Template

Brag Sheet Template

28 prompts in 8 sections. Fill it in and hand it to your counselor and each teacher writing a recommendation.

1. The basics

So the person writing knows who this is for and when it is due.

Full name and graduation year
Who this is for (counselor or teacher) and the class you took with them
Colleges you are applying to, with each deadline
Intended major or the two or three fields you are choosing between

2. Academics

Gives the writer specifics to cite beyond the transcript they already have.

GPA, and class rank if your school reports one
The hardest courses you have taken and why you chose them
Your favorite class so far and what made it your favorite
One paper, project, or lab you are proud of, and what you did in it
Test scores, only if you want them mentioned

3. Activities

A letter is stronger when it describes what you did, not just what you joined.

For each activity: its name, your role, and the grades you took part
Hours per week and weeks per year
What you did, in one or two sentences
One result: something that changed because you were there

4. Honors and awards

Writers often do not know about awards from outside their own class.

Award name, who gave it, and the year
What it was for, in a few words
How many students were eligible, if you know

5. Work, family, and summers

Responsibilities outside school explain your time and often say the most about you.

Paid jobs: where, what you did, hours per week
Family responsibilities, such as caring for siblings or helping in a family business
What you did each summer of high school

6. About you

These answers become the anecdotes in the letter.

Three words you would use to describe yourself, with one example for each
A challenge you faced and what you did about it
Something you do that nobody asked you to do
Something a teacher would not know about you from class

7. For this recommender

Reminds a teacher of moments they may have forgotten.

A moment in their class you remember, and why
A time you struggled in their class and what you did next
What you hope they can speak to that no one else can

8. Anything else

Context the writer can explain on your behalf.

Anything that affected your grades or activities, such as illness, a move, or a family change
Anything you would like left out

Copy the whole template as plain text, then paste it into Google Docs or Word.

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Next: build your Common App activities list with live character counts, or see how much each college weighs recommendations.

How to use a brag sheet

Give it to each recommender at least a month before your first deadline, with the list of deadlines on top.
Write in full sentences where a prompt asks what you did. The writer may lift your wording.
Fill in the “For this recommender” section separately for each teacher. That section is the one they cannot get anywhere else.
If your school has its own brag sheet form, use theirs and borrow any prompts from this one that it lacks.

Frequently asked questions

What is a brag sheet?

A short document a student writes for the people recommending them. It lists academics, activities, and personal details so the counselor or teacher can write a specific letter instead of a general one.

How long should a brag sheet be?

One to two pages. A recommender needs enough detail to pull two or three examples from, not a full autobiography.

Who should get my brag sheet?

Your school counselor and every teacher writing a recommendation. Tailor the section about their class for each teacher.