How to get the best teacher reference for uni application...

The teacher reference for your UCAS application is very important and should promote a student's academic potential & their suitability to the course they have chosen.

The reference made by your teacher is ultimately an endorsement and essential part of your application.

Teacher referees arguably have a lot on their plate this time of year in terms of teaching and having to write anything from 5 student references to 50+! Some students they will know well, some not so well - that must be really hard!

For those of you who have sent off your application how did you feel about your teacher reference, did you felt they knew you well enough to write a reference? Did you talk beforehand about what you wanted to achieve through the reference and personal statement process?

When I applied to uni my referee was my sociology teacher who knew me incredibly well, it felt like a real team effort and was sent off well before the January deadline I was chuffed to bits when I read it too.


For those of you haven't sent of your application yet do you know which teacher will be writing your application? How are you feeling about it?


Teachers of TSR what tips would you offer students about working with their teacher(s) to prepare the reference?

Well, the most important thing is that the referee should be the one that is teaching you the subject which is most relevant to the one you intend to pursue in your first degree. For example, you might want your biology teacher to write one for you if you opt for biomedical science, biological sciences etc. I turned to my chemistry teacher, since I am applying for pharmacy. That way they can assess your academic capabilities in that subject.


They would need to be able to vouch for your achievements. I talked to my referee beforehand regarding my plans, achievements, extracurricular activities etc. I also let her read my personal statement, the straightforward way.


I always keep a good impression for my referee, so the process is a breeze. She let me checked through the reference to see if she missed out something. To be honest, I am happy with it, though I am not as good as she wrote.


Hope this helps.

I have always thought we can't read them, that's what my tutors said. Right??

I was very happy with my reference. In my school, the head of sixth writes all of the references for people applying to Oxbridge or Medicine and she really knows what she's talking about. She consulted with me on multiple occasions so I had quite a lot of input as to what was in the reference.

The arrogance of some students knows no bounds. You're head of sixth form was unfair to pay extra attention to the applications of some students over others.


Incredibly unprofessional.

The arrogance of some students knows no bounds. You're head of sixth form was unfair to pay extra attention to the applications of some students over others.


Incredibly unprofessional.

If anything, shouldn't you be blaming my head of sixth rather than me? And to be perfectly honest, I don't see what your problem is. It's a simple fact that Oxbridge and Medicine are by far the most competitive courses, so it's extremely important that the references target the things admissions tutors want to hear. That's the only way a normal comprehensive school like mine can compete with grammar schools or private schools. We only have one head of sixth, and she can't write references for 250 students. So I think it's completely fair that she dedicates her expertise to the people who have the greatest need for it.

The only difference between her and other teachers is that she's had a lot of contact with admissions tutors from places like Oxbridge, so she knows how to write a very good Oxbridge reference. Other people aren't being short-changed, their references will be absolutely fine. She's simply giving her expertise to the people who need it. If anything it's incredibly generous because she dedicates a crazy amount of her own time for this.

I feel like her actions undermined the work and efforts of the other students at your school simply because they are not applying to the "most competitive courses". Regardless of how badly your head wants to boast about students gaining admission into those "competitive courses" the facts are she gave favourable treatment to the top students while ignoring the ones that really needed the extra support.

It's a growing trend these days focus on the brightest students because they're the ones that will gain your institution notoriety. It's rather sad actually.

Oxbridge and Medicine admissions tutors are looking for very specific things - they are very different to other universities. Having someone who understands those systems to do the references for people applying to Oxbridge and Medicine isn't short-changing the other students, it's putting the applicants to those most competitive courses on a level playing field with grammar school and private school pupils.

Your school is stretched thin I get it. I'm not blaming you for taking the specialist help from your head of sixth form however the issue still remains that students who aren't applying to the top courses are getting sold short because they're not smart enough to warrant the extra help which is actually paradoxical.

The students who are applying to the most competitive courses are obviously going to get the most help, because those are the most difficult courses to get into. Yes, in an ideal world everyone would get the best help possible but I really don't know what you're suggesting my school should do instead given its limited resources?

I suggest your head of sixth form collaborates with the teachers/tutors that do the refs. for the non-competitive course students and she should pass her specialist knowledge along instead of being the only ref. who actually has a clue about med/dent/law/oxbridge.

The students that need the most help are the ones who are struggling not the ones achieving A*s and sitting UKCAT/BMAT.