Counselor Letters of Recommendation - College Applications

Counselor Letters of Recommendation for College Applications

It is the responsibility of the student to confirm a counselor letter is required as part of their university application/s. Not all schools require letters, or they may require teacher letters only. It IS NOT necessary to request a counselor letter of recommendation in SCOIR the same way a letter is requested of a teacher. Counselor materials are included with school-provided documents (transcript, school profile). Please DO NOT request a counselor recommendation through the Common App directly, or include your counselor's email address in any sections of the Common App. 

Counselors need your help to ensure your recommendation is strong - we know different students to varying degrees. Provide your counselor with a completed Counselor Brag Sheet (make a copy of this doc to edit). Email your brag sheet answers to your counselor. Be sure to include the date of your earliest application deadline. Brag Sheets should be provided no less than three (3) weeks ahead of a student's first letter deadlines.

Application Deadline	Brag Sheet Due
November 1	October 10
November 15	October 25
December 1	November 10
December 20 - January 15	December 1

Spend the most time on brag sheet questions that apply to you the most or that speak to what you would like the recommender to emphasize. Our goal is to do more than recount your transcript, your brag sheet effort directly impacts letters! Counselor letters are best when they share:

• evidence of academic growth
• skill development
• application of learning in the world
• connections across disciplines
• capacity for impact on the university/learning community

See more about teacher letters of recommendation via the College/Career Center Website.