Do students need letters of recommendation? The short answer is, maybe.
Teacher
Some colleges won’t accept a teacher’s letter of recommendation. Some don’t require one at all but will accept one, and some schools require one.
It is uncommon for a school to require two letters of recommendation from teachers. For this reason, we request that students only ask for second teacher letters of recommendation if it is indeed required.
If you think that you need another letter to support your application to a very competitive school, please confirm that the school will accept another letter before asking a teacher to write one for you. The process to get a letter of recommendation from a teacher:
- Personally talk to the teacher and ask for a letter of recommendation. Give them at least three weeks notice before the college deadline.
- Ask them if they want a LOR form on which you will fill out details about yourself and your successes and challenges in their class.
- If they want a form, you can access it digitally, or physically from the counseling office. Return this form to them ASAP.
- After talking to the teacher, add the request in your Naviance account under Colleges > Letters of Recommendation.
- Choose which colleges the letters will go to; you can either choose certain schools or enter the request as a general request. If you choose specific schools, you will need to regularly update Naviance each time you add a school.
The teacher will not be able to write your letter or upload it to Naviance without each of the steps being completed.
Counselor
Students need to complete the Counselor Information form if they are using the Common App. There are several forms that the counselor must complete on students’ behalf, and the information provided helps them give a better picture.
Most colleges do not require a counselor’s letter of recommendation. However, if you are applying to a very competitive school that accepts a letter, it could help your application.
When completing the counselor recommendation form, you will be asked if you need a letter of recommendation from your counselor. Answer “yes” if you do and “no” if you don't. If it turns out that you do need one after you have submitted the form, just let your counselor know and the form can be reopened for you.
Coach or other recommender
If you need a recommendation from someone who does not work at Jeffco Public Schools, you will need to send them a request through the application you are using.
In the Common App, there is an “Other Recommenders” section. This is where you enter their name and email address. This is managed by you and the outside recommender; GHS cannot upload things to the Common App or other applications for outside recommenders.
If you need a letter from a Jeffco employee who doesn’t work at Golden, let the counseling office know and we can create a Naviance account for them to upload their recommendation.