Applying · 2026–2027
Letters of recommendation.
Most colleges want one or two teacher letters and one from your counselor. The letter is the teacher’s job. Getting the right teacher, early, with the right information, is yours.
By Lokesh Pampatti, founder of Clarity Prep · Updated October 18, 2026
How many you need
Of the 1,124 colleges on the Common App this year, 184 require one teacher recommendation, 52 require two and 888 don’t require one at all. 254 also require a counselor recommendation. The two-letter colleges are mostly the most selective: Cornell, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Harvard, UChicago, Brown, Princeton.
Every college’s requirement is on its college page, under application deadlines.
Who to ask
- Teachers from junior year, ideally. They taught you recently and in harder classes.
- Core subjects: English, math, science, social studies or a world language.
- If a college wants two, pick two different subjects, often one STEM and one humanities.
- A teacher who saw you work hard, ask questions or improve beats one who only saw an easy A.
- Match the teacher to your major when you can. An engineering applicant’s best letter is often from math or physics.
When to ask
End of junior year or the first week of senior year. Teachers write many letters each fall and some cap how many they take. At the latest, ask three weeks before your first deadline.
How to ask
Ask in person first, then send a short email with what they need. Something like:
Hi Ms. Rivera, thank you for agreeing to write my recommendation. I’m applying to 8 colleges, and my first deadline is November 1 (early action at Georgia Tech). I’ll invite you through the Common App this week. I’ve attached a short list of what I worked on in your class and outside it, in case it helps. Thank you again.
The attachment is a one-page brag sheet:
- The colleges and your earliest deadline
- What you want to study and why, in two sentences
- One or two moments from their class: a project, a question, a grade you turned around
- Your main activities and anything they wouldn’t know about
How to add recommenders on the Common App
- Go to My Colleges, pick any college and open Recommenders and FERPA.
- Complete the FERPA Release Authorization. Waive your right to see letters unless you have a strong reason not to.
- Invite your counselor and each teacher with their name and school email.
- Assign each recommender to every college that should get their letter. The invite email only goes out once they’re assigned to at least one college, and you assign them college by college.
- Check the status in each college’s section. You’ll see when a letter is submitted.
If your school uses Naviance or another platform, you invite teachers there instead of in the Common App, but you still sign the FERPA release in the Common App first.
After they submit
Write a thank-you note, by hand if you can, and tell them where you got in. Teachers rarely hear how it turns out, and it matters to them.
Counts from Common App’s 2026–27 first-year requirements grid. Common App steps from Common App’s Student Solutions Center (checked October 18, 2026). The example email and brag sheet are a starting point; write your own.
Questions
How many letters of recommendation do colleges want?
On the Common App for 2026–27, 888 of 1,124 colleges don’t require a teacher recommendation, 184 ask for one and 52 ask for two. The two-letter colleges are mostly the most selective, like Cornell, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins.
When should I ask for a letter of recommendation?
At the end of junior year or the first week of senior year is best. At the latest, ask three weeks before your first deadline, and four or more if your teacher is popular.
How do I add a letter of recommendation on the Common App?
Open My Colleges, pick a college and go to Recommenders and FERPA. Sign the FERPA release, invite each teacher by email, then assign them to every college that should get their letter. The invite only goes out once a recommender is assigned to at least one college.
Should I waive my right to see my recommendations?
Yes, in almost every case. Colleges tend to trust a confidential letter more, and some teachers only write if you waive. Decide before you invite anyone.
Can I send more letters than a college asks for?
Only if the college accepts optional letters and the extra one adds something new, like a coach, boss or research mentor who knows a side of you your teachers don’t. More letters saying the same thing don’t help.
Want someone to keep your list on track?
A Clarity Prep mentor builds your college list with you, puts every deadline on one calendar, reads your essays and checks in every week until you hit submit. Not sure where you stand? Try the free chances calculator.