How to Request Letters of Recommendation for Hillsdale
Written by Alexander Green
Almost every teacher has seen it—the urgent email from a student the day a college application is due requesting an immediate letter of recommendation detailing the student’s punctuality and thoughtfulness. However, asking for letters of recommendation doesn’t have to be awkward, nerve-wracking, or last-minute. So, what are letters of recommendation, and what is their purpose?
These letters are an essential aspect of college admission, and are used by colleges to make an assessment of a student’s character and strengths in the classroom. Hillsdale requires applicants to submit two academic letters of recommendation that focus on the student’s time in the classroom. These are typically from past or present teachers. Hillsdale also recommends that students submit a third letter of recommendation that focuses on their character, and these can be from a teacher, coach, family friend, pastor, etc. Letters of recommendation allow application readers to learn what a student is like in different contexts and what those various contexts require of them. Very rarely will the admissions committee know applicants personally, so they benefit from the insight of others as they determine which students would be a strong fit at Hillsdale College. Letters of recommendation can help provide a framework and a personal touch to an application. Asking someone to write you a recommendation can be difficult, so here are some tips to make it easier.
Tip 1: Ask the right person. For the academic letters of recommendation, you want to ask teachers who know you well and can speak to your strengths as a student. These may be your favorite teachers, or they might be the ones who challenged you the most and saw you fight for your grades. Even better, have your favorite teacher write one, and have one who saw your perseverance and grit write the other. You also want to ask teachers who know you personally and can speak to your accomplishments as a student as well as to your character.
For homeschooled students, you may request that your primary educator write you a letter of recommendation (this can be your parent). However, you’ll still need to find another recommender or two. A co-op teacher, online teacher, or your music teacher are good options. Ultimately, we want to hear from those who have seen you in an academic context and know you well. For non-traditional students, it can be useful to have a letter from a recent employer. For transfer students, you may submit letters from college professors. For international students, please make sure the letters are submitted in English and are translated from an official translator.
Tip 2: Make it easy. Realistically, teachers have to write dozens of letters of recommendation each year. You don’t want yours to be forgotten, so ask them early, enter their email address correctly when you submit any form requests, make sure they received the link to submit the letter, be clear when it is due, and if you haven’t heard any updates for a few weeks, send them a gentle reminder. Lastly, life happens. Sometimes, a recommender cannot finish a letter of recommendation for you, so have a backup recommender in mind, and ask your admissions counselor to cancel the request to the busy teacher.
Tip 3: Thank them. Send a handwritten thank-you note to those who wrote you a letter of recommendation. They have invested considerable time in teaching you, getting to know you, and advocating for your college admission. Make sure to thank them for their efforts. Likely, they are the ones you’ll remember well, so keep in touch with them. Teachers love getting updates from their former students.
I remember asking my teachers for their recommendations—it scared me! While I felt presumptuous asking my teachers to tell others what they thought of me, I enjoyed the process of figuring out who had had the most impact on me. Since I was homeschooled, I asked my drum teacher, my shop class teacher, and one of my online schoolteachers to write my letters. While welding and drumming don’t directly relate to academics at Hillsdale, those teachers still assessed my learning style, detailed the times I was frustrated and had to work through difficult welds or practice exercises, and they spoke to how I interacted with others. Whoever you ask to write your letters of recommendation should be able to speak to your academic ability and willingness, your strength of character, and your grit. Good luck!
Alexander Green double majored in English and Spanish at Hillsdale College. He has spent the last four years recruiting the Pacific Northwest and international students for the Admissions Office. He and his wife, Christa (also a Hillsdale grad!) live in Portland, Oregon.
Published in July 2023