How to Write a Brag Sheet for Your Letters of Recommendation

You’ve finished your college application, and now you’re asking for letters of recommendation — and maybe you’ve been asked to provide a “brag sheet.” In this blog post, we’ll break down what a brag sheet is and how to write a great one.

Introduction

When it comes to college applications, a strong letter of recommendation can make all the difference — but how do you ensure your teachers, counselors, or mentors highlight your achievements in the best possible light? That’s where a well-crafted brag sheet comes in.

A brag sheet isn’t about arrogance (as the name might suggest). Instead, it’s about giving your recommenders the tools they need to advocate for you effectively. Think of it as your highlight reel, showcasing your accomplishments, leadership roles, and growth over your four years of high school. A well-written brag sheet helps your recommenders write detailed, effective letters that set you apart from the competition. And even if your letter writer has known you for a long time and is well-acquainted with your attributes and abilities, it’s still a good idea to point out what qualities you’d like to highlight in your application.

In this post, we’ll walk you through exactly how to create a brag sheet that is genuinely helpful for your letter writer and will ensure that your letter of recommendation will complement the voice and story you’ve already created with your application.

What is a Brag Sheet?

A brag sheet is a document that helps teachers, counselors, and/or mentors write strong and personalized recommendation letters for your college applications. It should give insight into your achievements, personality, and goals, specifically in terms of your higher education journey and potential career. Sometimes, recommenders don’t end up asking for this information, but it’s always good to have it on hand for the ones that do.

Oftentimes, your teacher recommenders will ask you to elaborate on academic experience and classroom achievements while your mentor and/or counselor might ask for broader insights into your extracurricular profile. If you’ve chosen your recommenders well, each letter should elucidate the different “parts” of you to create a fuller picture of who you are as an applicant. 

Why a Brag Sheet is Crucial for Letters of Recommendation

Your teachers and counselors may know you well, but they’re often writing dozens (if not hundreds) of recommendation letters each year. This also means that they might be short on time when it comes to writing your letter, so a brag sheet ensures they have the right details at their fingertips to quickly craft a compelling, personalized letter that accurately reflects your strengths. 

It helps them highlight your achievements, leadership, and character in a way that aligns with your goals and helps you continue to tell the story about yourself that you already started in your application. For instance, perhaps your biggest extracurricular activity is a volunteer program you do outside of school and they’re completely unaware of your work there. Your teacher may not be able to speak to your extracurricular experiences in that activity specifically, but they could emphasize your generosity or leadership skills in the class, thus complementing the portrayal of you in your application.

Without a brag sheet, your recommender might rely on their general observations of you or repeat ideas they shared in another student’s recommendation, missing key experiences or accomplishments that could make your application stand out. As anyone who has had the chance to view their admissions file can attest, like our H&C counselor who viewed his Yale admissions officer’s comments on his application, your letters of recommendation can make a big difference in the discussion about you in the admissions committee room. By providing a well-organized brag sheet, you make your recommenders’ job easier and give yourself the best chance at a top-tier recommendation.

Preparing to Write Your Brag Sheet

If you’ve gotten to the point where you’re asking for rec letters, you’ve likely already narrowed down your college list and gotten to work on your applications. Still, asking for rec letters is one thing you should do as early as possible in the college admissions process, sometimes as early as two months in advance of the application deadline. Usually, the deadline for your counselor and teacher recommendations is after your application deadline, but you still want to give them ample time to write effective recommendation letters. If you’d like a more comprehensive guide to letters of recommendation, check out this blog post on the topic.

So, you’ve picked out the best people to write you some awesome letters — now what? They may not immediately ask you to send over a brag sheet, but it’s good to be prepared. Write out an overly comprehensive list of what you might put on your brag sheet based on common brag sheet prompts. What were some notable experiences you had in the classroom, and why were they so formative? What are some of your personal strengths, and where would you like to improve? What drew you to the subject you’re intending to study? Since you’re working on your college applications, this should all be top of mind, so just make sure you can send it out to your recommenders quickly if necessary. 

What to Include in a Brag Sheet

If you have no specific questions to answer for your recommender or further guidelines, here are some ideas of what to include in your brag sheet:

Basic Information

• Full name
• Colleges you’re applying to
• Intended college major and/or programs

Academic Achievements

• GPA and class rank
• AP, IB, honors, or dual enrollment courses taken
• Any academic awards or recognitions

Extracurricular Activities

• Clubs, sports, leadership roles
• Competitions or projects you’ve led

• Jobs held and responsibilities
• Volunteer experience and impact (i.e. how many hours or people helped)
• Internships and what you learned
• Any other significant contributions to the wider community

Personal Strengths & Personality Traits

• 3-5 adjectives that best describe you and why
• Examples of how you show these traits (stories or experiences)
• Any personal challenges you’ve overcome

Why You’re Asking Your Recommender

• A specific memory or reason you chose them (i.e. “your class helped me discover my love for history…”)
• How they’ve influenced your academic or personal growth

