Every counselor I know who has worked in a high school will tell you two things: recommendation letters can make a huge difference, and they’re not all created equal. Since they see all the application packets that are submitted by their seniors, recommendations included, they know firsthand that outstanding recs can push a student into the “accept” pile, and lukewarm letters can close doors, even for top students. I’ve also heard this from admitted students who have viewed their application files after getting in; they often report that their recommenders wrote with extraordinary detail and superlative support. There are no miracles in college admissions, but recommendations can be powerful things!
So, what makes recs stand out, and what can you do to make sure yours are as strong as possible? At this time of year, this question has two answers, one for current juniors—playing the short game—and one for current sophomores—playing the long game.
But First, Very Quickly, the Basics:
Many colleges ask for two teacher recommendations; some ask for one; some (like many schools in the University of California system) none at all
Ideally, teacher recommendations come from junior-year, core content teachers (math, science, foreign language, English or history)—though this is flexible
Ideally, one teacher rec is from a STEM subject and one humanities—some colleges directly recommend this, but it’s also flexible
Most colleges also require a recommendation written by your school college counselor, meant to address your overall high school experience (not just a single course experience, as your teacher recs do)
Many colleges will read an additional recommendation—these are often written by a coach, music teacher, boss or volunteer coordinator. Some brave colleges (like Georgetown) have no limit on the number of recommendations they’ll read (though Georgetown does suggest keeping it to a “single digit” number)
It’s a good idea to request letters from teachers no later than early spring, unless your school gives you different guidelines
So, What Can You Do?
A great recommendation letter relates a lot of detail about how you have shown engagement that goes ABOVE AND BEYOND in a particular class. This can mean many different things—from putting in dedicated work to improve your grade, to doubling down on a particular project, to showing up to office hours with thoughtful questions, to working independently to apply something you’ve learned. The key is that your teacher sees you doing things you were not required to do. When I taught English, going “above and beyond” could be as simple as a student telling me they had seen a movie that reminded them of a book we were reading in class. Even a quick comment like this showed me they were continuing to be thoughtful and inquisitive, even when it wasn’t a course requirement. Of course, there are many bigger things you can do—from finding an extracurricular opportunity where you can use your foreign language, to entering a robotics competition, to inviting a speaker to your school on a topic of interest.
If You’re a Current Junior:
You’ll likely request your letters soon, which means your first step is to decide which teachers you feel like you’ve made the best impression on this year. Use the process of asking your teachers for letters to remind them about your interests and, if it feels appropriate, a few points of pride. If you ask them in person, follow up with a thank you email that briefly lets them know things like what you’ve enjoyed most in the class, any projects or assessments you’re especially proud of, and—perhaps the thing that teachers love best—any ideas their class has given you about where you’re headed next. Keep this short but detailed.
From there, you have a few months left in this schoolyear to give them material for their letter. Don’t miss opportunities to simply share with them anything that’s on your mind. If you’re still in their class this semester, make sure to visit office hours. If you have a big paper or project coming up, make sure you do more than you’re asked, check in with your teacher frequently on your progress and efforts.
If You’re a Current Sophomore:
There’s no rush to figure out who you might want to ask for recs next year, but a few good questions to ask as you transition into junior year. If there’s a teacher you already know you connect with, and there’s a way to request being in their class, that’s a great thing to do. If you already have one or two academic subjects you enjoy more than others, it’s also smart to look out for opportunities to connect with teachers outside of class. Does the AP bio teacher head a club you could join? Does the history teacher lead a class trip you can sign up for? If an activity sounds enjoyable to you and gives a teacher a chance to get to know you better, this is a great choice to consider. But these ways of connecting with teachers are all extremely optional. What’s NOT optional is to ask yourself the basic question: How will I go above and beyond next year?
One Last Crucial Note:
Don’t forget to be kind! Performance in class is the main topic of most rec letters, but a teacher giving examples of your kindness, interest in collaboration and overall community spirit can also move the needle in college admissions. Some colleges even quantify this, literally scoring you numerically in categories like kindness, curiosity, resilience, etc. Being a good citizen in class—helping out peers, finding ways to assist your teachers, good teamwork—all of this can find its way into a recommendation letter, and help you get in (as it should!).
Very few of the colleges that offer three rounds of admission—Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2 and Regular Decision—release data that allow us to compare admit rates for ED1 and ED2. But, thankfully, there are a few helpful needles in the haystack:
According to this recent announcement, Rice University admitted 13.2 % of their November ED1 applicants, and 6% of their January ED2 pool.
Grinnell published their recent stats as well: 48% admit rate for ED1; 18% for ED2. They also note that their ED2 pool is becoming more and more popular.
These contrasts between ED1 and ED2 admit rates are similar to those reported by Vanderbilt in 2022: 24% for ED1 and 10% for ED2 (they reported ED2 stats for this one year and then decided to stop).
The takeaways? These numbers confirm what we tend to hear anecdotally—that admit rates for ED2 are often roughly half those for ED1. So, ED2 isn’t as powerful a card to play as ED1, but it certainly gives you better odds than Regular Decision, particularly when so many colleges are filling 50% to 70% (!) of their incoming classes with the two Early Decision Rounds. For a top choice school, applying in ED1 in November is your best bet. But ED2 in January offers a great second chance to apply ED (for those not sure what Early Decision means, there is a good explanation of it here).
Wherever your application plan ends up, it’s a great idea to be aware of the schools on your list that offer ED2, and think carefully about whether an ED2 application might work well for you.
For reference, here is a list of the top colleges that currently offer ED2
After nearly a decade of college admissions advising, I can assure you that “spikiness” works. Applicants who pursue a single subject, cause or creative endeavor to the max in high school have a better time getting into college, especially those applying to highly selective universities from very competitive areas (like DC, NY, NorCal and Boston). If you could compare admission stats from those areas between spiky students and “well-rounded” students—those who do a little bit of everything—the spikes undoubtedly would come out on top.
But discussions of spiky applicants often miss a more important point: almost all admissions officers—including those at the most selective schools—see college as a time to seek out new interests, explore possibilities and change your mind (ok, maybe not if you’re an engineering student…but that’s a different story).
What colleges are really looking for is not spikiness or well-roundedness as much as intentionality. If you’re a spiky applicant, you’re being intentional; but there are many other ways to be intentional if having a single “spike” isn’t for you. Being intentional is not always about being laser-focused on a single pursuit, but about actively seeking out opportunities to engage, being thoughtful about them and, most importantly, being open to how your interests might lead you down pathways you didn’t expect.
Here are some ways to be intentional that colleges LOVE:
Finding a point of connection between two things you enjoy that seem very different
Trying something new just because you are curious about it
Being open to inspiration from current events and world news
Staying on the lookout for new questions to ask
Tuning in to shows, podcasts or articles that might help you expand your ideas about an area of interest
Committing to an activity or project without knowing exactly where it might lead
So, someone who loves the oboe and enjoyed precalc who chooses to take a class on the mathematics of music is being intentional; so is someone who listens to “How I Built This” and decides that they would learn more about entrepreneurship working in an ice-cream shop than as a lifeguard; so is someone who thought they wanted to be entrepreneur but, after hearing a great speech, decided they could have a bigger impact as a politician; so is someone who joined a philosophy club because their friends were in it, and ends up finding a philosophical angle for their upcoming history project.
There are millions of ways to be intentional without being spiky—and colleges want to hear about it!
