Most colleges in the United States and abroad require four recommendation letters as part of their admissions package. These letters are intended to show to the admissions counselors what sort of person the student is in real life and how his peers, teachers and employers view him. Such a perspective is very important in order to determine the student's fit into the college as a whole and into
. the particular major for which the student is applying. Often, these letters are treated with even higher regard than the student's volunteering or extra curricular experience. It is generally thought that a student can join a whole plethora of clubs in order to boost his image in the eyes of the admissions staff, but the kind of impact he leaves on his teachers and employees is far more difficult to fake or rush. Some colleges are very specific with the sort of letters they want. They request, for instance, that at least two of the letters be from teachers and one be from an employer, while the third one is up to the student. Other colleges are less specific and simply tell the student that any four letters will do. The general consensus remains the same, however. Letters from teachers and employers carry the greatest weight. This is due to the fact that the student is not going to college to be friends with the staff or to be with their family. He is going there to be their student. As such, the opinions of past teachers greatly help to predict how the student will fit into the academic environment at the school. The letter carries even more weight if the teacher writing it teaches the same subject as the one in which the student is majoring. For example, if a student is planning to major in Biology, a teacher's letter about that student's diligent labwork and research can count for a lot. More Reference Links: http://www.cazenovia.edu/default.aspx?tabid=1474 http://hrpeople.monster.com/news/articles/3841-4-ways-to-get-killer-letters-of-recommendation
