

Depending on your academic and professional background, there are three main types of letters that you can request from various referees. Someone who knows you well enough to illuminate your intellectual and personal qualities will write a better letter than someone who has little knowledge of who you are. Who should write college recommendation letters?Ĭollege recommendation letters should be written by someone familiar with your work, character, and accomplishments. Want to know more about the college application process? This video will walk you through it: A strong letter can be the deciding factor between receiving an acceptance letter, an interview invitation, or a rejection letter when the school is faced with two equally qualified applicants. It allows the admissions committee to get a better idea of who you are as a person and what you would be like as a student. They give the admissions board more information about how students view themselves and how others see them.Ī strong letter of recommendation holds substantial weight in admissions decisions. Recommendation letters and personal essays play a significant role in making that happen. This means that they want to know the "whole person" behind the IB or AP courses, grades, and test scores. Most four-year colleges, like the easiest ivy schools to get into, or the best undergraduate business schools, for example, have a holistic admissions process. Their aim is to recommend the applicant in question for a particular college or university.

What are college recommendation letters and why do they matter?Īs the name suggests, college recommendation letters are essentially positive endorsements of an applicant's skills and qualities.
