As college application season kicks into gear, many educators are anticipating a small flood of requests from their senior-year students — to write them college recommendation letters. Writing a recommendation letter for a student can be challenging, especially as you want to make it as good as possible, and ensure their success to the best of your abilities, while still being mindful of the time limits and application deadlines inherent in the process. However, there are ways to tackle writing a recommendation letter that make the process less daunting, and less stressful — for you, and for your students! Let’s have a look:

Get Organized!

Many educators will have multiple students asking them for recommendations, and each student will likely be applying to multiple schools — it’s a lot to keep track of! As you start receiving recommendation requests, you’ll need a way to keep them organized. Consider setting up an Excel sheet with the names of the students you’re writing for, due dates and deadlines for the letters, and a color-coding system to track which ones you’re done writing, which have been sent out, and which you still need to start. As the school year gets further under way, and the stresses of class get to you, you’ll be glad you did!

Know Whom You’re Recommending

While no teacher likes to refuse a recommendation request, it’s important to write letters where your energies are best served, and that means students you know best. If you’ve forged a relationship with the student in question, taught them over the course of multiple years, or worked on an extracurricular activity, make a note of that — it’ll come in handy when you’re writing their letter!

Play Up the Personal

College admissions officers read hundreds of recommendation letters every year, many of them form letters. You’ll want your students to stand out from the herd. In addition to singing their praises, both as scholars and as people, remember to make them sound like individuals. If you have an example of a project or particular topic they were fascinated by or where they excelled, describe it in detail. If you have an anecdote that displays their sterling character, good heart, or winning personality, be sure to tell it. When it comes time for admissions officers to read the letters, this will make sure your students sound like individual human beings, ones any college will be lucky to have.

Keep the Audience in Mind

Not all colleges are looking for the same sorts of students, and you should bear that in mind when you’re writing a letter. A student who is applying to art school is speaking to a very different audience than one applying to a college with a strong focus on engineering and tech. Before you start writing, take a look at which colleges the student in question is applying to, and focus your letter to speak to the right audience.

Remember, your students asked you to write their recommendation letters because they trust you, and because you’ve been a good teacher to them — they know they’re in good hands. So long as you keep organized, and keep on top of the dates and deadlines, you’ve got this!

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