Letters of Recommendation

Three types of recommendations:

• Counselor - secondary school report, counselor recommendation letter, recommendation form (more frequently required than students often realize)
• Teacher - letter of recommendation, recommendation form
• Outside/Other recommender - letter of recommendation, recommendation form

Purpose:

• Counselor - to give a holistic view of the student and cover any irregularities on the transcript or obstacles the student has faced
• Teacher (has taught you or is currently teaching you in a class) - to address academic promise
• Outside/Other recommender - (someone that has not been or is your classroom teacher) - if allowed by the college, and can contribute information not covered by the counselor and teacher

Recommendations FYI:

• All teacher and counselor recommendations are uploaded directly to Naviance by South High staff. This is for all types of applications, including the Common App.
• If an outside recommendation is being used through Common App, the recommender will upload through Common App directly. If it is an institutional application, the outside recommender should email the letter of recommendation directly to the College & Career Counselor.
• Not all colleges require teacher recommendations. 
• Fewer colleges allow outside recommenders.  
• An outsider recommender can never substitute for a teacher or counselor's recommendation
• If your college does not require a teacher's recommendation, do not ask a teacher for a letter of recommendation.  Colleges that do not require recommendations will not consider the recommendation as part of the application process.  Teachers need to spend their time and energy on students whose colleges require recommendations.  
• Your college counselor and your teachers put time and effort into your recommendation to write as strong a recommendation letter as possible. This requires you to plan ahead to allow enough time for the recommendation to be completed.