Recommendations & Interviews

Recommendation letters and interviews add human voices to your application — voices that aren’t your own. A teacher who can describe your intellectual curiosity with a specific example, or an interviewer who reports that you asked the most thoughtful questions they’ve heard all season — these carry weight that numbers and essays can’t.

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you organized your activities into a coherent narrative. Now you’ll prepare the people who support your application — recommenders who can vouch for the qualities your activities demonstrate, and interviewers who can confirm you’re as interesting in person as you are on paper.

Requesting Strong Recommendations

The Recommender Packet

Don’t just ask “will you write me a recommendation?” — give your recommender materials that help them write a great one.

Help me create a recommendation letter packet for:

Teacher: [name, subject]
My grade in their class: [grade]
Why I'm asking them: [specific interactions, projects, growth]

Create a one-page document that includes:
1. My college list (where the letter is going)
2. 2-3 specific classroom moments they might reference
   (a presentation, a paper, a class discussion, a challenge I overcame)
3. How their subject connects to my intended major or interests
4. Qualities I hope they can speak to (with examples to jog their memory)
5. Key deadlines for each school
6. Thank-you note draft for after submission

Recommendation request etiquette:

• Ask in person, not by email (follow up with materials by email)
• Ask at least 4-6 weeks before the earliest deadline
• Provide written materials (the packet above) — don’t assume they remember specifics
• Send a reminder 2 weeks before each deadline
• Write a sincere thank-you note after (handwritten is best)

✅ Quick Check: You want to ask a teacher for a recommendation, but they also write recommendations for 20 other students. What can you do to make their job easier AND result in a stronger letter? (Answer: The recommender packet. When a teacher writes 20 letters from memory, they all start sounding the same. A packet with specific moments — “Remember when I stayed after class to debate whether Hamlet’s hesitation was cowardice or wisdom?” — gives them concrete material that makes your letter unique and specific.)

Interview Preparation

Practice Prompt

Act as a college admissions interviewer. Ask me common interview
questions one at a time, and after I respond, give feedback on:
1. Did I answer the actual question?
2. Did I include a specific example or story?
3. Did I show personality, or did I sound generic?
4. Was my answer the right length (30-90 seconds)?

Start with these question types:
- Tell me about yourself
- Why are you interested in [school name]?
- What's your biggest achievement outside the classroom?
- Tell me about a challenge or failure
- What would you contribute to our campus community?
- What questions do you have for me?

Questions to ask your interviewer (shows genuine interest):

• “What surprised you most about [school] when you were a student?”
• “How has the [specific program] changed since you attended?”
• “What do students wish they’d known before starting?”
• “What’s the campus community like outside of academics?”

Never ask questions you could answer with a 5-second Google search.

Practice Exercise

1. Identify your top 2 recommenders and create a packet for each using the template
2. Practice answering “Tell me about yourself” out loud (aim for 30-45 seconds with a specific story)
3. Run through 5 practice interview questions with AI — focus on including specific examples in every answer

Key Takeaways

• Choose recommenders who know you well over those who gave you the highest grade — specific, personal letters outperform generic praise
• Provide a recommender packet with specific moments, qualities, and deadlines — this makes their job easier and your letter stronger
• Ask for recommendations 4-6 weeks before deadlines, in person first, with written follow-up
• Interview preparation means talking points, not memorized scripts — know 3-4 stories you can adapt to any question
• Every interview answer should include a specific example — specificity is more memorable and credible than generalities
• Prepare 2-3 thoughtful questions for your interviewer that demonstrate genuine interest in the school

Up Next

In the next lesson, you’ll tackle financial aid — navigating FAFSA, finding scholarships, and learning how to compare and negotiate aid packages so cost doesn’t limit your options.