Letter of recommendation may be useful for admission to various higher education institutions and universities. This is especially true for foreign universities, where letters of recommendation are treated very carefully. A correctly formatted letter of recommendation will increase the applicant’s chances of admission. A letter of recommendation can be useful not only when applying to foreign universities, but also to universities in the Russian Federation. An example of this could be a letter of recommendation from the military unit where the applicant served, upon receipt of a letter with positive recommendations at the place of training military service An applicant may have preferential conditions when entering a university.

The value of this document for the university is quite high, as it allows you to assess the personality of the future student, allows you to understand his abilities and inclinations. That is, this is additional information about a person, which allows you to get a complete picture of the applicant’s personality and understand his strengths and weaknesses.

• employee - ;
• organizations - ;
• student - .

First of all, you need to find out where you can get this document. If the applicant is a graduate of school, college or other educational institution, then recommendations can be obtained there from the director of the educational institution or from the teacher. If the applicant is a university graduate, then you can contact your supervisor, the head of the department. If he works, then go to his employer. If a letter is needed upon admission after military service, then it is necessary to submit a written request to the unit where the person served.

• if there is a choice regarding the person who will write the recommendations, then it is better to contact someone who is higher in position; his recommendations will be more significant in the eyes of the addressee and will command respect;
• the letter must indicate who the author of the letter of recommendation is and who he is related to;
• description of the applicant’s personality, his character traits. Moreover, it is important not just to list them in a standard presentation, separated by commas, but to provide specific examples that prove that a person really has any specific quality. It is important to not write a template letter that the recipient will skim and forget; it is important to hook the addressee, make him pay attention to the person being characterized. Writing a letter of recommendation is an art;
• listing successes and achievements is also an important point, you should not neglect it, you should indicate what heights the person has achieved, and provide evidence of this;
• a description of the person from a professional point of view - what level of knowledge he has, what skills and abilities he has, what sciences the future student has an aptitude for;
• it is important to indicate the information that will help the applicant when entering a university; it is necessary to focus on the specialty that the student wants to master;
• provide recommendations - based on the information presented, you need to recommend a person for admission to a university as literate and capable.

• It is written on behalf of the teacher (the higher his academic degree, the better)
• It should describe your academic achievements and mention character traits, for example, being a hardworking, efficient and diligent student

It is good if in the last paragraph the teacher recommends a student to study at this university, so that the reader of this letter has no doubt that you are the student they need.

The team of our website decided to help you and below published examples of letters of recommendation in English for admission to a university.

During the period of her studies at State Budgetary Educational Institution Secondary School No. 232, Victoria established herself as a diligent and diligent student, with an active life position. The list of her achievements includes not only academic achievements, but also success in sports and social activities.

Victoria is the winner of the regional stage All-Russian Olympics schoolchildren in 2016-2017, as well as a laureate of many competitions in history and social studies. Under the strict guidance of the school’s teachers, Victoria wrote a number of journalistic articles on the topic “My family during the Second World War,” which were published in the conference collection “ Historical memory" Also in 2014, the student scored the highest among schoolchildren in the Admiralteysky district in a competition English language"British Bulldog"

Victoria has been studying since childhood athletics and since the 5th grade has been a member of the school team this species sports In 2015, the team took 3rd place in the relay race, dedicated to the Day Victory. Previously, in 2014, Victoria took part in the city competition “Shipovka of the Young” and showed the best results in her age group.

Victoria Ivanova received Active participation V public life schools: helped organize events, visited cool watch, participated in various events, for example, “Help me go to study”, a school cleanup day and waste paper collection.

Based on all of the above achievements and merits, the Administration of GBOU Secondary School No. 232 of the Admiralteysky District of St. Petersburg strongly recommends school graduate Victoria Ivanova for admission to a higher educational institution.

Director of GBOU Secondary School No. 232

Admiralteysky district of St. Petersburg

Signature______________

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I am writing to recommend (name) for Academic mobility Program. I have known her\him for 3 years. She\he is extremely hard-working and truly insightful - these two traits combine to produce an especially unique and outstanding student.

I have the deepest personal and professional respect for (name), and sincerely belief she\he will bring his unique energy, optimism, passion, and tireless creativity to your university. She\he displays impressive logical thinking abilities and an intellectual curiosity beyond that of his peers. She\he was always an active participant in classes who listened eagerly and never hesitated to raise questions. Because of her\his drive and ambition, I am confident that (name) will remain in the top of her\his class and continue to display excellent performance.

I expect (name) to respond to the challenges of the academic mobility program with a rigorous devotion to excellence, and I am certain that her\his intellect is capable of handling even the most demanding courses available.

