Letters of recommendation can be a very important part of your college application; strong letters can do wonders for helping you stand out among other applicants. With that in mind, we're sure the question arises: Who should write my letters of recommendation?
A good letter of recommendation will be positive and sincere. In strong letters, it's evident that the writer knows you well - strengths and weaknesses - and even provides examples of you demonstrating certain traits (resilient, self-starter, hard worker, adaptable, leader).
We want someone to speak to your academic maturity – who are you in the classroom and among your peers? What characteristics do you possess as a student and how prepared does that make you for the rigors of college?
The University of Oklahoma will accept up to three letters of recommendation, and we recommend at least one letter come from a high school official such as your principal, counselor, or teacher. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Office of Admissions and Recruitment at 405-325-2151 or email admissions@ou.edu.
Who inspired you? Did you impress someone with your commitment to group work or interest in taking on extra projects? Did you surpass expectations by taking on a sustained project, like a long-term research paper or thesis? Did you show growth or effort in an area that didn't come naturally to you? Did you impress with your dedication to a challenging subject?
You should have a good relationship with the person you ask to write your letter of recommendation. Don’t choose someone just because of their name or title. You want the writer to be sincere and really know you as a person. Otherwise, it could seem like meaningless name dropping. Here's some ideas:
Junior year contacts are typically the best choice for recommenders because they had you recently and for a whole year. Senior year contacts likely don't know you that well yet, and freshman and sophomore year contacts are not very recent.
There are three ways to submit letters of recommendation:
