1. High School Counseling Office Materials Make sure that your counselor is planning to share all of the counseling office materials with the teachers you have asked to write recommendations. If he/she is not, then make a copy yourself and give it to the teachers.
2. An Up-To-Date Activities Resume Nothing gives teachers better ammunition to use in their comments than a very detailed activities resume.
3. Your College List Organized By Application Due Dates Don’t forget to let teachers know if you plan to apply early to any colleges. As with the counselor, give specific reasons why you are interested in each college on your list.
4. Teacher Evaluation and Instructor Recommendation Forms Fill-in as neatly as you can the top, student portion of each form and waive your right to see what the teacher has written.
5. Stamped, college-addressed envelopes Find out what kind of envelope each teacher prefers: a standard envelope or a larger 8 1/2 x 11 envelope and how much postage to affix.
6. Any other information or material that will be helpful to the teachers Again, if you have letters that laud your accomplishments or work, an art or musical portfolio or tapes, and/or special interests or projects outside of school, provide teachers with a neat, organized package of whatever you have.
Optional for parents: Again, depending on a teacher’s preferences, you can provide a lot of useful information about your child, including a list of positive adjectives or adjective phrases that describe who your child is and his/her strengths, personal stories, obstacles or significant family events that have impacted you son or daughter, and interesting family background details.
7. Cover sheet identifying exactly what you have given the teacher.
Finally, remember to thank the teachers for whatever they do for you. AND… don’t forget to make photocopies of everything you give to them.
