A recommendation letter is an essential document for study abroad applications. It is an important document that complements the resume, personal statement and other application materials. If it is properly prepared, it can play an important role in the application.Tips on preparing recommendation letters for studying in the United StatesPreparation for studying in the United States, ,What you need to prepare for a U.S. student visa, ,U.S. Undergraduate Study Preparation Requirements, ,What to do to prepare for studying in the U.S., ,How long to prepare for studying in Europe in the United StatesThe problem.
Tips for preparing recommendation letters for study in the United States
1. Tips for preparing recommendation letters for studying in the United States
1. Format of the letter of recommendation for the United States
Generally speaking, the number of words in a recommendation letter can be written on an A4 paper in size 5 font, taking up 3/4 of the paper. There are no specific requirements, and the structure is usually general-specific-general.
The beginning part: The length should be limited to one paragraph. It should mainly state the purpose of the recommendation letter, how the recommender knows the applicant, how long they have known the applicant, the basic qualities and characteristics of the applicant, and express that the recommender and the applicant are familiar with each other.
Middle content: The length is generally 2 to 6 paragraphs, each with 4 to 6 sentences. This part needs to describe what kind of person the applicant is, combine some specific examples to support the applicant's strengths and characteristics in the opening, and explain why the applicant wants to seek further development;
For example, if the recommender is a professor, explain the courses the student has taken under him. Next, the professor writes about the applicant's performance in the classroom, such as completed research projects, laboratory research, research reports, test scores, classroom attitude, participation in discussion classes, etc., and gives examples.
If the recommender is a work supervisor, first be sure to carefully describe the applicant's job responsibilities and make an assessment of the applicant's work performance, giving examples if possible.
The concluding part is usually 1 to 2 paragraphs long and needs to express the recommender's support and confidence in the applicant and explain why he or she believes that the applicant is a good fit for the school and major.
2. Common Problems in Recommendation Letters
We used all the adjectives to express hard work, talent and excellence, but there was no concrete example. We all know that "facts speak louder than words", but the recommendation letters we showed to foreigners were the exact opposite.
It is unbelievable that applicants are always praised as masters. Many recommenders "particularly admire" their students and say that they have "never met such a genius in their entire lives."
Almost every recommendation letter has this description: all other students in the class were unable to answer a certain question, but this genius stood up and spoke eloquently, "showing profound skills and creativity." But no applicant could tell what the topic was.
Failure to choose the right recommender. A recommender should generally meet the following requirements. First, he must hold a higher position or have more knowledge than the recommendee, so that he has the ability and qualifications to judge the recommendee. Another indispensable condition is that the recommender must have the opportunity to get to know the recommendee. Therefore, a suitable recommender should be a professor who has taught or guided you, or your immediate supervisor at work.
Being sloppy and careless when writing. Many applicants write three recommendation letters for themselves at once (generally three letters are required), and then have three professors sign them. In this way, not only are the contents and tone of the letters identical, but the wording is also similar, and even the grammatical and spelling errors are exactly the same. What's worse, the fonts are exactly the same. This is extremely undesirable.
3. How to submit a letter of recommendation
Tip1: Whether to submit a recommendation letter online or in a paper format is not a choice made by the applicants themselves, but depends on the school's requirements. Most schools now use the convenient and fast online submission method of submitting recommendation letters, which is conducive to speeding up the review of materials. Very few schools with relatively low rankings require applicants to mail paper recommendation letters to the receiving address specified by the school. Of course, there is another situation, that is, when you cannot complete the online recommendation due to some unknown reasons, the school generally provides two solutions, one is to send the recommendation letter to a designated mailbox; the other is to mail the paper recommendation letter to a given address.
Tip2. Before submitting a recommendation letter from a recommender online, prepare three things: first, prepare the recommender's relevant information in English, including his/her name, title, position, work unit and address (including zip code), relationship with the applicant, time of acquaintance, etc. in a word document; second, prepare a PDF version and a word version of the recommender's recommendation letter respectively (printed on blank letterhead with the recommender's work unit and signed by the recommender is more formal and easier to be recognized), and put the PDF version of the recommendation letter on the computer desktop (the names of the three different recommendation letters should be distinguished); third, find a computer without a set user name, and use different IP addresses for three different recommenders to log in and submit, and try to avoid submitting recommendation letters on the computer where the application is submitted.
Tip3: The evaluation of the applicant's various abilities or qualities in the online recommendation should be based on the recommendation of the applicant's relevant abilities in the recommendation letter. The evaluation of other abilities not mentioned in the recommendation letter can be filled in slightly lower or cannot be evaluated; do not give overly high scores.
