Cal State Apply Graduate Admissions| Letters of Recommendation Submission
What to expect…
Prior to starting your application:
Consider attending an Impressive Graduate School Applications Workshop to review best
practices regarding letters of recommendation, personal statements, entrance exams and
other common questions. Click here
for dates and times.
• Determine how many recommendations your intended graduate program requires
• Decide who will write a letter of recommendation and submit it through Cal State
Apply on your behalf
• Connect with letter writers in advance, obtain their commitment to write a strong
letter of recommendation for you
• Collect their email address, full name, and professional title
- You will need this
contact information when completing the Cal State Apply application
For Applicants - Complete the Recommendations in
Cal State Apply:
Step 1: Log in to your Cal State Apply portal.
Step 2: Click on the Program Materials quadrant of your Cal State Apply application.
Step 3: In the Program Materials quadrant click on the Recommendations section, then
click on the + Request General Letter Upload Recommendation link.
Step 4: Invite your Letter of Recommendation writers to submit a letter on your
behalf through Cal State Apply: Enter your writer’s email address and full name. You
can assign a due date by which you would like the letters to be submitted. We recommend
giving your letter writers a deadline 1-2 weeks in advance of your application deadline. This
will give you a cushion to follow up with them if they miss your early deadline so that they
could still submit it by the application deadline. You do not have to wait until your letter
writers upload a letter to submit the application.
You must include a personal note. This note will appear in the body of the email your writer
will receive.
The letter writer will now receive an email invitation to submit the letter of recommendation
through Cal State Apply.
Step 5: You will receive a confirmation email once the letter of recommendation has been
submitted by the letter writer
For Letter Writers - Complete the Recommendations in Cal State Apply:
Step 1: Writers check your email! Please note that the email request will come from
. Check spam or junk folders if you do not receive an email
upon notification from Cal State Apply. Also check your company’s firewall if you do not see
the email in your junk or spam filters.
Step 2: You should login/create account, or you may continue without an account. Be sure
to use the same e-mail address that the applicant input to Cal State Apply.
Note: If you have difficulties logging into the system because it recognizes you from other
letter submissions, click on the Liaison Help Center for general troubleshooting guidance.
Help Center Support
Step 3: You will see the applicant, or a list of applicants, who have invited you to submit a
letter. Click Start to upload a letter of recommendation save as a PDF.
Step 4: You can drop files into the upload field or upload a file from your computer. You will
have a chance to preview the file and confirm before submission.
Step 5: You will receive a confirmation note and email from Cal State Apply once the letter
of recommendation has been submitted successfully.
Confirmation Email
Step 6: The applicant will also receive a confirmation email once the letter of
recommendation has been submitted
