Requesting Teacher Letters of Reference For University or

Scholarship Applications

Most teachers are quite willing to support you in your quest to apply to university or for
scholarships. They, too, want you to be successful as you leave us and move to the next phase of
your education. The teacher you ask to support you likely has written many such letters in the
past, and has written letters that have been successful in their purpose. If the teacher knows you
well, the quality of the letter will improve as the teacher will be able to include more personal
information about you. Help the teacher referee by:
 Ask the teacher personally, face to face. Emails are easy, but impersonal. You asking the
teacher to give up their time to do this. Honour the process by doing it in person.

 If the teacher says they are too busy, or do not want to complete a reference for you,
thanks them for listening to you anyway. Teacher code: “I don’t think you want me
writing you a letter of reference” means the teacher cannot support you in your quest.
Perhaps there exists an unresolved issue of lack of integrity, laziness, lack of effort or a
lack of personal knowledge about you that prevents them from writing anything but a
vague and lackluster letter. The teacher knows that kind of letter is never to your benefit.

 Don’t ask teachers to complete references for scholarships that you have little chance to
win, or to universities you likely won’t be able to attend. Don’t waste a teacher’s time.
This teacher is likely going to be asked to complete 10 – 60 letters of reference this year,
and it is very frustrating to go through the trouble of composing a great letter of reference
to find out the student just wanted to “see if they could get accepted”. Applying to an Ivy
League university or a British college may be a really exciting idea for you and your
family, but be realistic. Are you going to be able to afford the $50, 000 - $60, 000 a year
tuition? Do your research in advance, and be absolutely sure you want and qualify for this
academic program or you qualify for this scholarship.

 Ask the teacher with at least two weeks’ notice (three weeks is better) of the deadline for
the letter.

 Keep track of who you ask and check with them a week before the deadline, if you
haven’t heard anything from them. Be polite and ask of there is anything else they need
from you.

 Have a package ready, in case the teacher says yes and seems eager. Include, in a
package for the teacher, all the information the teacher will need to craft the best possible
supportive letter, such as

Letters of Reference October 2016

 o A current high school transcript (available from Ms. Austin in Student Services).
This is not an official one.

o An updated personal resume including academic accomplishments, involvement

in athletics, music, volunteering (CAS) and the like while in high school. (No one
cares about what you accomplished in Junior High, though no doubt it helped
make you who you are now.

o Your self-evaluation of your top three Learner Profile qualities, with specific
examples of how you demonstrate them. This will help the teacher, who is often
asked for exactly those examples.

o All the specifics about the recommendation. Some are personal, some are
academic only, and some want the teacher to comment holistically about the
student.

o What is the format of the recommendation? If is a form to be filled in? Is it a letter

of a certain length drafted by the teacher? How is it to be sent to the organization?
Is it to be emailed? Scanned and faxed? Snail-mailed? Handed to the student to be
mailed with the entire application? Is it an on-line reference? What address does it
go to? If it is being mailed, provide a stamped and addressed envelope to the
teacher.

 Thank the teacher. A thank you gift is not necessary, but a hand-written note is very
much appreciated.

 When you hear from the organization, share the news with your referee.

Letters of Reference October 2016