whats the minimum time to ask letter of recommendation

I remember worrying about the perfect time to ask for recommendation letters. Too early, I thought, could seem like over-planning; maybe my teachers would even forget by the time deadlines rolled effectually! Too tardily, though, would advise a lack of preparation or could fifty-fifty offend my recommenders. It seemed like the stars had to align just right.

If you've had whatsoever of these same concerns, yous don't have to wonder anymore. This guide will hash out the best times to inquire for recommendations, plus why it's important to have skilful timing in the first identify. To start, what should y'all consider as you figure out when to ask?

What Matters As Y'all Determine When to Ask?

In that location are a few main factors that influence when you should ask for recommendation letters, each of which I'll talk nigh in more particular below. In a nutshell, these factors include the following:

• your college deadlines
• your teachers' preferences
• your school'southward policy
• the twelvemonth in which you had your teachers

Some of these factors are easy to define - like your college deadlines - while others may offer a little more flexibility. Read on to figure out which of these scenarios applies to you, as well equally what it ways for your rec alphabetic character request schedule.

Let's begin with the general (though not necessarily definitive) golden rule:

Enquire At Least a Month Before Your College Deadlines

Unless your school or teachers set other policies, you should ask for recommendation letters about 4 weeks before your higher deadlines. If your deadlines vary, then inquire four weeks before your primeval one. What exactly does this look like?

If you're applying to meet a Nov 1st early action or early decision borderline, then you should enquire your teachers by Oct 1st. If your deadline's November 15, then ask by Oct 15th. You lot get the idea.

If your deadlines are regular conclusion, then they might be around January 1st or January 15th. In this situation, you could ask by the time December rolls effectually. However, consider everything that goes on in December.

December is total of midterms, which means lots of grading for teachers, plus many days off from school. You can also assume that most students accept made their rec letter requests earlier in the semester.

For regular decision deadlines, I would suggest asking past mid-November at the latest, to take into account the busy schedule and holiday days in the winter months.

Yous may be wondering why teachers need a month to write a alphabetic character. For one thing, they're not but writing you a alphabetic character - some teachers have dozens of letters to write, and well-nigh counselors have hundreds! Besides that, rec letters accept time and thought to do well. You don't want a rushed, subpar letter considering you waited likewise long to ask for it.

While giving your teachers about a calendar month before your deadlines is generally a safe rule, it's non the end-all, be-all reply. Your teachers and schoolhouse might tell you lot to ask even earlier. Let's consider what policies teachers set, followed by what your school guidance section might tell you to do.

Every instructor might have their own personal preference.

Ask According to Your Recommenders' Preferences

Teachers are decorated. They have to teach several classes a day for hundreds of students, not to mention all the planning and grading that goes on behind the scenes. Plus, despite what we may have believed in simple school, they don't alive at the schoolhouse. They have lots going on in their personal lives, likewise.

My signal is that recommendation letters are another task on top of an already packed schedule. Just as y'all should give your instructor plenty of fourth dimension to write your letter, your instructor might set up sure policies to make the workload more manageable. She might set a rec letter request due engagement, or gear up a cap on how many messages she'll write.

It'southward your job to detect out what your teachers' policies are. If you tin can't find out from older students or through give-and-take of rima oris, then you should inquire your teacher when she prefers to get requests. Discover out if she sets a borderline or limit.

If she sets a cap, try to get a sense of how popular a recommender she is. If you know your English teacher, for instance, gets inundated with requests, get yours in early on. Ask her in September or, better yet, in the spring of junior year.

Y'all don't want to ask a calendar month earlier your deadlines only to find that your instructor's too decorated or has stopped accepting requests. Generally speaking, your teacher volition capeesh that you're being thoughtful, proactive, and giving her plenty of time.

Along similar lines, your guidance department may give you instructions about when to ask.

Inquire According to Your Guidance Department's Instructions

While individual teachers may set their own policies, your guidance department may likewise have a blanket rule for all higher-jump students. Some schools, for instance, have students ask in the spring of junior yr. Others tell students to submit iii teacher preferences to their college counselors, who volition so assign everyone 2 (and thereby residuum the numbers more evenly).

