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Your scholarship application is due in ten days. It must
have three recommendation letters attached, and, so far,
you have not gotten any back from your teachers. A note to
each of them last week hasn’t gotten any results. Talk
about strained nerves. All the work to get the application
ready, and now letters are halting the process.

This is a scenario that repeats itself hundreds and
thousands of times each year. You can avoid this problem
by taking important appropriate actions. Start by asking
for your recommendation letters at least six weeks in
advance. This allows busy teachers to take their time in
writing great responses. After two weeks remind them with
a note in their mailboxes. Seven days after that make a
visit to their classroom. Remind them in person that your
application could be late and disqualified and that you
will come by in a few days to pick it up. Thank him or
her again and then stop by once more.

One way to avoid total mayhem is to ask for more letters
than is really needed (awards may vary in the number of
letters neededIf the requirement is two for an award, ask
four people.

If you are applying for more than a couple of scholarship
awards (and you really should be), ask if the teacher or
whoever would be willing to put their comments on a CD.
Remind them that you will be sending out dozens of
applications. It will save them time. Then, you will
bring the letters by for their signatures. They can
inspect the documents before you send them in. A
hand-written signature is always best.

Who should you ask? Does it make a difference? Yes, it does
matter. Know this: English and foreign language teachers
generally write the best letters. They personalize them
and may write from a half to a whole page. They also
produce results that have no spelling or grammatical
errors. Again, and this is a general statement, coaches
and physical education teachers write the shortest remarks
and may have many mistakes in spelling and grammar. But,
go with your best options regardless of teaching position.

Use your high school letterhead, when possible.

Remember to ask your teacher if they can write a positive
response. If not, move on. A probable scholarship
winner fulfilled all requirements with a big plus and was
in line to receive an $8,000 award. Everything was super
except for one recommendation letter. She assumed her coach
would write a glowing response. He didn’t. Don’t let that
happen to you. She didn't win.

Follow the same time-line for all requests, and remember
this: everything in life is a decision, make the right ones
today for your college scholarship success.