When applying for a scholarship you are asked to fill out an application and sometimes write an essay on a specific subject. Others will ask for a letter of interest, but some will ask for a letter of recommendation. The letter of recommendation has a lot of weight in deciding whether you get the scholarship or not. If your application packet asks for one and you do not provide one, then you are apt to be declined before any judges see your application packet. It is that important?
Where does the student find a good letter of recommendation? The parents are the first thought about source for this type of letter and of course the parent would write a glowing letter that would put their son or daughter in God status. This is not what you want. You want to find someone that is recognized as a pillar to the community.
The higher up is social stature that the author is from, the higher calibrated response you will get from the judges of the scholarship awards committee. Stay away from close family as a reference unless someone in the family is a government official, in the military, or is currently in the public service field.
Otherwise the student needs to look in the prementioned fields to find the proper person for the letter of recommendation. A city official or someone in politics are a good choice they are already ingrained in the good old boy system that runs most of the scholarship giveaways in the first place.
A mayor or another politician of that stature would have your letter of recommendation carrying a lot of clout. A teacher, principal or other school official also makes a good candidate for a good reference. Firemen, policemen, or soldiers make great writers of a good letter of recommendation because of the service they do in the community.
Read the letter before you send it away. If the letter has any thing derogatory about you or the letter does not truthfully represent you, thank the writer but throw it away. You want a true representation of what you can and cannot do. Most judges can see through the hype and glory of a cookie cutter letter of recommendation, so make sure that it is original and true to the purpose of recommending you for that college or scholarship.
