Letters of Recommendation from Teachers

Did you think your guidance counselor for writing a letter of recommendation on your behalf? We hope so. On “Friday Night Lights,” Connie Britton played a high school guidance counselor. She would have appreciated more thank yous from students, we bet.

If you’re a student who applied Early Decision or Early Action this year and if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to thank your teachers and guidance counselor who wrote your letters of recommendation. These teachers and guidance counselors took time out of their busy lives to write letters on your behalf. It’s not fun to write letters on behalf of so many students each year — it’s quite the hassle. Teachers and guidance counselors would much rather spend their free time outside of school spending time with their families, reading, relaxing, traveling — you name it. Do you think writing letters of recommendation for their students is often at the top of this list? Likely not.

And don’t just say thank you. Write a heartfelt thank you note. It’s the very least you can do. Maybe even include a present with the card if you can. But it’s important that the sentiment is expressed. Letters of recommendation from teachers and guidance counselors are of pivotal importance in the highly selective college admissions process and, so often, student don’t realize how little things might impact this component of the application. Students who say thank you, who take the time out of their day to express gratitude for the efforts made on their behalf — let’s just say that their letters of recommendation are often better than those who don’t. Because those who don’t probably weren’t as thoughtful before the letters were written either.

So go thank your teachers who wrote your letters of recommendation. Go pop your head into your guidance counselor’s office and let him or her know how appreciate you are for their help. It’s the right thing to do!