How to get great letters of recommendation for grad school

Letters of a recommendation are an important part of graduate school applications. Letters – typically from current/past professors, coaches, mentors or employers – assess an applicant’s character, skills and abilities.

Why are letters of recommendation necessary?Letters of recommendation provide admissions officers with a fuller picture of the student – as well as aspects of the applicant that cannot be ascertained from grades and test scores. Admissions officers are looking for perspective on the applicant’s performance compared to peers as well as a sense of how the applicant would contribute to their program.

What should be included in a letter of recommendation?Letters of recommendation should contain information that is consistent with the applicant’s interests and goals as discussed in other parts of the application, including the personal statement. Consistency, however, does not mean repetition. Admission officers do not want to read three different letters about the same activities and accolades over and over again. Instead, letters should expand upon something already highlighted or provide new information about a unique or exciting aspect of the student that would otherwise be overlooked. For this reason, it is helpful for students to get letters from writers who know them in different capacities. For example, one professor may have worked closely with the student on a research project related to their intended graduate-level degree.

Regardless of who writes the letters, it is important that they contain specific examples, details and anecdotes to support the picture being painted of the student. In short, an effective letter of recommendation should address these questions:

• Who is the letter writer and what is her relationship to the applicant?• What are the applicant’s strengths and achievements?• How has the applicant overcome challenges and/or how has the applicant challenged him/herself?• What sets the applicant apart from his/her peers?/What makes the applicant unique?• How would the applicant benefit from this program in particular?

How many letters of recommendations should be submitted?Each program will specify the number of letters of recommendation required. Most selective programs will require two to three letters of recommendation. It is important to abide by guidelines and not disregard the limit on additional recommendations. If a school does not specify a limit on the number of recommendations, applicants should be mindful of having too many recommendations, which can become repetitive and have the potential to adversely affect a student’s application.

Letters of recommendation are important in the grad school application process because they reflect or describe an applicant from different viewpoints and add to the overall profile of the student. An effective letter of recommendation should add to the admissions officer’s picture of the applicant and allow the admissions committee to make a more informed – and, hopefully, positive – assessment of the candidate.