College Applications
A recommendation letter is only as good as what you hand the person writing it. A brag sheet is how you give them the specifics. Copy the template below into Google Docs, or print it, and fill it out honestly. Homeschool families: the same template works for you, and the homeschool tips below explain the one thing you should do differently.
BRAG SHEET For the person writing your letter of recommendation. Fill in each line honestly and with specifics. 1. THE BASICS - Your full name and graduation year: - Colleges you are applying to (or your best current list): - Intended major or field of interest: - The earliest application deadline: - How the letter is submitted (Common App, email, or mailed): - Who this sheet is for, and how they know you: 2. YOUR ACADEMIC STORY - Favorite subjects, and what specifically you liked about them: - A course or topic that challenged you, and how you handled it: - Academic achievements (awards, strong grades, standout projects): - What you want to study, and the moment you knew you were interested: 3. BEYOND THE CLASSROOM - Activities, clubs, teams, or co-ops, and your role in each: - Jobs, businesses, or family responsibilities you carry: - Volunteer work and how long you have done it: - Something you pursued on your own, outside any requirement: 4. THE MOMENTS THAT SHOW WHO YOU ARE - A time you struggled and what you did about it: - A time you led, taught, or helped someone: - Something you are proud of that a transcript would never show: 5. FOR YOUR RECOMMENDER - Three words you hope they use to describe you: - The one thing you most want this letter to get across: - Why you chose this person to write it: - Anything else they might not know about you: HOMESCHOOL NOTE: Because a homeschool parent usually writes the counselor letter, this sheet matters most for your OUTSIDE recommenders. Give it to a co-op or dual-enrollment instructor, a coach, an employer, or a volunteer supervisor. Template from fasttranscripts.com/brag-sheet-template.php
A brag sheet is a short worksheet a student fills out about themselves and hands to whoever is writing their letter of recommendation. It is not the letter, and it is not bragging in the awkward sense. It is raw material: the specific stories, achievements, and details a teacher or counselor needs to write something personal instead of generic.
The difference is stark. A recommender working from a blank page writes "a hardworking and dedicated student." A recommender working from a good brag sheet writes about the semester you came in early for six weeks to redo a failed lab until you got it right. One of those letters gets read. Every strong recommendation is built from specifics, and the brag sheet is where the specifics come from.
The template above works for any student. For a homeschooler, one thing changes, and it is the reason the brag sheet matters more, not less. For a traditional student, it feeds a counselor and a teacher or two who already work in a school. For a homeschooler, the counselor is a parent, so the sheet's real job shifts to the people outside your household.
In a homeschool application, the parent usually writes the counselor recommendation. Admissions officers read that knowing who wrote it, so the outside letters carry the weight of independent confirmation. Those outside recommenders, a co-op instructor, a coach, an employer, are exactly the people who most need a brag sheet, because they see one slice of your student, not the whole picture.
Hand each of them this sheet, filled in, and you turn a polite "sure, I'll write something" into a specific, credible letter that backs up the transcript. More on recommendation letters for homeschoolers.
A brag sheet is a worksheet a high school student completes about their achievements, activities, and character, then gives to a teacher or counselor to help them write a personalized letter of recommendation. It supplies the specific examples that turn a generic letter into a memorable one.
Basic information (name, graduation year, colleges, intended major, deadlines, submission method), academic interests and achievements, activities and responsibilities, character and growth stories, and notes for the recommender such as what you hope the letter conveys. The template above covers all of these.
Copy the template above into a Google Doc or print it, then fill in each prompt with specific, honest detail. Favor small true stories over adjectives, tailor the emphasis to each recommender, and deliver the finished sheet two to three weeks before the application deadline.
Yes, and arguably more than traditional students. Because a homeschool parent usually writes the counselor letter, the outside recommenders provide the independent confirmation admissions officers look for, and a brag sheet is what lets those recommenders write something specific and credible.
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