In sum, I highly recommend (name) for academic mobility. I believe her\his proposed course of study is suitable and builds on her\his many strengths. Her\his animating spirit and disciplined approach to learning make her\his particularly well suited to take advantage of this opportunity.

Yours Sincerely,

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I would like to give my recommendations to (name), who is interested in joining in spring semester 2015. I have known (name) since she attended my Chinese language class. (Name) is a responsible and disciplined student who is highly interested in learning Chinese language as it is connected to her scientific research. Throughout the study period, (name) has shown excellent results within her studies and scientific work. She\his actively participated in the discussions, demonstrated her\his ability to work in a team and proved her\his commitment to personal development.

I am confident that the program at your university will give her\him the opportunity to significantly increase the level of language proficiency. In addition, it will be an invaluable experience for her\his further research activities. I strongly recommend (name) for studying at your university.

Yours sincerely,

[Updated 09/2018]

What is important for the admissions committee of a foreign university when your grades, motivation letter and CV have already been reviewed? What will give them additional information about you to make an admission decision?

At this stage decisive role often plays letter of recommendation- a document that is not inferior in importance to a motivation letter, and, other things being equal, can tilt in your favor if the recommendation is correctly presented.

In my considerable experience of working with applicants for master’s programs abroad, I realized that in Russian universities there is no culture of preparing for students letter of recommendation or reference. In most cases, the teacher simply offers to sign the letter written by the student. And the student, who previously had to prepare a whole package of documents, must also write letters of recommendation for himself. And very few manage to avoid repetition, cliched phrases and too vague characteristics (because all the best goes into the motivation letter!).

Wherein, in the West, letters of recommendation are treated with great respect- both when writing (the teacher you contact for a recommendation will take it as an honor and will be ready to take the time to prepare a solid letter), and when reviewing (in addition to your personal presentation of your successes and achievements, it is important for the commission to receive an assessment from the outside) .

How important is a letter of recommendation in a set of documents?
For the admissions committee, recommendations are additional information about the applicant, which can confirm or supplement data from other documents. And this information is very important, because it is provided on behalf of those who saw you “at work.”

To help those who are currently enrolling in a master's program abroad, I have prepared a number of tips on drawing up recommendations. Use them and you can prepare a solid document that will complement your application for admission!

1. Selection of referents

Behind the scenes, the higher status from the referent, the more solid the letter of recommendation will look. The admissions committee of any university or scholarship fund will definitely pay attention to this.
But at the same time, a more important criterion is that How well does the referee really know you? and can assess your potential. If you choose between the dean of the faculty who did not teach you a single course, and the teacher who taught you a number of disciplines throughout all your years of study, choose the second one. Such a letter of recommendation looks much more respectable in the eyes of the admissions committee.
And of course, try to choose teacher in one of your key subjects or in the specialty for which you are going to enroll. Eg, common mistake applicants - take a recommendation from an English teacher. This is fundamentally wrong, since the commission wants to know not how well you have learned English (for this there is official confirmation through international language exams), but how much you have knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to the program. The only case when it is relevant to choose a language teacher as a referent is if you are enrolling in philology or a similar specialty.

As a result, if, when choosing a referent, you manage to combine all 3 conditions, as described above, then the letter of recommendation will be the most advantageous.

2.1 How to prepare text easier

If the teacher told you to prepare the text yourself, then the easiest way for you to do this is to collecting opinions from outside. Even your classmates, friends, colleagues can help you with this - those who know you and can appreciate your potential and your personal qualities. Ask what, in their opinion, are your strengths, what would they emphasize when characterizing you? If it’s uncomfortable to ask this question directly, then do a small online survey (iQuestionnaire, SurveyMonkey, etc.) and simply send it to your friends, explaining why you need it. Once you have collected several opinions, you will already have a basis for your letters of recommendation.
Otherwise, if you rely only on your perception, then it will be difficult for you to prepare both your motivation letter and two recommendations at once. Even if this is successful, you can almost always understand that all documents were written by one person.

Make a plan, in which you will briefly outline what details you will include in each of the letters: in the motivational essay, in both letters of recommendation. Of course, some information will overlap in all documents, but since it is assumed that all 3 letters were prepared from different persons Accordingly, angles, methods of presentation, expressions, etc. should be different. Having a general plan will make it easier for you to understand what to include in your own motivation letter and what to leave for each of the recommendations.

- Specific examples
A very common mistake in recommendations is to list all possible laudatory characteristics, separated by commas, without giving any examples (we very often see the following formulation in letters: “the student has proven himself to be capable, talented, hardworking, thoughtful, with high potential and leadership qualities”). This is the “dead” weight of the letter, which has almost no value in the eyes of the commission.
To bring these characteristics to life, it is imperative to provide specific examples to support them. If it is written that the student is goal-oriented, this needs to be explained; if the teacher believes that the student has leadership skills, needs to be proven; If he recommends continuing your studies in a master's program, you need to clarify why. Examples make the characteristics truly credible.

