Are you applying to study at your dream university and are stuck at the Letter of Recommendation (LoR) stage because you do not know how to go about it? Well, you have stopped at the right place. Read on!
An application to any university abroad comprises several documents, and a letter/s of recommendation is a very important part of that package. While any other essay can be written from a personal space, a LoR has to be written professionally. It should convey all the relevant reasons as to why the recommender is recommending you for the course. It works best when it can shed the best possible light on you, showcasing your skills and abilities.
But how do you get the most impactful LoRs from the most relevant people?
Here, we will discuss what a LoR is, its importance in your application process, and how to craft an impressive LoR. Read till the end.
What is a LoR?
A Letter of Recommendation (LoR) is a signed statement from someone who knows you well in a professional capacity or has taught you a subject relevant to the course you are applying for. In simple terms, a LoR is a document created by recommenders who can evaluate your skills, qualities, and capabilities as part of your university admission application.
Why is a Letter of Recommendation important?
Students usually give more importance to other documents like the Statement of Purpose as they feel they are more relevant in getting their admissions. However, a LoR is a very vital document that can play a significant role in the application being accepted or rejected.
Generally, universities ask for letters of recommendation before the statement of purpose. As a letter written by a responsible adult in a relevant position, such as a professor or a manager, LoR plays an important role in validating the achievements, academic/professional skills, and other qualities mentioned in the application. The universities refer to the LoRs to understand your claims and they may even reach out to the recommenders for any further clarification.
Choosing a Recommender
Although you are free to choose whomever you wish to write your letter of recommendation, it is best to be very sure of whom you choose. A recommender should be someone who has known you well in a professional or academic capacity. It is better to choose someone more mature than you rather than a peer. A LoR holds more weightage if it comes from someone holding a strong or relevant position academically or professionally.
Understand that in a LoR, the recommender will be displaying their opinion about you. So be smart about your choice.
It is best if you approach your recommenders well in advance so that there is ample time to discuss what ought to be reflected in your LoR, schedule multiple meetings with your recommenders, and above all, so that you may not lose out a chance of getting recommended by someone of your choice.
Once the recommender accepts to write for you, send a note thanking them for their support with the Letters of Recommendation. Don’t meet them at the end asking for a LoR without prior intimation. These small courtesies go a long way.
Components of an impactful LoR
Depending on whether you are getting your letters of recommendation from a professor or a manager or supervisor from your workplace, your LoR will reflect all or most of the following points:
- Leadership and communication skills.
- Capabilities and accomplishments.
- Student/employee improvement over time.
- Relationship with the student/employee.
- Work Experience.
- Field-based Experience.
- Analytical Skills.
- Knowledge Base.
Let’s examine some of the important points to consider when drafting an LOR.
- Ensure that the duration/context of interaction with the recommender has been mentioned. This helps set the stage for what follows.
- Try to limit the length of your LoRs to 3 paragraphs. That is sufficient space to include whatever needs to be said.
- The relevance of the interaction is much more important than the recommender’s qualification/designation. This means that it matters more in what capacity the recommender knows you than their designation.
- The letter must be on university/company letterhead if a hard copy is asked for. Hard copies are very rarely required these days. But if they are, ensure to keep this in mind when sending them out.
- When writing the LoR, if your recommender makes a note of any quality of yours, in particular, it’d help greatly if they could include examples/incidents to back this up. For instance,
1. If they say you are hard-working, provide examples that indicate this quality.
2. If they’ve said you made for a good Team Leader, let them provide examples of your leadership. - Be very conscious about the length of the letter of recommendation. It must not be very lengthy. At best, it must not exceed a single page with 1-inch margins.
A General Template for a Letter of Recommendation
A letter of recommendation should typically consist of an introduction, the body of the recommendation letter, and a conclusion.
Introduction Paragraph
The recommender will start by introducing themselves, stating their professional position and relationship to you, as well as how long they have known you. They will discuss their impressions of you as an applicant, highlighting your strengths and the work you did together, including specific projects, subjects taught, and labs supervised. They will also mention the mentoring they provided during various projects or competitions to add depth to their recommendation, thereby marking the beginning of the LoR.
Body Paragraph
When writing a letter of recommendation, it’s best to keep the body concise, ideally two to three paragraphs. Each paragraph should highlight a key quality of the applicant observed during work projects, research, presentations, or other professional/academic interactions. Including specific examples that illustrate these qualities provides a clear context for the reader. It’s effective to address the qualities in order of importance to showcase the applicant’s strengths.
Conclusion Paragraph
Confirm that the applicant would be a desirable student, adding any other comments they feel appropriate. Encourage the reader to contact them for additional information or with any questions.
How We Help You Draft A Killer Letter of Recommendation at Galvanize
- At Galvanize we ensure recommenders provide their input by answering a comprehensive list of questions.
- The letter of recommendation questionnaire would entail everything that pertains to the recommender and their thoughts on the student’s work/performance/academics/extracurriculars.
- Next, Galvanize’s LoR generator/software shall collate the responses into a meaningful draft. The letter is still very much a work in progress at this stage.
- Furthermore, our editors work on the output by the generator and ensure the finished letter of recommendation justifies the reasons for the student’s suitability for the said program elegantly and professionally.
- We are not done yet !!. The draft is sent to the student and thereafter the recommender for review and suggestions.
- This is an iterative drafting process, wherein the letter is scrutinized by not just our expert editors but also by the student and recommender. The editor shall accept and contest certain suggestions based on their discretion.
- The editor shall review the changes and update the letter accordingly. We ensure all the parties are satisfied with the outcome. Once we get the green signal, the draft shall be finalized.
There you have it—a letter that would make any university eager to accept you. With these pointers, we recommend that you work on your letter of recommendation right away. If there is time, we suggest you get ready to start looking for suitable recommenders. Leave a comment and let us know how we helped you.
