Along with researching your colleges’ deadlines and requirements, you also need to figure out exactly what each one’s policy is toward recommendation letters. Some schools may ask for one or two letters, while others may actually prohibit them outright.
This guide is meant to help you locate the crucial information you need. First, we’ll go over the questions you need to ask. Then, we’ll take you through the process of searching for this info, step by step. To begin, what do you need to know?
What Do You Need to Know About Recommendation Letter Requirements?
Before you can make sure you have all the answers, you need to know what questions to ask. There are a few key answers you need to gather:
- How many letters do you need? More specifically, do you need one from your counselor? From a teacher? If so, do you need one, two, or (in rare cases) three teacher recommendations?
- Does it matter who you ask? Do you need to ask teachers of a certain subject, or can you ask anyone?
- Does your school have any special requirements, like a personal, artistic, or peer evaluation? (This is rare, but applies to a few schools.)
- Can you send a supplemental recommendation? Does your school encourage, discourage, or prohibit extra letters?
- How do your recommenders submit their letters? Do they upload them on to the Common Application or school application? If necessary, can they send them via mail?
- And last, but not least - when’s the deadline?
These are the most important questions that need answers. You should be able to find this information on each school’s admissions website. If it’s not spelled out there, then you should feel free to call up the admissions office and ask.
Some schools won't even read letters if you send them, like those in the University of California system, while others make space on the Common App for you to submit two additional teacher letters, like Brown. More commonly, schools want one or two teacher recommendations, but it's important to check because there's such a range of policies.
Since every school’s website is different (and some are inexplicably confusing to navigate), let’s go through the steps of researching a few popular schools with differing policies towards recommendation letters. Let’s start with schools in the University of California system, and then take a look at the University of Virginia and Harvard.
The journey begins.
How to Search for the University of California’s Recommendation Letter Policy
Your first step for all these schools should be to head to Google. Search for “name of school + admissions” and find its admissions page. PrepScholar also has a large database of colleges and their requirements and admissions rates, so you can find data by searching for “PrepScholar + name of school.”
Every admissions site is a little different, so you may have to do a little digging around before getting to the information you need. Often a page called “Application Instructions” or “Application Checklist” will get you where you need to go, usually along with choosing whether you’re a U.S. prospective freshman, transfer student, or international student.
On the University of California admission page, you’ll see its rec letter policy in a sidebar: “UC does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application. A campus may ask for them later as part of a supplemental review, so be sure to check your email.”
You can see why it’s so important to check policies. Not only does UC not require you to send a rec letter, but it won’t even read one if you do! What’s the lesson here? Always do your research before sending any supplemental recommendation letters.
When you create your online account to apply to a UC school, you’ll see that there’s no tab to invite recommenders. For other schools, this will be part of the school’s app or Common Application.
Now let’s take a look at the University of Virginia, which asks for one counselor and one teacher recommendation.
How to Search for University of Virginia’s Recommendation Letter Policy
Back to Google! Start by searching for “University of Virginia + admissions.” Double check that you’re in undergraduate admissions, by the way, if your college has a graduate school.
Once you get to UVA’s site, you’ll see a dropdown menu where you can click on “Instructions.” These instructions tell you to send “recommendations from one counselor and one teacher.” You can also click on School Forms and Deadlines for more detailed info.
If you’re wondering about UVA’s policy towards supplemental letters, unfortunately its website doesn’t say. Not to worry! A search of “UVA + supplemental recommendation” brings up the UVA blog. According to this blog, UVA doesn’t really want you to send an extra letter, but will consider it if it really adds something significant to your application. Generally speaking, it’s discouraged.
Finally, let’s consider Harvard and its guidelines for recommendation letters.
How to Search for Harvard's Recommendation Letter Policy
The first step should be old hat to you by now. Head over to Google and search for "Harvard + admissions." Once you get to Harvard's admissions page, you can click on "Application Requirements." Then select whether you're a freshman applicant, transfer student, or visiting student.
Here you'll find that Harvard wants to see the evaluation from your counselor and two teacher letters. Compared to other Ivy League schools, Harvard's website is pretty tight-lipped about what it's looking for in teacher recommendation letters. All it really says is, "Ask two teachers in different academic subjects who know you well to complete the Teacher Evaluation forms."
The website does refer you to its posts in the New York Times blog for more insight into the admissions process. According to this blog, recommendations are "extremely important" in the admissions process. Officers read them "with great care" and look for "such personal qualities as character and leadership as well as intellectual curiosity, creativity, and love of learning...[they] can offer evidence of an applicant's potential to make a significant difference to a college community and beyond."
As you can tell, recommendation letters are closely reviewed in Harvard's process, as well as at other selective schools. Also like other schools, Harvard seems to consider supplemental recommendations if they truly add something substantial to your application. At the same time, it neither expects nor encourages them.
Now that you know how to track down your schools' recommendation letter policies, you also want to make sure you know how to submit them.
How Do Your Recommenders Submit Their Letters?
If you're applying through the Common Application, then you'll invite your recommenders to upload their letters. As long as you fill in their name, position, and emails correctly, then the rest is up to your recommenders. The same should go for a school's individual online application.
Since Harvard allows you to submit a supplemental recommendation, it leaves space on the Common Application for you to assign an "additional recommender." If your recommender can't upload her letter online for some reason, you should be able to send a hard copy by mail to the school's admissions office. In this case, make sure to provide your recommender with a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope, and to follow up with her that she sent it off by the deadline.
If you're clear on all the guidelines, then you can communicate them clearly to your recommenders. Let's briefly review what that key info is.
Key Points to Remember
There's a lot of planning that goes into asking for recommendation letters and getting them submitted. Make sure to search online for each of your school's rec letter policies, which should be outlined on its admissions page.
The schools mentioned here don't specify exactly who you should ask for rec letters, but some schools do give guidelines. MIT and CalTech, for instance, instruct you to ask one humanities or social studies teacher and one math or science teacher.
If you still have questions that aren't answered online (unfortunately, sometimes they won't be), you should contact the admissions office directly. The people there will be able to get you the information you need.
Finally, be thoughtful and intentional about who you ask for recommendation letters, whether they're your core recs or supplemental ones. You want to make sure each letter adds something insightful, complimentary, and substantial to your story. If your letters accomplish this, then they can be extremely helpful in tipping the admissions decision in your favor.
What's Next?
Check out these detailed guides that will help you get the best recommendation letters and impress admissions officers:
- How to Request a Letter of Recommendation
- What Makes for a Good Letter of Rec?
- Why Are Recommendations Important to Your Application?
- How Admissions Officers Read Rec Letters
- Recommendation Letters for Harvard
- Examples of Great Teacher Recs and Counselor Recs
