Help Yourself - Give Your Reference Writer a List Apr 11 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet For those of you filling out those endless college applications, working day and night to get them just right, I hope to impart some wisdom re: references. While I was a college student, I had the opportunity to work in the admissions office, so I have some insight re: my particular college that I'm confident applies to many other universities. If you are applying to my alma mater, Brown, definitely read my reviews "The Brown Years" and "When Applying-Be Your Quirky Self." For everyone else, good luck in the process. Asking for a referral: When you sit down to think of who to ask for a referral, you'll probably weigh different factors. Some consider the prestige or position of the recommendation writer, while others prefer that the recommendation writer have an affiliation with the college of their choice. While these are valid considerations, I don't feel they are the most important ones. What is most important is that the recommendation writer knows and expresses how wonderful you are! For example, if you've been volunteering at a non-profit, and the program director writes a recommendation detailing your commitment to public service, admissions officers will likely put a *star* by your name. On the other hand, if your senator writes you a generic recommendation saying you're a good student and a good candidate, but offers no personal information about you, chances are this recommendation will neither hurt nor help your application. And when you're trying to "sell" yourself on paper, you need every part of your application to work for you. Recommendations add dimension to your file ... so help your recommender to help you. Help Yourself - Include a List: After you pick a recommendation writer, and he or she has agreed to write on your behalf, help yourself. Chances are, you can probably provide the best information when it comes to your recommendations. So do it. Include with your form, a list of your community service, your activities, your achievements, your future goals, etc. When your recommender sits down to write and has this "cheat sheet" handy, chances are some of these highlights will appear in the finished product. Your recommendation will sing your praises on a personal level! This is a great way to make your file reflect that you are a real person, and not just a name on a page... Polite Pressure - Make Sure Your Referrals Get In On Time: But a reference that doesn't make it into your application on time is not a good thing. So, give your recommender plenty of time to complete this task. If he or she is writing many recs, then give a couple of months advanced notice. If needed, a gentle reminder can help, but tread lightly... Good luck in the application process!

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