College & Career Goals

• Why you’re interested in your major or career path
• Longer-term aspirations (even if you’re not 100% sure what you want to do, just throw out some ideas and things that interest you)

Anything Else You Want Highlighted

• Fun facts or unique interests
• Special circumstances that shaped you
• Facts or qualities that make you a standout applicant to your school(s) of choice

Tips for Writing an Impressive Brag Sheet

To get impressive letters of recommendation, you need to write an impressive brag sheet. But not all brag sheets are created equal — here are some great tips for writing the best brag sheet possible:

• Write it alongside your college application. Think of your whole application as a story you’re telling about yourself through your personal statement and supplemental essays. If that’s the case, then a letter of recommendation is just one of the chapters, maybe even an epilogue — you want everything to feel cohesive, so it would make sense to complete them in tandem.
• Be as specific as possible. Specificity is paramount in each of your college essays, and your brag sheet is no different. Unique details are much more interesting to read than vague generalizations. For instance, instead of saying “I’m a strong leader,” you could say: “As president of the Environmental Club, I led a campaign that reduced school-wide plastic waste by 30%.”
• Personalize it for each recommender. Each recommendation should showcase a different part of who you are, so tailor each version of your brag sheet to the “part” of you that each recommender should, ideally, elaborate on. Even if you have two teachers as your recommenders, personalize each brag sheet for that specific subject or class.

Example Brag Sheet Layout

When writing a brag sheet it is often ideal to have a template from which to work. Oftentimes, teachers and guidance counselors who are used to writing recommendations will send you a list of questions about your academic achievements and extracurricular experiences. Even if you do not receive this list of questions from your recommender, it is always a good practice to ask what is most helpful for them to know or if there is a particular format in which they’d like the information.

If you really have no idea where to start, this brag sheet template provided by the Common App would be a good place. The brag sheet template includes myriad questions about the student’s personal qualities and academic strengths. It allows the student to get specific when describing their personal qualities, such as the question asking what the recommender may not know about you. This is a great opportunity to illuminate who you are in a way that would make for a strong college recommendation — after all, the point of these teacher recs is to get to know you beyond the grades and test scores.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Brag Sheet

Above, we discussed some of the things to include in your brag sheet, but what are some mistakes to look out for? 

One mistake that many students make is not being clear on which information you’d like them to prioritize. For example, if your main extracurricular is visual art and your personal statement is also about your art process, don’t neglect to mention art in your brag sheet. If you’ve chosen your recommenders well, they should already know that this is your “thing” (and maybe even be your mentor or teacher in this subject), but if that’s not the case, make sure that that is reiterated in your brag sheet. Not that you can’t mention anything else — just make sure you know what story you’re trying to tell in your larger application.

There are other, more logistical mistakes that many students make, such as neglecting to proofread or sending the brag sheet out far too late for the recommender to properly incorporate the student’s answers. You should also keep the brag sheet relatively brief, especially if it’s open-ended and not in a specific format. Bullet points are a good idea when you’re listing accomplishments, and if you’re giving specific details and avoiding generalizations, it should be relatively easy to keep it concise.

How to Share Your Brag Sheet with Recommenders

Again, as with each step in the brag sheet process, consult with your recommender as to how they’d like you to share the brag sheet form with them. They might want it emailed or printed out, or they’ll need it a certain amount of time in advance of the letter’s deadline. You can also offer to clarify any details or elaborate on a specific aspect if they need more information.

You can also remind them of the schools and programs to which you’re applying if they’d prefer to tailor the letter to your academic goals. Maybe they won’t use this information, but it can’t hurt to send. Sometimes, your teacher or counselor will allow you to see the letter before they send it, but oftentimes, it is sent directly to the college admissions office without your final approval. Don’t overstep boundaries in this regard, and let your recommender suggest it first. If it’s not part of their letter writing process, don’t worry — it doesn’t mean they wrote you a bad letter whatsoever!

How a Strong Brag Sheet Can Boost Your College Applications

Letters of recommendation are not small parts of your application — they are highly valued as part of your college admissions applicant profile. They offer context and insight that you yourself might not even have. Especially at top schools where you’re competing with thousands of other applicants, one really compelling quote about you can stick in the minds of admissions officers when considering what contributions you might make to their school.

If you write more insightful, thoughtful answers to the questions on your brag sheet, you’re likely to get stronger letters, regardless of your recommenders. Even if you have to choose recommenders who don’t know you that well, a great brag sheet can make it easy for these counselor or teacher recommenders to “get to know you” rather quickly.

Conclusion

In the college application process, you get limited opportunities to put your best foot forward — by spending time on your brag sheet, you can also ensure you get compelling letters of recommendation. You can’t ultimately control what kind of letter your recommender writes, but you should do everything in your power to ensure that they have all of the information they need to write an excellent letter.

Need help with your college applications? Schedule a free consultation today with one of our seasoned college admissions consultants.