How to write a good letter of reference for a teen's college ap?

In My Humble Opinion
1

A teen I know asked me for a personal reference. I think he wants it for a college application, as opposed to a job application. I’m happy to give one- he’s a great kid. He got off the high-school track and is trying to get back in the swing of things and hoping to enroll in a college nearby.

What is the current format for this kind of thing, it there is one? Long, short, medium? Half page?

I think it will be like this:

To Whom,
I know Teenager though this channel.
He is awesome because x,y,z.
Please consider him because a,b,c.

Signed
All my info

2

I’ve written only one college reference letter, to a business school, but in general I try to give specific examples of how awesome the person is. You can introduce these with generalities, but don’t stop there.
For instance - he formed a club and got its attendance up to 200, which shows his excellent leadership and marketing abilities.
She organized a fundraiser which raised $10,000 for charity, which shows caring and leadership.

When I ask professors for recommendations from students, I always try to see how the student stands with respect to all their students. That may or may not be relevant for you.

3

I would find out more about exactly why he wants it – is it for college? What college? Is he applying for a scholarship? I work at a college (and review applications), and what I want to know is not only why is this kid going be great at college, but why is he going to be great at MY college.

Obviously, for academic potential we are usually looking at rec letters from teachers, so if you are not his teacher, I don’t expect the letter to go too much into that.

For a letter from someone not a teacher (scout leader, athletic coach, youth group adviser, employer, etc), I would be looking for specific examples (Voyager has good advice) the illustrate qualities such as:

  • Works well independently and is also a good team worker in collaborative situations; takes responsibility to fulfill his commitments. Shares credit. Can manage his time and plan assignments. Can break down a larger objective into specific tasks. Leads by example.

  • Persistent, resilient, can learn from mistakes or set-backs, sees them as opportunities to improve, encourages peers to do the same (even better if you can show examples where an initial set-back led to later success). Rises to meet challenges. Sets goals that are realistic, yet require him to push himself harder.

  • Open to understanding different viewpoints and learning from others; seeks opportunities to engage with different kinds of people; is thoughtful and reflective about new experiences.

  • Intellectual curiosity outside the classroom, pursues interests independently, learns for the sake of learning.

  • Contributor to his community (school, local, whatever); willing to give time and energy to worthwhile projects. On this one, I would always rather see a kid who gets involved with one particular cause, issue, or volunteer initiative in a sustained, ongoing way than a kid who volunteers briefly at a million different things.

Depending on how you know him, you probably can only speak to a few things, don’t try to stretch to include things that you really can’t support with direct examples (because the people reading the application can tell).

Things like polite, respectful, and being generally nice are okay to mention once, but unless that somehow relates more deeply to a specific quality you are trying to convey, we pretty much assume that anyone writing a letter of recommendation thinks the kid is nice.

If you know him as a family friend, don’t spend too much time on this - usually when I read letters from a friend of the family who goes on and on about how long they have known the family, and how great the parents are, I am getting the impression that the kid didn’t have anyone else to ask who could speak to his abilities and potential. Get to the part where you explain the specific role in which you can evaluate him as soon as possible.

A full page letter is generally the most helpful. If it goes much longer, I start skimming unless there is something completely compelling going on. If it’s shorter, I don’t have enough information to go on.

4

First of all, find out for sure who is getting the letter. Is it for a scholarship or just to be admitted to a college? Those are different people with different criteria.

The best way to write such a letter is put yourself in their shoes.
What are they wanting to read and hear about this person?

Another way to approach these kinds of letters is to imagine you are trying to set this person up for an interview with a close friend.
Don’t go overboard and lie, but at the same time, don’t be too vague. Keep it goal oriented, as if your own reputation is on the line if your friend gives them the job.

Again, think more in terms of what the person receiving the letter needs to know and wants to hear.

5

You need to have a sense of what sort of school it is: some sort of schools are more “Is there any reason NOT to take this kid?” and other are more “Is there any reason TO take this kid?”

Colleges want to know these things about a kid:

[ul]
[li]They CAN handle college-level academics.[/li][li]They WILL handle college-level academics.[/li][li]They are honest.[/li][li]That even if they do do well academically, they won’t spend every other spare moment in their dorm room smoking pot and playing X-box.[/li][/ul]
Anything you know about the kid that supports those three things should be emphasized.

In my own rec letters, I often speak about:

[ul]
[li]Evidence of strong reading, writing, or reasoning skills.[/li][li]Ability to learn independently.[/li][li]Integrity, integrity, integrity.[/li][li]Social skills[/li][li]Time-management skills[/li][li]Interests and passions[/li][li]Problem-solving approach.[/li][/ul]

Those last two involve really knowing the kid well, but for competitive schools they make all the difference. They are less important for less competitive schools.

I will also talk about mitigating factors if there is a problem with the application: it’s not like they don’t know his GPA is a 2.8, so it’s on me to mention that that’s because he staying in AP classes while working full time to pay the rent (or he’s only 10th in his class despite the perfect SAT because he spends so much time reading Kant and Pynchon). You mention this kid is getting “back on track”; as a college, I’d want to know that this is NOT a kid whose life is screwed to hell and back and has a world of personal problems but Has A Dream that they can’t possibly follow through on. I’d want to know that this is a kid who is sober, practical, hard-working, and stable enough to make this work.

6

Focus on the first sentence.

It should read something like:

“I am pleased to give <term> recommendation for Joey Jo-Jo Junior Shabadoo for admission into your program.”

Where <term> would range from “my highest” “a strong” all the way down to “a”. Use variations of the other descriptors to suit your style and the situation. (If you write “I am recommending Joey Jo-Jo …”, then they know that you were asked to write a letter and couldn’t think of a polite way to defer.) The rest of the 1st paragraph is short, just a couple more sentences, summarizing Joey Jo-Jo’s main attributes: strong student, hard worker, etc.

Only in later paragraphs do you state: how you know Joey Jo-Jo, how long, how well Joey Jo-Jo did under you, etc. Somewhere mixed in you would mildly fill in your own qualifications to judge Joey Jo-Jo. “As a teacher for 37 years …”

That first sentence is the one that people pay the most attention to and sticks in their minds. You want to impress upon them the level of support you are giving