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.