do i need to know what college I'm going to, to get a letter of recommendation?

Question

do i need to know what college im going to in order to get a letter of recommendation from my teacher?

Answer 1

It helps if you know -- but at least be prepared to talk about the quality of your school.

There are two reasons why this is important. The first is so the teacher can tailor the letter to the school. The second is because the teacher may be willing to give you a positive reputation to one school, but not another. For example, he may think highly of you and write a good recommendation for a good regional school or your State University -- but think you are not qualified for the ivy League.

You can ask those writing letters for you what information they need.

Answer 2

Not necessarily. The teachers could write you a generic letter that you could photocopy to anyone. However, many colleges do prefer to get letters that are directed specifically to them. In other words, admissions reps at Harvard would be more inclined to read a letter that says "this student would be a great addition to Harvard" than they would one that says "this student would be a good student".

What you could do now is ask your teachers if they'd be willing to write you a reference letter later. Then make sure you have contact info, and just email them later when you know where you want the letter sent.

Answer 3

no. you can have people write positive letters of reference about you, that aren't specific to a college. I applied to 6 and used the same letters for all of them.