Break It Down: Letters of Rec

Welcome to the “Break It Down” series, where each week we will be delving into a specific portion of the Barnard application process. From the main essay to deciding which round to apply through, our admissions staff is here to walk you through the overwhelming, but hopefully exciting, process of applying to Barnard College. Today we are focusing on letters of recommendation: why this portion of the application matters, who do we require letters of recommendation from, and how to choose your recommenders.

Why do the letters of recommendation matter?

If you are caught up on the most recent season of Never Have I Ever you saw the pressure Devi put on herself to ask the renowned AP Lit teacher Dr. Keyes for one of her renowned letters of recommendation. While the series didn’t get everything right about the college application process, they did put a strong emphasis on the value of these letters. Why? Because it is the only time we get to hear from someone else about who you are as a student, peer, intellectual, and growing person. The rest of your application is a summation of your life experience to date from your perspective, but adding the observation of mentors demonstrates to us how you have grown over your academic career through the relationships you have formed.

Who does Barnard require letters of recommendation from?

We require three letters of recommendation: one from your college or guidance counselor and two academic teachers. Your counselor is able to give us insight into you as a holistic individual while your academic teachers can tell us about who you are in the classroom, using specific academic assignments to support their testimony of you.

What if my counselor doesn’t know me very well?

That’s ok! We know students are coming from schools where they are one of 25 students that a counselor oversees and students are coming from schools where they are one of 500 students that a counselor oversees. In the case of the latter, do not stress. In this instance, your counselor will indicate their caseload to us in your application, and we take that into account. Most often, the counselor will write that the admissions committee should refer to the academic recommenders to understand you best. If this applies to you, you are welcome to submit an additional letter of recommendation from another teacher or mentor.

Who is considered an academic teacher?

At Barnard, we require the academic teacher to teach core subjects (English, foreign language, mathematics, science, or social studies [history, economics, etc.]).

How to choose your recommenders:

Unlike Devi, we would suggest you select a recommender who really knows you. Ideally, this is someone you have already spent a semester or year in the classroom with. We suggest they be a teacher from junior year as they can give us the most recent depiction of you. However, we know that there may be teachers from your sophomore year who you want to choose, or if you switched schools later in high school, you may want to select someone from your previous school in addition to someone from your current school. It’s about getting the best holistic depiction of you.

You may think a recommender has to be someone for whom you were a star, A+ student in the class. That may be the case, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the best letters I have read about a student have been from teachers who taught a class where the student struggled. Perhaps it was a class where the student was taking on a significant challenge with the material, but their effort was noticed, and that is why the letter serves to be a strong testament to the student’s character and ability while working to overcome challenges or material that doesn’t come easily to them.

Can I submit additional letters of recommendation?

Yes, but…think about why you want to submit an additional letter of recommendation. It is not uncommon to see a letter come from a club mentor, employer, or religious leader. These can be important to students who feel these recommenders will showcase something that may not be captured in the academic letters. As with many things in life, it’s about quality and not quantity.

The most important thing to remember with Barnard’s admission review is that it is holistic, meaning no one portion of your application means more than any other portion. This is to say that while the letters of recommendation matter and we want you to take great care with choosing your writers, this is also a portion where you need to release control. After you have selected your recommenders, release control and focus on your elements, including your essay and supplements. This process is a marathon, not a sprint. Remember to take your time and appreciate those who will help you get to the finish line, including yourself.