Junior Year Checklist : Ask for Recommendation Letters

Most colleges require at least two teacher recommendation letters and a guidance counselor recommendation letter. Some colleges accept optional teacher recommendation letters and a maximum of 4 recommendation letters. Wellesley High School policy says that you need to notify the teacher at least one month ahead of the deadline. Most teachers ask students in junior year to fill out a questionnaire. They ask students about their successes, failures, strengths, weaknesses, college lists, majors and more. Take some time to carefully answer those questions. Try to stand out among the students. Even if the teacher doesn’t have questionnaire, you can share some information with one. Good luck!

Student A

Communication is an indispensable factor when asking for a letter of recommendation. Teachers may require you to fill out a questionnaire to learn more about you. However, if you have additional information for the teacher, it is recommended that you schedule a time to have a conversation with the teacher to let him/her know more about you other than your academic performance, because you are more than a transcript. It is also suggested to have your teachers in Junior year to write the letter for early applications, because you usually leave the freshest impression for them. Although all teachers will write positive comments, it is still recommended to have the teacher who you think likes you the most to write the letter for the best result. The most important thing is to inform the teacher the application deadline beforehand, ideally 6 weeks. Each teacher may be responsible for more than twenty students, so leaving sufficient time for the teachers will guarantee the quality of your letter. For the same reason, ask for the letter as soon as the teachers open for requests, or their schedule may be full.

Student S

When you choose the teacher to ask for the recommendation, you may usually want to ask the teachers from different areas of study in order to meet the requirements of colleges. Many colleges need one recommendation letter from your humanity class teacher, one from your science class teacher, and one from your guidance counselor. Some colleges ask for a supplemental recommendation letter as well.
When you are deciding which teachers to ask for, think about the teachers who know you best and pay attention to your performance in their class. Also, it is important to hand in the materials and questionnaires to your teachers on time so that they will have enough time to prepare for your recommendation letters.

Student Y

Most colleges require two teacher recommendations, besides the one for your guidance counselor. These colleges usually don’t specify what kind of teachers you should choose, but obviously don’t ask teachers who loathe you or cannot remember your name. It is preferable that they are your junior or senior year teachers, one of a STEM class(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and another of a humanity class. Also, the classes they taught should represent your overall course level—for example, if you are taking all AP and honors classes expect one CP, please don’t ask that CP teacher. To request a recommendation letter, you should ask the teachers in face instead of emails. After you talked to them, you should send an email to say thank you and provide them any information they asked for. They will finish your letter before your first application deadline, and it is your responsibility to remind them of your deadlines.

Student Q