Other high schools tell students to ask in the fall of senior year, and yet others take no particular guidance - they leave it upward to each student to effigy it out. If you oasis't received directions, visit your schoolhouse counselor and ask her near the general expectations. They may determine whether y'all ask in April of 11th grade or September of 12th.

Finally, at that place's i more consideration that may alter your request timeline: the grade in which you lot had your recommenders as teachers.

Don't expect then long that your teacher forgets who you are! Too, just go on swimming.

Inquire Your Teachers At the End of their Class or School Year

Recall that archetype commencement day of school assignment, "Write near what you did over the summer"? Well, what if your teacher asked you to write in brilliant item nigh what y'all did iii summers agone?

Just as you lot might accept problem remembering the specifics, your recommenders might not be able to produce the clearest memories if they had y'all in class years earlier you make your request. While it's advisable to ask your inferior year teachers, some students reach back further and have their freshman or sophomore year teachers recommend them.

If you lot had a great connection with a 9th or 10th form teacher and feel they might make a strong recommender, then you lot should inquire them sooner rather than after. Instead of waiting until senior year, you should ask them at the end of the year y'all had them, ie, at the end of ninth or tenth grade. Similarly, you could enquire your junior year teachers at the end of 11th class, rather than waiting until after summer break.

Even if yous don't ultimately utilise the letter, you can take information technology on file just in example. Plus, asking early on helps in any of the other scenarios mentioned above: y'all give your recommenders (more than) a month earlier your deadlines, you crush the rush of requests, and you get your asking in before any of your teachers' or guidance department's deadlines. Win-win-win.

If you lot've learned virtually the rec letter process, then you know more goes into it than simply asking your teacher to write yous one. You additionally want to provide a resume and a thoughtful brag sheet. If you're asking particularly early, then you lot could make the request and follow upwards later with all this info. Yous'll bear witness your recommenders that y'all're proactive and goal-oriented; then yous tin can send along your recommendation parcel in one case you've prepared information technology.

Now that you take a sense of when students typically ask for recommendations and why, how can you figure out when exactly You should ask?

So When Should You lot Ask for Your Recommendations?

To determine when yous should ask your recommenders for a letter, you need to do your inquiry. Make sure you know all your college deadlines, for starters. Then figure out whether your schoolhouse has any guidance well-nigh when to ask, like in Apr of 11th grade or September of 12th grade.

Figure out who you're going to ask in junior year, so you can detect out if your teachers gear up whatever deadlines for or caps on requests. If yous're a younger student, you should think about whether whatever of your teachers would make for strong recommenders. If so, then consider request them at the end of the school twelvemonth.

The latest that you should enquire for recommendations is October of senior yr for early deadlines and November to December of senior year for regular deadlines. To be safe and proactive though, too as to keep yourself fresh in your teachers' memories, you'd do well to ask in March, Apr, or May of junior yr.

Asking early will not only give your teachers the time they demand to write a well-crafted letter, merely it volition as well give you peace of heed. Apart from following up with a reminder and thank you note, your work on recommendation letters will be done! And then it will be up to your recommenders to upload their letters, and you can focus on finishing upwards the rest of your higher application.

What'south Adjacent?

As you tin tell, a lot of planning and strategy goes into your recommendation letters. Why are rec letters important in your application? What exercise admissions officers look for when they read them? Notice out more about the role of rec letters in admissions decisions in these guides.

In that location are lots of other steps that go into applying for college, like scheduling your SAT/ACT and writing your personal essay. Cheque out our consummate guide to applying to college, from 9th grade up until senior year.

Want to improve your Sabbatum score past 160 points or your Human activity score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each examination most the top five strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download information technology for free now:

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Well-nigh the Writer

Rebecca graduated with her Principal'due south in Boyish Counseling from the Harvard Graduate School of Instruction. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-existence. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT.

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Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/when-should-i-ask-for-a-college-recommendation-letter

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