Getting into college is exciting for any student. The college application process can be hectic. You’re going to be sending out a lot of applications to colleges of your choice. Your grades and statement of purpose are definitely important factors in deciding which college gives you admission. There is, however, another document that is extremely important to make this decision: a letter of recommendation.
What is a Letter of Recommendation?
A letter of recommendation is a letter written by your teacher, mentor, counselor, guide, or other faculty. The letter of recommendation is meant to act as a reference for students applying to colleges. The purpose of a letter of recommendation is to show you in the best light possible. This helps the admission committee of colleges you are applying to consider you for admission to their institution.
A letter of recommendation includes the recommender’s detailed opinion about your personality, skills, and achievements.
How to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance? Before we get to that, you need to understand:
- Why a letter of recommendation is important
- When you should hand in your request for one
Why is a Letter of Recommendation important?
A letter of recommendation carries a lot of importance when the admission committee of a college is making a decision about whether to grant you admission or not. Your application to college will contain your grades, but a person is so much more than their test scores. A letter of recommendation from the right faculty member can highlight to the admission committee things that your test scores don’t reveal about you.
They are meant to contain personal opinions of the recommender regarding your character, personality, achievements, and skills. By relaying incidents that strongly capture your personality, a letter of recommendation serves as the best representation of your character. It also showcases who is willing to serve as your reference. That’s making a powerful statement (provided you end up getting a letter of recommendation from the right person).
It also helps to highlight how you are the right fit for the college being applied to.
When do you need a Letter of Recommendation?
You will need a good letter of recommendation when you apply to colleges for higher studies. Make sure you get a head start with your teachers, mentors, or others when requesting a letter of recommendation. The reality is that every student applying to go to college will need a letter of recommendation, so teachers are likely to be swamped with requests for letters of recommendation.
You don’t want to end up being the 30th person they have to write a letter of recommendation for. They’re already going to be pressed for time and trying to somehow get through the letters of recommendation they already have to write. When you add your request for a letter of recommendation after the many requests they already have, you’re only going to burden them. They may be able to write a letter of recommendation for you, but it may not be a very good one.
Requesting a letter of recommendation ahead of time is the best way to make sure you get a good letter of recommendation.
What is Naviance?
With the advancement of technology, it has become a lot easier to request recommendation letters. Today, you don’t have to run around trying to set up a meeting with your previous teachers or mentors just to ask them if they can write you a letter of recommendation for the colleges you are applying to.
Naviance makes it easy for you to request a letter of recommendation and get it in a manner that is free from hassles. Naviance is a toolset program that makes it easier for students to develop the skills and other competencies they will need to achieve success after high school.
It partners with high schools as well as K-12 institutes to help students plan their careers better. Founded in 2002, the platform can be accessed by students via their school or district. Every student will have their own district username and password once they log in through their school’s portal or website.
There is a lot that students can benefit from on Naviance. It isn’t just to make the task of requesting letters of recommendation easier for you. You can explore majors and career options, seek out college scholarships, prepare for competitive exams, and do a lot more.
For the sake of this article though, we’re going to stick to how to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance. We’ve outlined below the quick and simple procedure for how to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance. Just follow the steps mentioned to get a letter of recommendation that will impress admission committees of the colleges you’re applying to.
How to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance
Before you log into your Naviance account and request a letter of recommendation from a teacher, be sure to have a conversation with the teacher you have in mind. Give them details of your applications. This way, they won’t be taken by surprise when you add them on Naviance and request a letter of recommendation.
Keeping them informed at least a month in advance is a good way to give them the heads up they need. Once you’ve done that, follow these steps on the Naviance platform to request your letters of recommendation.
- First, log in to your Naviance account and click on the ‘Colleges’ section on your homepage at the upper right-hand side.
- You can either choose the ‘Apply to college’ drop-down option and select ‘Letters of Recommendation.’ Alternatively, you may have already added several colleges to the section, ‘Colleges I’m applying to.’ Once you select that, you will be able to see a ‘Letters of Recommendation’ section written in blue. Clicking on this will direct you to the ‘Letters of Recommendation’ section on Naviance.
