Hi there! I'm applying to Dartmouth and they have this peer recommendation requirement. I'm a bit confused about how it should be written and what it should cover. Can anybody give me some advice or examples of good peer recommendations? Thank you!
4 months agoHi! A peer recommendation for Dartmouth is a unique opportunity for someone who knows you well to share a different perspective of who you are with the admissions committee. Here are some guidelines and tips to help your recommender craft an effective letter:
1. Choose the right person: Make sure your peer is someone who knows you well and can speak to your character, interests, achievements, and growth. It's better to choose someone who has spent a significant amount of time with you, like a close friend or a teammate, rather than an acquaintance or a popular person at school.
Also make sure they can provide a perspective on you that's different from your teachers - Dartmouth wants to know how you'll fit into their campus more broadly, not just in the classroom, so pick someone who can help them understand what kind of roommate you'll be, how you'd navigate a college dining hall, and so on.
2. Share specific anecdotes: Encourage your recommender to include specific stories or instances that showcase your qualities, personality, or collaboration skills. These anecdotes will help illustrate to the admissions committee how you interact with others and handle challenges.
3. Focus on less obvious aspects: As noted above, the peer recommendation should complement, not repeat, the information presented in your application and other letters of recommendation. Advise your recommender to focus on aspects of your personality, strengths, or experiences that might not be evident from your essays or teacher recommendations.
4. Show growth and development: Your recommender can demonstrate how you've grown or developed over time, by highlighting areas where you've made significant progress or overcome challenges. Maturity and resilience are qualities that colleges value.
5. Be genuine and personal: The most impactful peer recommendations are warm, honest, and personal rather than overly formal or generic. Encourage your recommender to write with sincerity and share insights that only a close friend or companion could provide.
6. Maintain appropriate length and structure: While there's no set length for a peer recommendation, it should be concise and well-organized. A strong letter typically runs between 1-2 pages, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
Since the best peer recommendations are specific to that recommender and their relationship with the applicant, providing an example is tricky, but hopefully this overview gives you a clearer idea of the purpose of this recommendation letter. To learn more about peer recommendations, I'd check out this blog post from CollegeVine: https://blog.collegevine.com/peer-letter-of-recommendation
Or, on a separate note, if you're looking for tips on how to strengthen other aspects of your application to Dartmouth, check out this CollegeVine blog post, which breaks down how to tackle their school-specific supplemental essays: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-dartmouth-college-essays/. Like the peer recommendation, the essays are a great opportunity to showcase what you'd bring to Dartmouth beyond the numbers.
Finally, remember to give your recommender enough time to write the letter and thank them for their support. Good luck with your application!
4 months agoCollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.