2. Things to note when writing a recommendation letter for studying in the United States
1. The recommender's attitude should be clear
Does the recommender recommend the applicant with all his or her heart or with reservations? Of course, if the recommender recommends the applicant with all his or her heart and without reservation, then it means that the applicant is excellent enough! The school can feel the popularity and strength of the student, and may treat you differently. Some schools require the recommender to make a comprehensive evaluation of the student in the recommendation form, which means that the applicant is evaluated among the students he or she teaches. Since this evaluation is the recommender's personal evaluation, it can be relatively high.
2. Recommendation letters are both valuable and expensive
When applying for studying abroad, schools usually require 2-4 recommendation letters from the applicant's school mentors, professors, or internship unit leaders. If the school does not impose a mandatory limit on the number of letters, it is recommended that you provide 3 letters. Generally, each recommendation letter can recommend at least 2-3 characteristics of the applicant, so 3 recommendation letters can recommend almost all aspects of the applicant, from learning potential to research ability, from personal character to comprehensive quality.
3. The format of the recommendation letter should be in place
The format of a recommendation letter is basically the same as a general letter, including the letterhead, date of issue, name of the recipient, salutation, body, courtesy at the end of the letter, signature, name of the recommender, job title, work unit, contact information, etc. The information about the applicant mentioned in the recommendation letter should be consistent with other application materials.
4. Make the relationship between the recommender and the applicant clear
In the body of the recommendation letter, it is necessary to clearly state the time when the recommender and the recommended party met (when did they meet and how long did they know each other), the place where they met, and how they met (what is the relationship between them, teacher and student, superior and subordinate, or both). Only when the recommender knows the applicant well enough, the recommendation letter will be more credible.
5. Recommendation letters should show their authenticity
The recommendation letter must be signed by the recommender at the end; the submission of the recommendation letter has nothing to do with the "student": the recommender submits the recommendation letter directly to the website or system designated by the school. If it is a paper recommendation, the recommendation letter must be sealed and signed, and the name must be signed on the seal of the envelope. The front of the envelope should be written to indicate the envelope type "Recommendation Letter".
6. Recommendations should be based on reason and evidence, not empty talk.
Recommendations for students with clear majors generally focus on the applicant's talent, academic potential, learning ability, innovative consciousness, work attitude, personal conduct, etc. This is the core content of the recommendation letter. Pay special attention to the "degree" of the recommendation. An appropriate evaluation of the applicant's foundation, ability and future prospects combined with actual examples will convince the admissions committee more than exaggerated praise.
3. Important points to pay attention to when writing a recommendation letter for studying in the United States
1, try to use the official letter signature paper: that is, printed with the letterhead of the recommender's work unit, the school official paper, so as not to be seen by the school as a recommendation of the applicant this matter is not serious and not serious, affecting the recommendation effect. The signature at the end of the letter or electronic signature can be.
2, the length of the letter should be controlled: it is more appropriate to control it within one page of A4. Even if you have great enthusiasm for the applicant, you should pay attention to the wording and not write the letter too long, which will also have an impact on the recommendation effect.
3, avoid exaggerating, lack of practical content: perhaps accustomed to the domestic secondary school teacher's final evaluation, many letters of recommendation, although they take up a lot of space, but in fact, just a pile of adjectives lacking logic, put on anyone and accurate, so that after reading the applicant can not leave any deep impression. It is far more useful to give an example than to pile on the rhetoric!
4, overstating the applicant's ability: The most important thing for an undergraduate applicant is not past performance but future potential, and as a high school graduate most do not have superb academic performance either.
5, the content of the recommendation letter does not match the identity of the recommender: a pure high school math teacher could never know about the prose you published in a magazine under a secret pen name, or your school teacher does not know in detail the details of your piano studies after school.
6, duplication and redundancy of information in recommendation letters: several recommendation letters or recommendation letters and other materials are not distinguished from each other at a good level, resulting in a lot of information being mentioned repeatedly while some information of interest to the school is ignored.
7, the more letters of recommendation submitted is not the better: for example, some universities explicitly require applicants to provide only 2 letters, "to save time and to be fair to other students, we don't have extra time to read those extra ones." So, they often pick two random letters to read, and under the randomness, maybe those persuasive letters of recommendation of yours are not selected.
【Warm Tips】：Teachers are very busy, writing recommendation letters to you is only obligatory help, so in addition to phone and email requests to teachers, you must meet in person to communicate and explain.
Tips for preparing recommendation letters for study in the United States
Summary of Tips for Preparing Letters of Recommendation for Studying in the United States
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