Recommendation Letters That Win Scholarships (with Sample Email)

A recommendation letter is the only part of your application written by someone else. Panels use it to check that the person in your essay is real: that your grades reflect ability, your leadership happened, and other people trust you. A generic letter doesn't hurt because it's negative — it hurts because it gives the panel nothing to hold on to when comparing you with someone else.

What selection panels need from a referee

• Verification. Confirmation that claims in your CV and essays are true, from someone in a position to know.
• Specific evidence. Concrete examples the referee saw first-hand — a project, a decision, a problem you solved.
• Comparison. How you rank against others they have taught or supervised, where they can say so honestly.
• Fit with the award. Comments on the qualities that award rewards — research potential for a PhD fellowship, leadership and networking for Chevening, community commitment for many Mastercard Foundation programmes.
• Credibility. A clear account of how long and in what capacity the referee has known you.

Who makes a strong referee

The best referee is the person who can describe your work in the most detail, not the person with the biggest title. A head of department who met you twice will write a thinner letter than the lecturer who supervised your final-year project.

• Academic: project or thesis supervisor; lecturer of a demanding course you did well in; a researcher you assisted.
• Professional: your direct manager at a job, internship or national service posting.
• Community: the leader of an organisation where you held real responsibility.
• Avoid: family members, religious leaders who know you only socially, friends, and anyone who would need you to tell them what to say about you.

Always check the award's rules: some require an academic referee, some require a current employer, and some say exactly which roles qualify.

How and when to ask

1. 6–8 weeks out: ask privately (in person or by email), naming the award and deadline. Ask directly whether they can write a strong letter — it gives them a polite way to decline.
2. Within a few days of a yes: send the briefing pack (below).
3. When the portal opens: register them so the upload link arrives. Tell them which email it will come from.
4. Two weeks and three days before: short, polite reminders.
5. After submission: thank them, and tell them the outcome either way.

Plan for slow internet, power cuts and university strikes: give referees a target date a week before the real deadline.

What to put in the briefing pack

• The award name, official link, and the selection criteria copied from the funder's page.
• The deadline in their time zone, plus how the letter is submitted (portal, email, sealed form).
• Your current CV (see our scholarship CV guide) and a draft of your personal statement.
• Your transcript, if they are an academic referee.
• A short list of 3–5 facts or moments they witnessed, with dates — the project you led, the result you got, the problem you handled.
• Which qualities you would find most helpful for them to address, given the award's criteria.

Helping without writing it for them

The line is simple: you supply facts; they supply judgement and wording. Reminding a lecturer that you scored the top mark in their course, or that you organised the department seminar series in 2025, is helpful. Sending a pre-written letter for signature is not — and if a funder or university finds out, it can end the application.

If a referee asks you to draft the letter yourself (it does happen), politely offer a detailed bullet list of facts instead and ask them to write in their own words.

Weak vs strong letters

Sample request email

Adapt the details; the names below are placeholders.

Subject: Reference request — [Scholarship name] (deadline [date])

Dear [Title Surname],

I'm applying for the [Scholarship name] to study [programme] at
[university], and I would be grateful if you could write one of my
references. The deadline for referees is [date, time and time zone].

You taught/supervised me in [course or project, year], where I
[specific thing they saw]. I think you could speak particularly to my
[quality the award looks for].

If you're able to write a strong letter, I'll send a short briefing
pack with my CV, draft statement, the selection criteria and a few
reminders of work you saw. If now isn't a good time, I completely
understand — I'd just be grateful to know by [date] so I can plan.

Thank you for considering this.

Kind regards,
[Your name]

Common mistakes

• Asking a week before the deadline.
• Choosing a famous name who barely knows you.
• Registering the referee with a misspelled email, so the portal link never arrives.
• Letting the referee use a personal Gmail when the funder expects an institutional address — check the rules.
• Not checking that the letter was actually submitted before the deadline.
• Forgetting to thank them and share the result.

Referee briefing checklist

• ☐Referee agreed to write a strong letter, with a reply date set
• ☐Award name, link and selection criteria shared
• ☐Deadline in their time zone + submission method explained
• ☐CV, draft statement and transcript attached
• ☐3–5 dated facts or moments they witnessed
• ☐Qualities to address, mapped to the award's criteria
• ☐Portal registration done with correct institutional email
• ☐Reminders scheduled (two weeks and three days before)
• ☐Submission confirmed in the portal
• ☐Thank-you sent; outcome shared later

Then strengthen the rest of your file with our SOP template, the interview playbook and how panels evaluate applications.

Frequently asked questions