National Scholarship Office

Writing a Letter of Recommendation

• Offer to write letters of recommendation for national scholarship applicants only if you have the time to write a detailed, thoughtful letter that will clearly set the student apart from their classmates.
• Seek out information about the scholarship for which the student is applying, so you can effectively tailor your letter to address the criteria that will be used to judge the student's application.
• Make sure that the letter has no spelling or grammatical errors, that the formatting is appropriate for a letter of recommendation (preferably on official letterhead) and that the letter is properly addressed to the committee that will be reviewing the student's application.
• Have the letter done at least a day or two before the deadline that the student has shared with you. It’s kind to take one thing off their plates as they approach their national deadline.

Don’t forget, the National Scholarship Office is here to support you too. If you’d like us to review your letter, we are always willing to proofread or provide feedback.