Letter of recommendation for Postgraduate Applicants

Dear Referee: 

Thank you for your willingness to write this letter of recommendation. 
 

How to write a letter of recommendation for postgraduate students

Your letter must be signed and on letterhead for authenticity purposes. If possible, please submit as a .PDF under 1MB.  

The recommendation you are about to write should be an assessment of the suitability of the applicant for the UK higher education courses that they have applied to and, where possible, include the following points: 

• Existing achievement, with particular reference to subjects relating to the courses for which they have applied 
• Student potential, including predicted results or performance 
• Motivation and commitment towards the chosen course or courses 
• Any relevant skills achievement, whether certified or not 
• Powers of analysis and independent thought 
• Relevant curriculum enrichment and other activities 
• Relevant work experience, work placements, voluntary work and so on 
• Proposed career plan 
• Where relevant, their suitability for training for a particular profession, for example, medicine 
• Any factors which may have affected, or will affect in the future, their performance, for example personal circumstances 
• On an optional basis, any information about performance in individual units or modules of qualifications that the applicant has not already given in the personal statement 
• Information about any special needs and other requirements. The reference should not give information about an applicant’s health or disability without their agreement. 
• If English is not student’s native language, please comment on their ability to write and speak in English and say if any of their studies where taught in English.  
• Please explain any break in their education, and how they compare with others in their class. 
• Please remember that universities and colleges will see both the personal statement and reference. The reference therefore should be written in a way that supports the applicant’s intentions for progressing to higher education in the UK as directly as possible. 
• If the applicant is still studying, you should give a predicted overall achievement.    
   

REFEREE CHECKLIST 

• Have you given your name, occupation, telephone number and address
• Have you completed your recommendation using the guidelines above
• Have you taken a copy for future reference
• Have you noted times when you can be contacted should a university wish to check the reference you have given
• Is the letter signed and on letterhead
   

SUBMITTING YOUR LETTER 

We take your privacy very seriously. The most secure and dependable way to send us your document is electronically. In an effort to keep your personal data secure, and to remain compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), we ask that you submit your letter using the form on this page.

When you complete the upload form, you will be asked to allow Across the Pond to process and store your data. The data processed and stored will be the following: 

• Your name 
• Your email address 
• Your letter of recommendation (and any information contained within that letter, such as an academic postal address and phone number) 

This data will only be used for the following purposes: 

• Completing the student’s university applications 
• Submitting the student’s university applications
• As a contact point for the student’s chosen universities 
• Please note that the universities may get in touch with you to further discuss the student’s application. 
• As a contact point for Across the Pond if we require more information from you. (For example, if the reference letter is missing important information, or a university has asked us to follow up with you on their behalf). 

Please note that you will not be added to any mailing or marketing lists. Your information will only ever be used to action applications to universities. 

Thank you very much for your time!  We appreciate your support.  
 

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

When you write a recommendation for any applicant, please remember that under the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information that both UCAS and Across the Pond has about them unless you explicitly request for the reference to remain confidential. Additionally, some university application portals render the letter visible to the student once uploaded. If you would like to maintain confidentiality throughout the application process, please ensure the document is saved with "CONFIDENTIAL" in the document name prior to uploading the file to our secure upload link.