Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation give us a more personal view of you as a student and offer insight that can’t be gleaned through grades and scores. Hearing about you from someone who knows you well helps us gain additional perspective on how you might do in Penn's academic environment, and what you could contribute to our community!

If you apply to Penn as a first-year or transfer student, you will need to request recommendation letters from three people:  

  1. your school counselor or college official 
  2. a teacher in a core subject area  
  3. another teacher OR supporter in your community who you believe could add a perspective otherwise missing from your application. 

You Know Who Knows You Best

We rely on recommendations to understand you as a learner as well as how you interact with those around you. While an instructor’s perspective and understanding of who you are in a classroom setting is crucial to our process, we also know that there are many reasons that other people in your life may know you even better. Our letter of recommendation policy is designed to offer you flexibility for this reason. 

We require three letters of recommendation for first-year applicants. 

Counselor Recommendation 

This is your high school counselor’s evaluation of your attributes and accomplishments. Typically, your counselor will send this recommendation along with your official transcript. 

Teacher Recommendation 

If possible, choose teachers who you had most recently during your junior or senior year in major academic subjects like math, science, history, English, or foreign language. The best academic recommendations come from teachers who know you well and can speak to your engagement in the classroom—not necessarily the ones who gave you the best grade.  

Other Recommendation 

This may be a second teacher or a non-academic recommendation. For non-academic recommendations, choose someone who knows you personally and whose perspective would add information not captured elsewhere in your application. This person may be a supervisor at work, mentor, coach, arts or music instructor, spiritual leader, or cultural leader. Letters from family members and close family friends typically do not provide information that is helpful to the evaluation process. 

If you decide to request a second teacher recommendation letter, try to avoid submitting letters from two teachers in the same subject area. 

We don’t prefer one type of letter of recommendation option over the other (academic vs. non-academic) and encourage you to choose the people you believe will best represent you. 

We require three letters of recommendation for transfer applicants. 

College Report  

Your advisor or another school official will need to submit a College Report form (available on the Common App or Coalition Application website). This serves as a “recommendation letter” for your application. You may need to invite this individual using their email address to complete this step.  

College Instructor Recommendation 

When asking an instructor for a recommendation, choose instructors that you had most recently while in college. If possible, consider obtaining a recommendation from an instructor in your area of academic interest. 

 Other Recommendation  

This may be a second instructor or a non-academic recommendation. For non-academic recommendations, choose someone who knows you personally and whose perspective would add information not captured elsewhere in your application. This person may be a supervisor at work, mentor, coach, arts or music instructor, spiritual leader, or cultural leader. Letters from family members and close family friends typically do not provide information that is helpful to the evaluation process.  

If you decide to request a second instructor recommendation letter, try to avoid submitting letters from two instructors in the same subject area or department. 

We don’t prefer one type of letter of recommendation option over the other (academic vs. non-academic) and encourage you to choose the people you believe will best represent you. 

Tips for Requesting Recommendation Letters

  • Start this process early and ask for recommendations well in advance of your application deadline to allow your recommenders to reflect on their experiences with you. 
  • Prepare your recommenders to be your best advocates by sharing helpful documents like your resume, or lists of past projects and assignments you completed, favorite topics, or your aspirations for college. 
  • Penn does allow for one additional supplemental recommendation letter beyond the three required. Please be selective when deciding whether you need to request this supplemental recommendation letter, as this is an opportunity to ensure equity in our process for students who may have unique circumstances that require more context.  

Learn more about submitting Supplementary Materials.