College Countdown

A Teacher’s Survival Kit –
Teacher Recommendations for Students

            by Jill F. VonGruben

In a perfect world, students will come to you as early as the spring of their junior year to ask for a teacher recommendation. They will give you plenty of time that’s not right before a major holiday or a grading deadline, will give you the recommendation guidelines and will always say “thanks”.

It’s not a perfect world, but here are some clues to help the process along. When a student asks for a recommendation from you – ask the following:

·          What is it for?

·          What is the deadline?

·          Does it get mailed directly to the university or sent to high school guidance
   office?

·          May I have a copy of your student resume to help fill in my knowledge?

 In addition to personal comments, on some colleges and scholarship forms, you will be asked to rate the following for each student:

·          Academic motivation

·          Academic self-discipline

·          Leadership

·          Warmth of personality

·          Personal initiative

·          Respect accorded by faculty toward the student

 These qualities, along with any personal anecdotes about your relationship with the student, are the extra gems that can be added to any recommendation to truly make it a recommendation that shines.

 And if you are too overwhelmed, or don’t feel comfortable in writing a recommendation for a student, it is better to turn the request down, than to write a poor quality or insincere recommendation. In the long run, that type of recommendation only hurts the student.

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