A letter of recommendation is an attestation from a third party about your character, strengths, suitability for the program, and more.   An LOR for UK universities plays a vital role in your overall application, offering insights beyond your grades and test scores. These letters allow the admissions committee to gain a holistic view of you as a student or as an employee, from a third-party perspective.

Every university has its own requirements for the number of LORs. Some universities ask for 3 recommendations, while others ask for 2 or just one. 

For a Master’s degree program, you may have to submit an academic referee’s recommendation, as it’s likely that you are applying for a master’s right after your undergraduate coursework. On the other hand, for an M.B.A program, the recommendations must be from your current or previous employers you have worked closely with. Ideally, your direct supervisor is a good fit to be your referee. 

It is also very important to pick the right referee for your recommendation. The Admissions Committee will usually prefer someone who has worked very closely with you on a gamut of projects, rather than someone senior who has not worked with you directly. 

While each university has its own set of questions, some of the common ones, which are to be answered by your referees, include:

• How long have you known the candidate and in what capacity?
• Describe the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
• What is one feedback that you may have given the candidate, and what was their response?

In order to help get better and more suited recommendations, it is important that you work with your referee to explain to them the reason for your application, and what strengths you would like highlighted in order to strengthen your application. At the same time, it is important to not dictate exactly how you’d want the recommendation to be, as a trained eye of the Admissions committee can see through inauthenticity. 

Overall, choose your recommenders wisely, and help them through the process in order to get great LOR for UK Universities. 

Sign up at UniRely for free and our counselors will help you draft the crucial documents for your application including letters of recommendation, essays, scholarship forms, etc. To get more information about how to apply to universities abroad for your master’s degree, please visit our website – www.unirely.com.