- You will then be able to see an ‘Add Request’ button in blue on the recommendation request page. Click on it to choose the teacher you would want to write your recommendation. Pick a teacher from the dropdown list of options in the answer response to the question, ‘Who would you like to write this recommendation?’ You will only be able to select one teacher at a time when submitting your recommendation request. If you’re looking to get letters of recommendation from several teachers, you need to submit a request for each separately.
- Once you have selected the teacher to submit the request to, select the college(s) the recommendation request is for. You can either choose particular colleges from your ‘Colleges I’m applying to’ section or pick the ‘All current and future colleges’ option. This will automatically make your letter of recommendation valid even for any colleges you are still considering applying to but haven’t applied to as yet. A particular college may just require one letter of recommendation from a teacher. In such cases, if you don’t choose a specific college to send the recommendation letter to when you’ve requested letters from more than one teacher, then the letter of recommendation given by the teacher who first uploaded it will get sent on a first-hand basis.
- The third item that you will have to respond to is the ‘Personal note to teacher’ box. The personal note has a maximum character limit of 3000 characters. In this section, you can emphasize any crucial aspects of your applications, such as:
- The major or degree you intend to study
- Earliest application deadline date
- Your first choice schools
- Any qualities you would like highlighted
- Early decision applications
All these are factors that will help your teacher write a good letter of recommendation for you.
- When you’ve filled up these three sections, click on the ‘Submit Request’ option to send your teacher a recommendation letter request.
- After you have submitted the request for a letter of recommendation, you will then be redirected to the recommendations status page. You will be able to see a green status bar at the top of the screen with the name of the teacher displayed along with the number of requested recommendations from the concerned teacher.
- This tab will show you all the recommendation requests you have made to different teachers and the status of these recommendation requests.
Make sure you add a thank you note to the personal note you send each teacher. Writing something as simple as “Thank you for writing a recommendation for me” goes a long way in showing appreciation for your teacher.
What details should a good Letter of Recommendation contain?
A good letter of recommendation isn’t just a description of your abilities by your teacher. It does so much more. You can leave your teacher a personal note asking them to focus on these aspects to make sure you have an excellent letter of recommendation.
- Make sure they mention the nature of their relationship with you. This would include details about the length of your association with them and what capacity it was in. They could be your teacher, mentor, or even research supervisor. The capacity they’ve known you in can make a big difference to your recommendation letters.
- Make sure they specify whether the association was direct or indirect. Getting a letter of recommendation from the Head of the Psychology Department, for example, may seem great if you’re applying for a Psychology major. In reality, though, the Head of the Psychology Department may not have taught you directly, so this wouldn’t accurately represent your abilities. Your Psychology teacher for the past three years, however, may have a better understanding of who you are as a person through their direct observation of you.
- A good letter of recommendation should present your recommender’s evaluation of how suitable or eligible you are for the course under consideration. Grades and scores on competitive exams aren’t required on your letter of recommendation since the college application you send in will already have this information.
- A good letter of recommendation must also highlight how your qualities and skills will benefit the college or university you are applying to.
Try to include these points in your personal note to teachers when applying on Naviance so that you’re guaranteed to get great letters of recommendation from your teachers.
Whom should you ask for a letter of recommendation?
You now know everything you need to about how to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance. But should you be asking every teacher who has ever taught you? Throughout your school years, you would have had several teachers, mentors, guides, and faculty members. Not all of them will be the right person to ask for a letter of recommendation when looking for how to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance. Not everyone’s word is equally important, so, it is imperative that you choose the right person to ask for a letter of recommendation.
Here are some tips to help you decide on the right person/people when you are figuring out how to request a Letter of Recommendation on Naviance.
- Go through your college applications to see if the college requires a letter of recommendation from a specific person. It may be an academic teacher who taught you the subject you are applying for in college. If a particular person is mentioned, make sure you get your letter from them.
- Choose a teacher from your recent years who have known you for a good amount of time so that their opinion will reflect a current understanding of who you are as a person.
- Picking a teacher who has known you outside the classroom is a great idea. Whether it’s the head of a play or a musical performance, they will be able to attest to your character outside the classroom, and that’s something admission committees will love.
- Pick a person who is excited to write your letter of recommendation. They’re likely to end up doing a better job of it than someone who feels that they have to.
