There is a right way and a wrong way to request college application recommendations - these tips should lead you through all you need to know to go about it the "right" way:

• Do not put off requesting your recommendations until the last minute. The very early birds have flocked to their preferred recommenders before even embarking upon the summer vacation that follows junior year. If you have arrived at the months of October and November of your senior year without having reached out to anyone, you're asking for trouble - the good recommenders are taken first, and at terribly large schools it is important to realize that your teachers are only human and they do have human capacities. They can only take on so much. There is always the chance that a teacher will have to outright tell you that no, he has too much on his plate already - or, if a busy teacher does submit to one more request, well-meaning or not, the further down you are at the bottom of his stack, the more weary he's apt to become by the time he gets to you, and there's the risk that it may show in his final product. Do not put your teachers in this position - ask early.

• When requesting a teacher's recommendation, share with him why it is that you would like to be him who writes it - this way, he understands what your expectations are, and is more likely to write an earnest recommendation that lives up to those expectations rather than giving in to the possible temptation to piece together something generic just to get the job done.

• Before handing out the recommendation forms to your teachers, please be sure to sign the waiver of your right to read their submissions. Some teachers will voluntarily show you their letters all the same, but if you feel like not having the opportunity to see the letters will make you nervous, it is highly probable that you're requesting recommendations from the wrong people anyway.

• Give your teacher everything he needs - don't leave him to come up with stamps and envelopes, or to have to take the extra time to address them all in order to mail out your materials.

• If there are any schools you're still not sure about applying to, but that are still in consideration when it's time to distribute your recommendation forms, please get these to your teacher anyway - many have the tendency to be displeased when you add even the slightest bit more work to their load than they'd originally planned for. Ask for everything you need the first time.

• Send thank you notes to your teachers expressing your appreciation for them agreeing to take the time to write thoughtful recommendations, even before you know that they've finished them.