- Information about successes, achievements relevant to the selected program
The volume of a letter of recommendation is usually 1 page of text, so there is simply no room to list all the merits, successes and characteristics. That is why the text of the letter must be tailored to the requirements of the program.
If, for example, you are enrolling in finance, then special emphasis should be placed on analytical skills, the ability to work with numbers and analyze a large amount of information. Usually, the websites of the programs themselves indicate which qualities are primarily important for applicants.

- Characteristics of professional and personal qualities
The fact that you have well-developed analytical skills, you can absorb a huge amount of professional material, and have an excellent command of research methods, etc. - this is what interests the admissions committee in the first place. But, having received this information, the commission members want to know what kind of person is coming to them. This is potentially future representative and the face of our university - how well does it suit our culture, the image of our university? Therefore, in letters of recommendation it is very important to indicate personal qualities - how well you can work in a team or individually, how developed are your communication skills... This information should logically complement your profile, and of course, should correlate with what you wrote in your motivation letter.

3.1 Allow more time than expected to prepare recommendations
(very often you will need to additionally either agree on the text with the teacher, who may be away, or wait for a signature and seal in the dean’s office for a whole week)

3.2 Check in advance in what form letters of recommendation are required to be provided to all universities where you are applying:
- in a free format or in a special form of the university of your choice,
— is it enough to upload a scan of the recommendations online or do you need to send the originals by mail,
— Is it possible to upload letters yourself or can only the teacher do this through his official university email.
It is better to find out all this in advance in order to immediately understand how many sets of documents to prepare and in what format, and agree with the teachers accordingly.

3.3 After you have fully prepared all the main documents (motivation letter, CV and recommendations), check how logically all the information is connected, whether there are any discrepancies or excessive repetition. This is a ‘reality check’ before sending a set of documents.

Comprehensive information on each document for admission (motivation letter, essay for business schools, letters of recommendation, resume), on how to choose a program and correctly prepare the entire application - in an online course from our experts

All other things being equal, a correctly drafted letter of recommendation can tip the balance in favor of one candidate or another when applying to a foreign university or receiving a scholarship. Learn how to choose a recommender and write an effective letter of recommendation for a student.

The purpose of a letter of recommendation to a student is to give an idea of ​​the candidate's abilities, achievements and personal qualities. It is written from the person under whose direct supervision the candidate studied, carried out a scientific project or work. Usually 2-3 recommendations from different people are required. Most often, these are teachers, scientific supervisors or bosses from work.

In Russia and other countries former USSR The culture of letters of recommendation is not developed and not everyone knows how to write them in the accepted international format. Therefore, it is better to prepare the texts yourself and then coordinate them with recommenders.

The text of letters of recommendation must be “tailored” to the requirements of the training program or grant competition. For example, look at the differences. Therefore, before writing the text, carefully study the requirements for the candidate m.

Recommendations should contribute to achieving your goal, namely: entering a university or receiving a grant. Not every letter of recommendation can be useful. Therefore, the choice of recommenders should be approached consciously.

• competent in your field of interest or a related field;
• is able to evaluate your achievements in the area of ​​interest to you;
• can give a comprehensive description of your personal qualities;
• can evaluate your professionalism (punctuality, efficiency, etc.);
• is able to characterize your academic abilities and intellectual potential;
• has a high opinion of you and your abilities;
• has status and some recognition in the field of interest to you.

Make a list of your potential recommenders and select those who meet most of the criteria.Start thinking about recommendations as soon as you decide to go study abroad. Try to gain the experience and competencies that you want to reflect in letters of recommendation, show yourself in a favorable light in front of the right recommenders: make sure that your zeal and successes do not go unnoticed by them.

A standard letter of recommendation should consist of 4 parts:

Context (introduction)

• In what capacity and for how long has the recommender known the candidate?

Candidate's achievements

• An overall assessment of the candidate's abilities that have played an important role in the learning process, assignments, projects, research or job responsibilities.
• Characteristics of the candidate’s activities and achievements during the mentioned period of study or work (here you can list awards, places of honor, certificates, etc.).
• Characteristic strengths candidate, especially in comparison with other students or work colleagues with a similar background.

Personal qualities of the candidate

• Assessing the candidate's motivation and maturity (especially if we're talking about about admission to master's or doctoral studies).
• Characteristics of leadership and communication skills, ability to work in a team or individually.

Conclusion

• Finally, the recommender must justify why he believes that the recommended candidate should be accepted into the specified program of study or awarded a grant.
• This is followed by a statement that additional information about the candidate can be provided upon request.
• At the very end, the surname and initials of the recommender, his position and contacts are indicated ( email address, telephone).

