一封好的推荐信，可以成为你其他申请材料的补充。在这一点上，申请者们往往会陷入误区：头衔最响、地位最高的人写的推荐信含金量更高。
但MIT招生办公室在其官方指南中告诉我们，一封高质量的推荐信不在于证明你“有多好”，而在于你“如何好”。接下来我们结合具体示例来看下，什么样的推荐才是“有效”的。
1、推荐信里应该包含哪些内容？
当推荐者（学校辅导员或老师）的评价足够具体且富有故事性时，这样的推荐信才是对申请者最有帮助的。高质量的推荐信应该为招生官提供从其他材料中无法获得的信息和印象，尽可能用事实来支持结论。
那么学校想看到推荐人从哪些方面来介绍申请者呢？MIT的官网上已经列出了参考：
●你与申请人是什么关系？如果你不了解申请人，请写一个简短的摘要。
●学生是否愿意挑战自我并尝试课堂之外的内容？
●申请人有哪些不寻常的能力、才能或领导力？
●哪些事情会激励这个申请人，或让他感到兴奋？
●申请人是如何与老师和同龄人互动的，请描述下他们的个性和社交技巧。
●关于这个学生，你印象最深刻的是什么？
●如果你了解MIT的话，你为什么认为申请人是适合MIT的，Ta将如何融入MIT的社区文化并获得成长？
●申请人是否有过遇到失败和挫折的经历，如果有的话，Ta是怎么应对的？
2、避雷：这样的推荐信不写也罢！
反面教材一：千篇一律的赞美
Jen was a student in one of my predominately senior physics classes. She took physics her junior year in high school and was a good student. Through hard work, she was able to develop a good understanding of the subject material.
Jen also had personal qualities that are commendable. In the two years that I have known her I have never known her to be dishonest or untrustworthy. Once on an exam paper I had made a grading error in her favor. She brought this to my attention even though it resulted in a lower test grade.
In conclusion, I feel that Jen has both the academic and personal qualities to be a credit to the college of her choice, and I give her my recommendation without reservation.
MIT招生官点评
我们每年收到成千上万封这样的推荐信。文中用到的都是积极的话，但这并没有对候选人进行任何深度的介绍。诚实和可靠当然是令人钦佩的品质，但它们在美国顶尖大学申请者中并不罕见。我们希望找到一个令人信服的理由来录取他，比如与其他人相比，Jen是否表现得更出色？
反面教材二：没有实质信息的推荐
Brian was in the top five in my class consistently. He is certainly motivated to study. His character and personality are admirable. Brian is an excellent student, hard worker and has above average reasoning ability.
MIT招生官点评
我们真的不知道写这封信的作者想要告诉我们什么，没有太多实质性的信息。我们不禁要问，到底是这个学生没有太多可说的，还是老师没有用心去推荐。如果所有推荐都像这样缺乏有用的信息，我们会默认这位申请者没有太多可说的。但如果其他的推荐更好，我们会假设是这位老师没有用心推荐。
3、优秀推荐信示例
优秀推荐信一
It is a great pleasure for me to recommend David for admission to MIT. He is one of the most extraordinary students I have encountered in 20 years of teaching. I taught David A.P. Calculus last year as a tenth grader, and he was one of the very top students in an extremely able group of mostly seniors. He has a high aptitude for math and was very much involved in his work, applying himself with persistence and dedication and often going beyond the regular class assignments.
David’s abiding interest, however, is computer science. He has developed a series of “strands” for use in providing computerized drill and review in the basic skills and techniques of algebra and arithmetic and has recently adapted these to other subjects. David’s work in this area has been so original and significant that he has published a paper on it and delivered several lectures to professionals in other parts of the country. This is a phenomenal accomplishment for anyone, especially a young man in rural Arkansas. It is also worth noting that both last year and this year David taught computer programming to a tenth-grade class of mine for two weeks. He took over completely, preparing lectures, assignments, and tests with great care and thought. His lectures were clear and well organized, and it was obvious that he had expended a great deal of effort to make the course the success that it was.
David’s personal qualities are as impressive as his intellectual accomplishments. An extremely kind, sensitive and sensible boy, he has had a difficult family situation for a few years now. He provides emotional support to his mother through her battle with cancer without allowing the situation to undermine his own stability and accomplishments. He has exhausted all that we have to offer him in this small community, and the maturity that he has demonstrated leads me to believe him capable of entering college a year early, as he now plans to do. I sincerely hope that you will be able to offer him a place in MIT’s freshman class.
MIT招生官点评
太棒了！这位推荐人显然非常了解这个学生。我们不仅清楚地感受到了申请人的智力超群，也了解到他的情感成熟度。他对计算机编程的真挚热爱在这位老师的描述中得到了体现，而且他不断为自己创造机会，推动着所在社区的计算机科学学术的发展，这些特质是我们在候选人身上非常看重的。
优秀推荐信二
Mary has contributed to the school community in a variety of ways, most notably through her participation on the newspaper and yearbook staffs. Frankly, I am impressed with her aggressiveness, creativity, determination and ability to schedule extracurricular activities around a full academic workload. I have never heard Mary complain about her workload or refuse any assignment that she has been given. It is not adequate to say that she accepts responsibility readily. She seeks responsibility. Oh, for more such students!
As business manager for the paper and co-editor of the yearbook the past two years, Mary has done an outstanding job. She personally brought the town’s business community from the view that the school newspaper was a charitable organization to the realization that the paper is a direct pipeline through which advertisers can reach students. She also took the initiative to set up the advertising rate schedule for the paper that produced enough revenue to expand coverage from a four-page paper, so that it is an eight-page and often twelve-page paper. Her work as photographer for both publications has been equally outstanding.
Her motivation is not forced upon her, nor does she wear it like a badge. She has tremendous self-discipline. Mary is also a dedicated, versatile and talented student who will be an asset to your undergraduate community. She has my respect and my highest recommendation.
MIT招生官点评
很好，这封推荐信里大量的细节给我们留下了清晰的印象，比如，我们通过描述清楚地了解到Mary对新闻事业的热爱以及她的能力和品质。这些真实的、能让人脱颖而出的东西，可以为Mary的申请大大加分。
优秀推荐信三
Jane is an outstanding young woman whose academic record may not fully reflect her ability. Her parents were divorced during her junior year, and, for several years before that, her home situation had been in turmoil with a great deal of fighting between her parents. Her father has an alcohol problem, and Jane certainly endured a great deal of emotional distress. The fact that she has been able to do as well as she has done given the circumstances says a lot about her. Now that the home situation has stabilized, her performance has improved. I believe her senior year grades are a much better reflection of her ability.
MIT招生官点评
推荐信还承担着解释学生的成绩为什么会在某一段时间里突然下降的作用。比如这封推荐信就向招生官说明了Jane是如何面对生活中的变故，同时兼顾学业的。可能有人会犹豫在推荐信里写这些是不是合适，但是我们很欣赏能够让我们洞察学生身处的环境和他们的表现的东西。
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