Letters of rec are probably the
most underlerveraged
(and consequently underutilized) tools in the Ivy League
admissions process.

There’s an obvious reason why - the vast majority of students are
afraid of their professors/teachers/coaches
. They’re afraid of asking teachers for what they really want - an
outstanding, vibrant recommendation letter that highlights
strengths and re-affirms the student’s dominant strengths.

Part of the answer is to just get over yourself.
Be courageous
. That’s something that this post can’t be able to help you
acquire.

But I can help you master the process. And following these steps
will
dramatically increase
your chance of getting the exact letter of recommendation you’d
hoped for - one that Harvard, Princeton, and the best universities
in the world will enjoy reading.

Here it goes:

1. Identify the teachers/profs who a)
know you the best
and b)
you excelled in their classes
. These people will usually write the best letters of
recommendation. Ideally they’re the same ones that sponsor EC/club
activities in which you partake. If not, I’d recommend proposing
some of them to sponsor new clubs that you’d be starting.
Win-win-win

2.
Have your parents meet with that recommender
. I didn’t do this, but in retrospect I should have. Parent/teacher
conferences are a perfect way to strengthen the student-teacher
bond, and a great way for parents to indirectly express their
interests/concerns (and their kid’s wishes) to the teacher. Just
make sure this type of meeting isn’t too intense. I actually
remember reading teacher recommendations which indirectly
referenced controlling parents…these don’t go over too well with your plan to get into Stanford

3. Prepare a letter
addressed individually to that teacher
. In a hand-written letter, talk about the following things:

-
What Ivy League schools and why
- in more than just 2 sentences

-
Why you want that teacher
to write you a recommendation

-A few achievements that
you’re most proud of
, and any successes that were either in that teacher’s classes or
sponsored clubs

-What your
overall story
is for the Ivy Leagues

4. Prepare a
resume/brag-sheet
. This should be the exact same one for the Common App. Attach this
for additional reinforcement

5.
Meet with your teacher in-person
when asking them to write the letter. In this talk, make sure you
cover topics similar to Step 3 - why you’re applying to Ivy League colleges, why you think you should be accepted, what your story is that
you’re telling Admissions Offices, and why you thought they’d be a
great recommender. Don’t simply ask them to write a referral, smile
politely, and
say nothing more
. This in-person chat is
crucial
to providing your teacher more info about your particular case

6.
GIVE YOUR RECOMMENDER PLENTY OF TIME TO WRITE THE REC
. A week is too short. 4 weeks is perfect. This is yet another
example of how early planning is required for Ivy League admissions

7.
Followup politely
. If you haven’t heard a response from Mrs. Davidson or Mr.
Gonzalez and there’s 4 weeks before application deadlines, politely
inquire about the status of your rec

8. Thank them and thank them again! Give them a
gift and/or card
to express your gratitude. This may not be the last time you’ll
ask for their help and they’ve just done something that took up a
lot of time

Step #5 is very important
. Do everything else wrong, but as long as you execute Step #5
well, your recommender will have the info and context they need to
write something thats unique and deep. After reading 100s of these
letters, you can quickly spot the genuine, heartfelt ones versus
the copy-and-paste ones.

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