How many letters of recommendation for college you need depends on the college. The Common App says so in its first-year application guide: “Every college gets to choose their own recommendation requirements.” We read the first-year admissions pages of 15 colleges and the University of California system in October 2026. Eleven require two teacher letters, two require one, and three require none.
Ten of the eleven colleges that want two teacher letters also require a letter from your school counselor; MIT lists the counselor letter as optional. Of the four public universities we read, only UNC-Chapel Hill requires a letter. UT Austin accepts optional ones, and the University of California and the University of Washington take none with the application.
How Many Letters of Recommendation for College, College by College
The table shows what each admissions page asked of first-year applicants when we read it on October 16, 2026. A counselor letter here means the counselor recommendation. Princeton and Brown point out that it is a separate item from the School Report your counselor also submits, so you invite your counselor to complete both.
| College | Counselor letter | Teacher letters | Extra letters | Cycle, or date read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | Required (part of the School Report) | 2 | Not stated | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Yale | Required | 2 | Supplemental letters accepted | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Princeton | Required | 2 | Not stated | Read October 16, 2026 |
| MIT (own application) | Optional | 2 | Optional supplemental letter | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Stanford | Required | 2 | One additional recommender | Page updated September 11, 2026 |
| Duke | Required | 2 | Not stated | 2026-27 |
| Brown | Required | 2 | Not stated | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Cornell | Required | 2 | Not stated | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Boston College | Required | 2 | Not stated | 2026-27 |
| Amherst | Required | 2 | Not stated | 2026-27 |
| Pomona | Required | 2 | Optional: elective teacher, coach, employer or other | Read October 16, 2026 |
| Penn | Required | 1 | Optional: a second teacher or a community supporter | Read October 16, 2026 |
| UNC-Chapel Hill | Not listed (School Report required) | 1 | Not stated | Read October 16, 2026 |
| UT Austin | Not required | Not required | Up to 2 optional letters | Decisions dated January 15 and February 15, 2027 (fall 2027 entry) |
| University of California | Not required or read | Not required or read | Berkeley may invite a small percent to send up to 2 | Fall 2027 application |
| University of Washington | Asks you not to send | Asks you not to send | Asks you not to send | Read October 16, 2026 |
The two-teacher pattern runs through the private colleges. Harvard lists “Teacher Recommendations (2)” next to a School Report “which includes a counselor letter”. Yale asks for “Letters of recommendation from two teachers and one counselor”. Princeton, Duke, Brown, Cornell, Boston College, Amherst and Pomona ask for the same set in their own words.
Stanford requires a counselor recommendation and “letters of recommendation from two academic teachers”. Two private colleges break the pattern. Penn requires a counselor letter and one teacher letter, then takes “another teacher OR supporter in your community” as an optional extra. MIT, which uses its own application, says “We require two letters of recommendation from teachers” and lists a “School counselor letter of recommendation” as optional.
Public Universities: One Letter, Optional Letters or None
The four public universities give different answers. UNC-Chapel Hill lists one required letter, which “should come from a teacher who taught you in a core academic area”. UT Austin requires none for fall 2027 entry and accepts up to two. The University of California states: “UC does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application.”
The University of Washington goes further: “We ask that you not send letters of recommendation”. It adds that it will learn what it needs through your essay responses.
Which Teachers Count
Several of these colleges name the subjects. Yale wants “two teachers who have taught you recently in core academic subjects” and accepts electives such as computer science and psychology. It also says letters from teachers of “performing arts, studio art, or leadership” do not meet its requirement, though they can go in as supplemental letters.
Princeton asks for teachers “in different academic areas of study”. MIT recommends “one letter from a math or science teacher” and one from a humanities, social science or language teacher. Stanford recommends “grade 11 or 12 teachers” and accepts grade 10 teachers for advanced coursework.
Counselor, Teacher and Other Recommenders on the Common App
The Common App sorts the people who write for you into types. Its 2025 guide to the recommendation process says: “There are four recommender types in the Common App: counselors, teachers, other recommenders, and advisors.” Each one does a different job:
- Counselor. Counselors write from the view of your whole graduating class, and the Common App’s first-year guide adds: “They also submit the School Report and transcripts.”
- Teacher. The same first-year guide says: “Teachers give a firsthand account of your intellectual curiosity and creative thought.”
- Other recommender. The recommendation guide lists “Arts Teacher, Clergy, Coach, College Access Counselor, Employer, Family Member, Peer, or Other”. The Common App’s other recommendation form warns: “Not all colleges accept other recommenders.”
- Advisor. An advisor can follow your progress, but in the first-year guide’s words, “Advisors do not submit any forms.”
