Recommendation Letter Generator
Enter how you know the student, up to three things you have actually seen them do, and how strongly you recommend them, and get a letter in the shape admissions committees expect. Placeholders mark anything you have left blank, and a short checklist flags thin evidence. Honest templates, no AI: the observations are yours, and nothing is invented for you. Free, no sign-up.
About the letter
Before you write: the FERPA waiver (United States)
- On US application systems such as the Common App, the student is asked whether to waive the right to see recommendation letters. The choice is the student’s: under the federal rule (34 CFR §99.12) a college may not require the waiver as a condition of admission.
- A waiver is a written choice to give up the right to inspect confidential letters after enrolling. If the student did not waive, write as if the student may one day read the letter.
- Check which choice your system shows you. This is general information, not legal advice; for a specific case ask the college’s admissions office or registrar.
The student and the application
Usually the first name. Leave blank to repeat the full name.
Follows “Dear”. Leave blank for “To the admissions committee,”.
How you know them
Finishes the sentence “I have known [the student] for [how long], as …”.
What you have seen
Write in your own words. One concrete episode — what the student did, when, and what happened — persuades more than three adjectives.
Comparison (optional)
Only include a comparison you can stand behind: name the group, and the basis you are judging on.
Honest limits make the rest believable. Required if your endorsement is qualified.
Your endorsement
Choose the level you actually feel. Readers compare many letters; an honest “pleased to recommend” with real examples outweighs an inflated claim.
Your details
Your letter
9 placeholders left to fill — shown in [brackets]
To the admissions committee,
I am writing in support of [Student's name]’s application. I have known [Student's name] for [how long], as [how you know the student, such as “their instructor in two courses”].
[What you observed, with one specific example]
I recommend [Student's name] strongly. Please contact me if I can provide any further information.
Sincerely, [Your name] [Your title] [Your institution]
Checks before you send
- No observations yet. A letter needs at least one concrete episode.
- Say how you know the student and for how long; readers weigh a letter by how well the writer knows the student.
- The letter is 63 words. Most are about a page — add specifics rather than adjectives.
How to Use the Recommendation Letter Generator
- 1. Say who and what for. Enter the student's name and, if you know it, what you are recommending them for. Leave the addressee blank for “To the admissions committee,”.
- 2. Describe how you know them. Give your relationship and how long you have known the student. Readers weigh a letter by how well its writer knows the student.
- 3. Write up to three observations. For each, name the strength and describe one episode: what the student did, when, and what happened. These paragraphs are your words; the tool only adds a lead-in sentence.
- 4. Add a comparison only if you can stand behind it. Choose a level, and say which group you are comparing with and on what basis, or write your own sentence. Choose “No comparison” and none appears.
- 5. Choose your endorsement honestly and check the notes. Read the checks under the letter, fix the gaps, then copy the letter or download it as text.
What a Useful Recommendation Letter Contains
Admissions readers see many letters, and most of them praise. What separates a useful letter is evidence: things the writer saw, described precisely enough that the reader could picture them. A letter that says a student is “hardworking, bright and a pleasure to teach” gives the committee nothing it cannot find in a thousand others. One that describes a student testing their own hypothesis for two weeks of office hours gives it something to remember.
- Your relationship. In what capacity, for how long, and in what setting. If you taught 300 students over eight years, say so; the number is what makes a comparison meaningful.
- Two or three observations. Each one strength, one episode. Pick episodes the application is unlikely to show elsewhere.
- A comparison, if you have a basis for one. “Top 5% of the roughly 300 undergraduates I have taught, judged by independent research” is checkable. “One of the best I have taught” is not.
- Honest limits. One real area for growth, stated plainly, makes the rest more believable.
- A clear endorsement. Choose the level you actually feel. A warm but measured letter backed by examples usually outweighs an inflated one.
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| She is a hard worker. | When the spectrometer failed the week before her deadline, she trained two classmates on the backup instrument and still submitted on time. |
| He is very curious. | He asked why a reaction that worked on paper gave a poor yield, and spent two weeks of office hours testing his explanation. |
| She is a good leader. | Her unpaid study session for first-years grew from four attendees to about twenty over the term. |
The FERPA Waiver (United States)
Many US applications ask the student to choose whether to waive the right to see recommendation letters. This comes from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Under the Department of Education's regulation, 34 CFR §99.12, a student can waive in writing the right to inspect confidential letters of recommendation related to admission, employment or an honor, but an institution cannot make the waiver a condition of admission, and it must use the letters only for the purpose intended.
FERPA's inspection rights belong to students who attend the institution, so in practice the choice concerns whether an enrolled student could later ask to see the letter. For you, the writer, the practical point is simple. If the student did not waive, write the letter as if they might one day read it; if they did, the same standard is still the right one. Check which choice your application system shows you. This is general information, not legal advice — for a specific case, ask the college's admissions office or registrar.
Common Mistakes
- Agreeing to write a letter you cannot support. If you cannot say something specific and positive, the kindest answer is to decline early so the student can ask someone else.
- Listing the student's grades and activities. The application already shows them. Add what only you saw.
- Superlatives with no group. “The best student I have ever taught” invites the question: out of how many?
- Letting the student write it. Some students are asked to supply a draft. The letter must still be your opinion, in your words, signed by you.
- Reusing a letter without rereading it. A wrong name, a wrong pronoun or the wrong programme is the most common reason a good letter fails.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long should a recommendation letter be?
- Most are about a page, which is roughly 300 to 700 words, but follow any limit the application sets. The tool flags a draft under 250 words as thin and over 800 as long. Length matters less than specifics: two vivid paragraphs outweigh a page of adjectives.
- What should I include in a recommendation letter?
- How you know the student and for how long, two or three specific things you observed, a comparison if you have a real basis for one, an honest note on an area of growth, and a clear statement of how strongly you recommend them. Your contact details close the letter so the reader can follow up.
- What does waiving FERPA mean on a recommendation letter?
- The student gives up, in writing, the right to inspect the confidential letter after enrolling at the college. Under 34 CFR §99.12 a college may not require the waiver for admission. The choice is the student's; this tool is general information, not legal advice.
- Can I say no to writing a recommendation letter?
- Yes, and it is usually better than writing a lukewarm letter. Decline early, say you cannot write a strong one, and suggest the student ask someone who knows their work better. Do it kindly and give them time before the deadline.
- What if I have reservations about the student?
- Choose the “with a qualification” endorsement and state the reservation plainly and fairly, or describe the area of growth in a separate sentence. A letter with a measured, specific limit is more credible than one that is uniformly glowing.
- Can a student write their own recommendation letter?
- A student can send you notes, a résumé and examples to jog your memory, and some committees invite it. The letter itself must be your honest assessment in your words, and you sign it. This generator uses only what you type about what you have seen.
- Is this recommendation letter generator AI?
- No. Honest templates, no AI. It adds lead-in sentences and an endorsement around the observations you write, and it flags what is blank or thin. It runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded.