Recommendation Letters are an integral part of a successful university application as they are a requirement by some universities.
Your recommendation letter is an important part of your application because:
Demonstrates your character, strengths and experiences which helps to assure the admission officers that you are an asset to the university
Helps you stand out from other applicants
Acts as a formal endorsement of your abilities and potential
To begin this process, you’ll need to send recommendation requests to your teachers. If you’ve never sent a recommendation request before, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered! Our step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to know to complete the process smoothly.
Important! If you’ve already invited any recommenders in your Common App directly, please log into your Common App account and remove them first. Then, navigate back to BridgeU to send your teacher recommendation requests from BridgeU directly.
Step 1: Navigate to the Decide tab on your main menu and click Teacher recommendations
Step 2: Click Invite teacher to send out your first teacher recommendation.
Step 3: Enter the teacher’s name and email address. You may use the template pre-populated message available or personalise your message to the teacher by editing the message box. Once ready, click on Send Invite.
Step 4: You are all set! Your teacher recommendation request has now been sent!
Step 5: To track your requests, go to the Your Invited Teachers section. Here you can review the status of all your sent recommendation requests.
"Completed" means that your teacher has finished writing the recommendation and submitted it to your school counselor/advisor. Once your teacher has completed the recommendation request, it becomes available for your school counselor/advisor to assign to your selected universities.
You will see confirmation of the teacher recommendation submission in your Common App account after your counselor/advisor adds your university selections and submits it for you.
💡 Make sure you let your counselor know which teacher recommendation you would like to be sent to which university. You can use the Teacher Recommendation assignment template to help you too!
FAQ's for Teacher Recommendations
1. How can I remove or delete a Teacher Recommendation request?
Students cannot delete a Teacher Recommendation request on their own in BridgeU. If you need to remove a request (for example, if you invited the wrong teacher or the teacher is no longer available), you will need to contact your assigned school counselor. Your counselor can delete the request from their end, but only if the recommendation has not yet been submitted to the Common App.
2. How can I re-send a Teacher Recommendation invitation or remind a teacher?
BridgeU does not allow resending a Teacher Recommendation invitation to the same email address, and there is no option to send a reminder through the platform. If your teacher has not yet completed the request, you should follow up with them directly, either in person or by sending them a reminder email.
If you need the same teacher to submit more than one recommendation, you will need to send a new invitation using a different email address.
If you have any questions, need further assistance or have some general feedback for us - we’d love to hear from you! Contact our Support team via Live Chat and by emailing hi@bridge-u.com.