The document must be signed by the recommender. If possible, the recommendation can be printed on the official letterhead of the institution where the recommender works. However, this is not always possible, so you can do without it.

• The tone of the letter is extremely positive. Even a neutral tone of the letter can only do harm, as it will most likely be perceived negatively.
• Reflects Subjective opinion recommender about the candidate, rather than listing what can already be learned from test results, diploma, etc.
• Sufficiently detailed and specific: statements regarding the candidate's qualities, achievements and skills are supported by real examples.
• Considers the specific requirements of a particular training program or grant program in evaluating a candidate.
• Fits on one, maximum – two pages.

• Too short to fit description specific examples and events.
• Written according to a template, without taking into account the purpose of the recommendation.
• Focused on context (e.g. detailed description circumstances of meeting the candidate), and not on the qualities and achievements of the candidate.
• Contains unsubstantiated praise of a candidate.
• Tells about events that happened many years ago.

Instructions

To become a graduate student at a chosen university, you must have Russian citizenship, be no more than 35 years old, and have a diploma confirming that the person has already received a higher education degree. professional education. A candidate can submit an application and recommendations for admission immediately after graduation, or after working in production in his specialty for at least 2 years. In the case when he wants to enroll immediately after university, a recommendation must be given to him by the department in which his diploma was defended or by the Academic Council. When a person arrives after working in production, the management of the enterprise must recommend him. The form for writing such a recommendation and the requirements for its execution will be the same.

A letter of recommendation, in essence, is the same characteristic, but has its own specifics in accordance with where it is being submitted. The recommendation given for admission to graduate school, of course, should reflect the qualities of the future graduate student that he will need in scientific activity. In addition, this document is a kind of guarantee. A recommendation is written on behalf of legal entity, therefore it is drawn up on the letterhead of a university or enterprise, which contains all the details that make it legally significant document.

In the heading, which should be written in the middle of the line under the details, you need to indicate the name of the document - “Characteristics-recommendation”, for whom it was compiled and for what - “for admission to graduate school”. The first paragraph should mention the year of birth and time from which this person studied at this university or worked at this enterprise, his specialty or position.

In the main part, it is necessary to list those qualities that make it possible to recommend this person for postgraduate study and scientific work. But one should not simply mention or list them unfoundedly; it is necessary to confirm what is written with facts that would serve as confirmation, mention the received increased scholarships, grants, awards and certificates, participation in olympiads and competitions.

At the end of the main text, you need to write that the department, the Academic Council or the leadership of the organization considers it possible to recommend this candidate for postgraduate study. The recommendation is signed by an authorized person indicating the position and scientific title, surname and initials. It is also necessary to indicate the contact phone number of the recommender so that, if necessary, university employees can contact him. The signature must be certified by a seal. At the end of the document the date of the recommendation is indicated.

Postgraduate studies – additional education, the opportunity of which is provided to a university graduate or a specialist working in production. As a rule, a former university student, if he enters graduate school immediately after graduation, has the opportunity to continue his studies full-time. Such additional education and in-depth knowledge in the chosen specialty are necessary for those who want to engage in scientific research and defend a Ph.D. dissertation upon completion of training.

After enrolling in graduate school, it does not matter to a graduate student whether or not he will study; he is assigned a supervisor, with whom he can choose the direction of research and the topic of future scientific work.

There are no classes with graduate students as with undergraduates, no one will lecture them. Studying in graduate school means that a person has already learned to work independently with information at the university, to be able to find it, systematize it, analyze it and draw conclusions. Postgraduate studies and scientific research carried out within its framework – self-study, in which a schedule is drawn up and its implementation is essentially controlled by the graduate student independently.

When working in your chosen scientific direction, you must choose the topic of your scientific work, which will be approved by the Academic Council of your university. You may consult with your supervisor, but the choice of subject and research methods is yours. You independently receive and process the results of your research, compare them with those of your predecessors, both in our country and abroad. Your work must have scientific novelty and practical value- these are the main requirements that are presented to her.

During training, a graduate student has the opportunity to attend classes in those subjects in which he will have to pass candidate exams. Typically this is foreign language, philosophy and .

Please attach a set of documents to your application, which includes a diploma higher education, passport, photographs measuring 3x4 cm; for young people, a registration certificate is also required. The application for admission is submitted only together with these papers.

At the document acceptance committee, you will need to fill out an application form in the prescribed form and approved by the university’s highest council.

Documents must be submitted within the time frame determined by the university administration. You can get acquainted with them either on the educational institution’s portal on the Internet. You can also call the admissions office and clarify all the information you need.

After you submit the documents, all that remains is to wait for the start date of the exams. As a rule, they begin closer - in August or early September. The admissions office will tell you the schedule.