Sending Your Counselor and Core Teachers a Brag Sheet by Late July: How to "Feed" Your Key Qualities into Their Recommendation Letters

Many parents and students don't realize that a recommendation letter isn't something you passively wait for a teacher to write. You can actively feed a teacher material through a Brag Sheet, or self-advocacy questionnaire. A teacher at any given school may be responsible for hundreds of students in a single semester, and even the most attentive teacher can't remember every one of your standout moments. The Brag Sheet is the tool that helps a teacher "remember you and write you well." This piece is about how to fill one out so your teacher both wants to and is able to write the kind of specific, vivid recommendation letter admissions officers appreciate.

I. What a Brag Sheet Is and Who It's For

It's a questionnaire the student fills out and hands to the recommender (counselor or subject teacher) to help them understand who you are beyond your grades. Common App officially provides two templates: one for the counselor and one for teachers. Note: a Brag Sheet is internal material meant for your recommender's eyes. It's not a resume, and you should not submit it as part of your application to the admissions office.

II. What Admissions Officers Want to See in a Recommendation Letter (Which Determines What You Should Feed In)

Based on preferences openly shared by the Johns Hopkins admissions office, a strong recommendation letter should: use specific examples and details to show how you engage inside and outside the classroom; describe your performance and impact across all of high school, not just a single moment; add context that goes beyond the School Profile, such as programs or opportunities unique to your school or challenges you've faced; and use real anecdotes to help an admissions officer picture what you'll be like in college.

What admissions officers explicitly don't want: a list of activities and awards; a rehash of quantitative data already available elsewhere in the application; empty or exaggerated adjectives. So your Brag Sheet shouldn't say "I have strong leadership skills." It should offer a specific scene that shows leadership, so your teacher can drop that story directly into the letter.

III. Prompts in the Common App Template Worth Taking Seriously

• Describe yourself in three adjectives. But don't stop at the adjectives. Pair each one with a real example.

• Describe your favorite lesson or unit in this class, and why.

• Describe a project you did in this class that you're proud of.

• From the qualities admissions officers care about (academic achievement, originality of thought, quality of writing, contribution to class discussion, maturity, response to setbacks, care for others, initiative, and so on), pick one or two and give a specific moment in class when you demonstrated that quality.

• What's one thing about you your teacher might not know?

IV. Practical Tips

Don't dash off a few sentences and call it done. For each question, ask yourself "why" a few more times and dig to the root. The more specific and reflective your answers, the more textured the letter your teacher can write. And the fact that you filled it out thoughtfully itself signals to your teacher that you're taking your application seriously. Once you're done, don't forget to sincerely thank your teacher (the Common App teacher template even includes a suggested thank-you note).

Every school's version of the Brag Sheet and its prompts may differ. Follow whichever version your school's counseling department provides.

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