No. A family member cannot write a letter of recommendation for college on your behalf. You could have a mentor or a boss write a recommendation letter for college, but they should not be related to you.
Your teachers will typically submit your letter of recommendation for college admission to your school counselor. From there, it gets uploaded to the platform your school uses such as Naviance or MaiaLearning, from which your counselor will submit your supporting documents to the colleges you’ve selected.
Typically, students must sign a FERPA waiver when they request their letters of recommendation for college. This agreement states that you waive the right to view your recommendation letter for college admission.
The quality of a recommendation letter for college can vary depending on the teacher writing it. Not all teachers are wordsmiths, and that’s ok. What matters most is the content, which is why it’s important to forge those teacher connections and choose recommenders who know you and your abilities best. If a teacher feels that they would not be the best person to write a solid recommendation on your behalf, they may decline your offer.
We hope this guide has provided a comprehensive explanation of the college recommendation letter process. We hope you also gained a better sense of what a strong college recommendation letter sample looks like. Remember that not all letters of recommendation will be exactly like the above college recommendation letter sample. So, you shouldn’t compare your successes to the student in the college recommendation letter sample. You are you, and that’s the greatest advantage in the college admissions process!
Find recommenders who understand you, and be sure to ask for a college recommendation letter far before the deadline. Be prepared to provide recommenders with a list of extracurriculars, as the student in our college recommendation letter sample did. Your personal essay (if you’ve written it) may also be helpful for recommenders to see. Any additional information you can provide will be helpful for your teachers. Like in our college recommendation letter sample, you want to seem a well-rounded, unique, and hard working student.
For more information on the college recommendation letter process, check out this Common App article. Good luck!
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