Letters of recommendation: who to ask, when, and what to give them
The part of your application you don't write — but do control. How to pick recommenders, ask well, and make it easy for them to write something specific.
The question we keep seeing
“Should I ask the teacher who gave me an A, or the one who actually knows me?”
The short answer
- Pick the teacher who can tell a specific story about you, not the one with the highest grade in the gradebook.
- Ask early — before the autumn rush — in person where you can, and give them material to work from.
- Waive your right to read the letter. Almost everyone does, and not waiving it is conspicuous.
Recommendations are the one part of the application written by somebody else, which makes applicants feel powerless about them. You have more influence than you think — not over what's said, but over who says it and how much they have to work with.
Choose the person who has a story
A letter that says you were pleasant and earned an A is a neutral letter. A letter that describes the week you rebuilt a failed experiment, or changed your mind in a seminar and argued the other side better, is evidence.
So the question isn't who liked you most or which subject sounds most impressive. It's who watched you do something difficult. That's usually a teacher from junior year, in a core academic subject, who saw you struggle and keep going.
Ask early, and ask properly
- Ask in the spring of junior year or very early autumn. Teachers write dozens of these, and the good ones fill up.
- Ask in person if you can, then follow up in writing with the details.
- Give them an out. "Do you feel you know my work well enough to write a strong letter?" lets a lukewarm writer decline — which protects you.
- Send the practical details: deadlines, how the school submits, and any forms.
Give them raw material
Most teachers welcome a short page: what you worked on in their class, what you struggled with, what you're applying to study, and one or two moments you remember. You're not drafting the letter — you're saving them from writing about the version of you they half-remember.
How many, and from whom
Most colleges want one counselor letter and one or two teacher letters. An extra letter from a coach, employer, or research supervisor helps only if it shows something the others can't — otherwise it's one more thing for a reader to skim.
Law school is different: letters go through LSAC's letter service, and academic letters are strongly preferred, ideally from professors who can speak to your writing and analysis. A glowing letter from an employer rarely substitutes.
Then track it
Letters are the most common reason an application sits incomplete past a deadline. Ask, confirm receipt, and thank them — then tell them where you got in. Katalyna's recommender tracker keeps the status of each request, and the brag sheet is designed to be handed straight to a writer.
Try it in Katalyna
Recommender tracker
Track who you asked, what you sent them, and which letters have landed.
Frequently asked
No — often the opposite. A teacher who watched you fight for a B can write far more convincingly than one whose class you found easy.
Spring of junior year, or the first weeks of senior year at the latest. A month before the deadline is late, and a rushed letter reads like one.
You shouldn't. Waiving access is the norm, and confidential letters carry more weight with admissions readers.