letters in their busy schedules.

For more resources about the college application process or letters of recommendations, visit the Eastlake College and Career Center website linked here.