Recommendation Letter Request Templates
Template #1
Your address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject line: Letter of Recommendation Request from X (your name)
Dear Mr./Ms. B (teacher’s name),
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you to request if you can be my reference as I apply for y (course) at the z (university/college name and address).
Your classes have always been interesting to me, and they sparked my interest in pursuing this field of study. You may recall that I spent a good amount of time working on aa (relevant topic) when I was in school.
I have also spent my free time taking up projects in the same field of work. My experiences have solidified my resolve to pursue this line of work. I know that I can contribute to the ethos of z (university/college name and address) because of my passion for the subject.
I look forward to hearing back from you on whether you will be able to give me a positive recommendation.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Yours sincerely,
X (your name).
Template #2
Your address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject line: Letter of Recommendation Request from X (your name)
Dear Mr./Ms. B (teacher’s name),
I am writing to you to let you know that I am applying to z (university/college name and address) to pursue a course in y (course). Considering you’re one of the teachers who knew me the best in school, I was wondering if you would consider writing a letter of recommendation for me as part of the requirement for my college application.
I enjoyed being taught by you in school and look forward to expanding my knowledge in the field of y by pursuing this course. You can find a document with all my extra-curricular activities and grades attached to this letter.
I hope you will consider writing me a positive recommendation letter for my application.
I look forward to your reply.
Thank you for being someone I can turn to in need.
Yours sincerely,
X (your name).
Template #3
Your address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject line: Letter of Recommendation Request from X (your name)
Dear Mr./Ms. B (teacher’s name),
I hope when you read this letter, you’re as excited about making aa (subject taught) fun for students as you were when I was studying in p (school name). I wanted to keep you informed that I am applying to z (university/college name and address) to pursue a course in y (course). I am writing to check if you could be a reference.
Working under your supervision on ff (subject specific project) in my last year at school helped me really fall in love with the subject and determined to pursue it further. Because you supervised me so closely, you have the best understanding of the challenges I had to overcome to see the project through.
I was hoping you could include details of the projects we worked on together and what you observed of me directly in our interactions at school. I have also attached a document with some of my other work at school that can help you write a good letter of recommendation.
The deadline for submission of the recommendation letter is d (deadline). Please consider writing one for me before this time.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
X (your name).
Template #4
Your address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject line: Letter of Recommendation Request from X (your name)
Dear Mr./Ms. B (teacher’s name),
I wanted to check with you if you would write a letter of recommendation as I embark on my college life. I am applying for a course in y (course) at z (university/college name and address).
You were my d (subject) teacher in the school for four years, and I learned a lot through your mentorship over the years. Not only did you guide me through difficult projects like (list difficult projects), you also knew me outside of the classroom as a member of the theatre group.
Over the years, my interest in d (subject) has grown. The last internship we had to work on in school convinced me that this is the field of study I want to pursue and make a mark for myself.
Whether it was in the classroom or the theater room, you saw how hard I worked to deliver my best and overcome challenges I faced in school. I believe these qualities of mine will help me even in college, and I will work on contributing to various aspects of college life.
My commitment to social causes is also something you’re aware of, as you’ve seen me preparing for several campaigns and have even attended a few yourself.
I was wondering if you could write me a letter of recommendation emphasizing these points so that my application to college is considered more seriously.
Please note that the deadline is u (deadline), so I will need confirmation before that.
Thank you for teaching me so much over the years and instilling in me the passion for pursuing this field of education.
Yours sincerely,
X (your name).
Template #5
Your address
Date
Receiver’s address
Subject line: Letter of Recommendation Request from X (your name)
Dear Mr./Ms. B (teacher’s name),
I hope you have been keeping well. I am writing to inform you that I am finally applying to my dream college z (college name and address) to study y (course being pursued). You have been instrumental in helping me make this decision. I was wondering whether you could serve as my reference.
No other teacher has seen me through the ups and downs that you have, which is why I feel that you’re the best person to do it. Your classes have always inspired me to strive for more, and that’s what I’m doing with this course.
Determination, social skills, and consistency are what the college is seeking, and I am certain that you can attest to those qualities in me from all the work that you have observed me do in your classes and outside (mention a few examples like projects, extra-curricular activities).
I hope you will consider writing me a positive recommendation letter for my application within the deadline of h (deadline).
I eagerly await your reply.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Yours sincerely,
X (your name).
