Property of Common App, Inc. | © 2019 Common App, Inc. | commonapp.org
Many programs ask you to include leers of recommendaon with your applicaon. These leers are
submied by recommenders. A recommender’s input helps clarify and support the informaon you share in
your applicaon.
Who are recommenders?
Recommenders are people who have worked with and supported you in your life. They can be individuals from
your academic history, like a professor. They can also be people who worked with you in your community, such
as coaches or employers.
There are four recommender types in the Common App: personal, professional, academic, and high school
ocial.
Personal
A personal recommender provides informaon about you as an individual outside of a professional or
academic seing. Examples might include a former or current coach, mentor, community member, or friend.
Professional
A professional recommender can share informaon about you within a workplace seing. Such a
recommender might be a former or current manager, professional mentor, and/or colleague.
Academic
An academic recommender should be able to provide informaon about you as a student. Academic
recommenders could be a former or current professor, academic advisor, or faculty sponsor.
High School Ocial
A high school ocial should have direct access to your nal high school transcript and high school record.
High school ocials include a former high school guidance counselor or college counselor.
High school ocials are asked to upload your nal high school transcript. They do not, however, submit leers
of recommendaon on your behalf.
Understanding the
Recommendaon Process
Property of Common App, Inc. | © 2019 Common App, Inc. | commonapp.org
Recommendaon requirements
Each program can determine their own recommendaon requirements. They can choose the number and
type of recommenders they accept. You can see each program’s requirements within your applicaon.
Asking for a leer of recommendaon
Before inving a recommender in your applicaon, it’s important to ask if they are willing to provide a
recommendaon rst. It’s best to ask in person, but an email is ok too. When asking, be respectful of your
recommenders’ me. You should ask for a leer of recommendaon at least three weeks in advance of a
deadline. The more advance noce you give, the more me they have to craft a well-wrien leer.
When you are ready to send your invitaons, go to the Program Materials secon. You can invite
recommenders in a program’s Recommendaons tab. For more details about this process, check out the
applicaon guide on commmonapp.org.
Supporng your recommenders
To help your recommender with the process, it’s a good idea to share some informaon about yourself they
can reference. For example, a copy of your current resume or wrien examples of experiences you have
had with them (ex. “I served as your lab assistant in 2007, where work contributed to 3 of your published
arcles.”).
Similarly, if there is something specic about a program that you’d like your recommender to highlight, let
them know. For example, “since the school I am applying to values cizenship, please provide examples of
the civic projects you and I worked on together.”
It’s also a good idea to stay in contact with your recommenders. Help keep them updated on
your applicaon deadlines and other important informaon. You can also track the status of your
recommendaons within your applicaon.
Don’t forget to thank your recommenders for wring those leers! A thank you note goes a long way.
If a program allows recommendaons to be added, but doesn’t require them, you don’t have to invite any. It’s
best to assign a recommender only if you think their recommendaon will support your applicaon.