• START EARLY! Reach out to teachers, coaches, other recommenders and your school counselor beginning Junior year. Many students will be requesting a letter to be written on their behalf; therefore, it is crucial to begin early.

• Complete and distribute a brag sheet to teachers beginning Junior year or no later than early September of Senior year.

• To create a brag sheet, make sure academic and personal accomplishments, activities, and attributes throughout high school are included and flow from 9th through 12th grade. You can use the Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request Form.

• Complete and submit the School Counselor Letter of Recommendation Form to your school counselor during Junior year or no later than early September of your senior year.

• The forms assist recommenders in writing a more personalized letter of recommendation.

• Include detailed information on the forms that you want highlighted in your letter of recommendation.

• Request that the teacher, coach, and other recommenders submit the letter to your school counselor and inform them that they may also be invited via email to submit the letter through Naviance.

• By early September of senior year, assure that your school counselor receives a copy of the letter from the recommender(s).

Recommended letter minimum = 2

Spring of Junior Year

1. Create a brag sheet by completing the Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request Form.

2. Reach out to teachers to request a letter of recommendation and give them the Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request Form.

3. Target teachers who are related to your college major (e.g. Science teacher for Science major).

4. Submit the online School Counselor Letter of Recommendation Request Form.

5. Request that recommenders forward the letter to your school counselor.

6. Keep in contact with the recommender(s) and your school counselor to check the status of the letter.

7. Send a "thank you" to the recommender(s) for writing a letter to support your application.

Summer Prior to Senior Year

1. Compile a list of recommenders who have written a letter of recommendation and email the list to your school counselor.

2. Reach out to your school counselor to assure the letter was received.

3. If letters have yet to be submitted or you have not begun the process, follow the steps under Spring of Junior Year.

4. It is vital that this process be completed by early September, as there are many components to the application.

September of Senior Year

1. You should have already been in contact with recommenders, distributed the letter of recommendation request form, and received letters.

2. If you have yet to obtain letters of recommendation from teachers:

   • Complete the Teacher Letter of Recommendation Request Form for each teacher.

   • Give the completed form to the teacher when asking for the recommendation letter.

   • Inform the teacher that they will soon receive an email from Naviance inviting them to submit the letter.

   • Ask the teacher to also give a copy of the letter to your school counselor.

     1. You must act swiftly, as application deadlines are quickly approaching and teachers are also writing letters for other students.

3. Submit the online School Counselor Letter of Recommendation Request Form.

4. Request letters of recommendation through your Naviance account.

5. Obtain all letters and assure that your school counselor received them.

6. Keep in communication with your school counselor.