The 2025 guide says “Every college can choose how many letters of recommendation to require” and which recommender types it accepts. You invite recommenders from each college’s Recommenders and FERPA section. The other recommendation form tells you to check that section, college by college, for the types it accepts.
Not every college routes letters this way. MIT collects them through its own application portal. UC Berkeley says “Only a small percent of applicants will be selected to submit letters”, and the request arrives by email, outside the UC application. Invited applicants may send up to two, and “one letter must be written by a teacher or instructor”.
What the Common App's Recommendation Forms Ask
Of the primary sources we read, the closest thing to a college letter of recommendation template is the Common App’s own forms. Harvard links printable copies of the 2026 versions. The Common App teacher evaluation asks the teacher for four things:
- Ratings against other students in the class on 15 qualities, from “Academic achievements” and “Intellectual promise” to “Reaction to setbacks” and “Initiative”, plus an “Overall” rating.
- Two short answers: “How long have you known this student and in what context?” and “What are the first words that come to your mind to describe this student?”
- A list of the courses the teacher taught you, with the level of each.
- “a short evaluation (1000 words or less)” that will “help colleges differentiate this student from others”.
The counselor recommendation form asks the same two questions and sets the same limit. It also gives a counselor who cannot write a full letter a box to check: “I will not be sending an evaluation for this student.” Pomona says “we do not expect every student to provide a detailed counselor recommendation”, and Cornell says you won’t be disadvantaged if your counselor’s caseload left no room to build a personal relationship.
The other recommendation form asks “What is your relationship with the student?” and how long the writer has known you. If you are the teacher or counselor doing the writing, our letter of reference template breaks a letter into the paragraphs it needs.
When a College Says a Letter Is Optional
An optional letter is a choice only at colleges that say they take one. UT Austin sets out its own test: the letter “should be able to give additional context or information to support your admission that is not already provided in your application or other submitted documents”. It also encourages “letters from sources outside your high school”.
Penn, Pomona, Yale and Stanford accept extra letters on their own terms. Stanford’s wording is that “you may have one additional recommender submit a letter on your behalf”. Where a college says not to send letters, don’t. Berkeley says “Unsolicited materials will not be reviewed”, and the University of Washington asks you not to send letters at all.
When to Send an Optional Letter
Our advice, where a college accepts an optional letter: send one only if its writer saw something your teachers and counselor did not, such as a job or a long commitment outside school. Princeton’s, Duke’s and Cornell’s pages say nothing about extra letters. For colleges like these, check the college’s Recommenders and FERPA section in the Common App before you add one.
Letters are one part of the file you do not write. For the parts you do, ExceptionalGrad’s Detailed Application Review is described on its page as a comprehensive review that “ensures that all sections of the application including essays and experiences are fully prepared for submission.”
Brag Sheets and What to Give Your Recommenders
The Common App gives you a way to brief the people writing for you. Its 2025 recommendation guide says “we created a set of questionnaires for you to fill out”, to help counselors and teachers write “a more personal and effective recommendation”. Its first-year toolkit lists them as a Counselor Brag Sheet and a Teacher Brag Sheet, plus a Family Brag Sheet for family members to fill out.
Your high school may have its own version. Bellaire High School in Houston asks for one before a counselor writes: “the first step for students is to visit their counselor in person and email their brag sheet”.
Our advice: whatever you hand over, include dates, your role and one or two specific moments the writer saw. Both the teacher and counselor forms ask how long, and in what context, the writer has known you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do colleges require letters of recommendation?
Not all of them. The Common App’s 2026 teacher evaluation form reminds teachers that not every college requires a teacher recommendation. For fall 2027 entry, UT Austin requires none and accepts up to two. Harvard, Yale and Stanford, as read in October 2026, each require two teacher letters and a counselor letter.
How long should a letter of recommendation be for college?
There is no single length. The Common App’s 2026 teacher, counselor and other recommendation forms each limit the written evaluation to 1,000 words and set no minimum. UC Berkeley, for the letters it invites, sets no word limit but asks that each letter fit on one page (FAQ updated February 2026).
Who can write a letter of recommendation for college?
Teachers, counselors and, at colleges that accept them, other recommenders such as coaches and employers. As read in October 2026, colleges such as Penn and Pomona take an optional extra letter. Where the colleges we read name a subject, they ask for academic teachers, and MIT recommends one math or science teacher.
Does the University of California require letters of recommendation?
No. For the fall 2027 application, UC does not require or read letters when you apply, though a campus “may ask for them later as part of a supplemental review”. UC Berkeley says an invited applicant can choose not to send them, and “Not doing so will not negatively impact the review.”