The Teacher's/Guidance Counselor/School Official Recommendation
Frequently Asked Questions about the Recommendations
We require one personal recommendation from a teacher or faculty member and one personal recommendation from a school official, guidance counselor or faculty advisor. It is important that this individual can attest primarily to your academic abilities. We suggest that you provide your recommender adequate time to complete the form and to write his/her recommendation.
If the person you have chosen is not too familiar with such recommendation letters, you may suggest that they use the nine points listed on our form to help in framing a response. An average letter of recommendation will be a half page to full page assessment of the applicant. Generally, a three to four sentence recommendation is too short! Also, these letters may be written or translated in(to) English or German.
New Teacher's & School Official Recommendation Form - Now available
In PDF format, including the teacher's recommendation forms.
To be printed, filled in and mailed to our postal address by your school official. These forms are in addition to the online (or paper) application.
Who can write a letter of recommendation as a guidance counselor?
- In some schools, guidance counselors (a.k.a. university advisors or career counselors) help students learn about their post secondary school options. If you are attending a school without a guidance counselor (as is often the case in countries like Germany), then you should probably ask your headmaster (Obersufenkoordinator) to write this recommendation for you. If the person you have chosen is not too familiar with such recommendation letters, you may suggest that they use the nine points listed on our form to help in framing a response. An average letter of recommendation will be a half page to full page assessment of the applicant. Generally, a three to four sentence recommendation is too short! Also, these letters may be written in or translated to English or German.
What if my recommender is not used to writing such recommendations?
- If the person you have chosen is not too familiar with such recommendation letters, you may suggest that they use the nine points listed on our form to help in framing a response. An average letter of recommendation will be a half page to full page assessment of the applicant. Generally, a three to four sentence recommendation is too short! Recommendation letters must be written or translated in(to) English or German, unless you have directly arranged an alternative with our office.
How many teacher recommendations can be submitted?
- As many as you wish, although one is sufficient.
Who may read this letter of recommendation?
- The completed recommendation form and accompanying letter that has been written by a school official is confidential information. It is to be sent to the admission office in an envelope sealed by the recommender. You may also have this individual include your school transcript with his/her recommendation. As a courtesy, you should provide a stamped envelope addressed to Jacobs University Bremen.
May I read or alter the recommendation?
- No. The completed recommendation form and accompanying letter that has been written is confidential information. It is to be sent to the admission office in an envelope sealed by the recommender. If the letter is in another language, this needs to be officially translated, remain confidential, and the same mailing procedures apply for the translation agency.
What if I have been out of school for so long that my teachers or school officials would not be able to write a letter for me anymore?
- We do have some applicants who have worked for a few years before applying to Jacobs University for a BA or BSc. In those situations, an applicant may include a recommendation from an employer. One of the two recommendations however must come from an official from an educational institution. We need to verify your academic abilities. If the period of time that you have been away from school has been so substantial that such recommendations are not possible, then we suggest you consider taking some additional classes at a local university or college where you can be properly evaluated by a professor. This will improve your chances for admission to our university, which itself concentrates on a very vigorous academic program.
Do my recommenders have to use the Jacobs University recommendation form?
- Not necessarily. Common Application recommendation forms or special forms created by UWCs for example have been helpful to our committee, and they may act as a substitute. In general, however, whatever the final format of there commendation, we highly recommend the questions we have asked on our form be answered and therefore insist that you provide your recommender our form. We definitely require up-to-date recommender contact information, the recommendation letter itself as well as for each submitted page to be signed by the recommender.
What needs to be signed?
- The applicant need to sign the "applicant section" of the form as requested. The recommender should also sign his/her part of the form and any additional pages. An official school stamp is also helpful. The final recommendation needs to be sealed, stamped by the school and/or signed by the recommender in order to be considered certified.
What does it mean to be certified?
- When a document is certified it means that it has been approved by a school or organization official. Certification often comes in the form of a stamp and/or signature, and the contact information of the certifier must also be included somewhere on the document. Copies of certified copies are not certified!! Stamps and signatures must be original and true, and certified documents must be sent directly from the school or organization.
Where do I send the recommendation letter?
