A scholarship recommendation letter is an essential part of a scholarship application. So why is it essential, especially after completing a grueling scholarship application, including this nerve-wracking scholarship essay?

The reason is simple – a great scholarship recommendation letter gives a strong image of you as a whole person. When the scholarship recommendation letter clearly states why you are a good candidate for your dream university – through your skills, character, or other forms of contributions, you are more likely to be considered for the scholarship .

The million dollar question is, how do you go about getting a scholarship recommendation letter?

Here are four tips that might help:

Scholarship Recommendation Letter 1: Identify Who Should Write This Letter

Your best choice is someone who knows you well – this could be a teacher, employer or even a mentor. The most ideal recommender is your professor, because you are applying for a scholarship to study at a university, and universities usually want to know how you are doing in school.

Besides your academic performance, your teachers are likely to be in a better position to share details about your contributions or involvement in the school (i.e. your extracurricular activities). If you are applying for a master’s program, your teacher or lecturer might write about your research skills and comment on your suitability for undertaking graduate study.

Your employer or mentor can talk about your contributions to the company or organization, especially if you’ve taken on a leadership role.

If they don’t know you well enough, they may refuse to write you a letter of recommendation, so it’s best to prepare a list of potential recommenders just in case. Some scholarship applications may even require more than one letter of recommendation, so it would be best to have backups.

Scholarship Recommendation Letter 2: Plan This Early

A common mistake is to leave this letter until the last minute. When it is time to submit the application and you do not have this letter in hand by the given deadline, you may not be able to land your dream scholarship.

It would be best to contact your recommender at least four weeks before the scholarship recommendation letter submission deadline, which allows them plenty of time to write a powerful letter.

Be certain to inquire about their schedules well in advance of the submission deadline to ensure that they can meet it.

Scholarship Recommendation Letter 3: Provide Useful Details

Once you have locked a recommender, you will want to provide them with enough details such as, who – and how – to send the letter to, deadline, etc.

Even better, if you can explain to them what is needed in the scholarship recommendation letter – for example, your academic aptitude, research skills, or even your achievements.

It would also be helpful to send your recommender a copy of your CV and academic transcript; this will help them write a more compelling letter to support your scholarship application.

Scholarship Recommendation Letter 4: Thank Them

Everyone loves a “thank you” – it makes them feel valued and happy to contribute in any way they can. Once your recommender has taken the time to write and submit this important letter, be sure to thank them for their help and time spent writing your scholarship recommendation letter.

This will let them know you appreciate them and they’ll be more willing to write another letter in the future. If you’ve been selected for an interview, or won the scholarship, let them know too – as the saying goes: Happiness shared is doubled.

We hope these tips help you get the scholarship of your dreams. All my wishes!