LOR Higher Ed
Better LORs begin with deeper insight.
Ontos Insight Inquiry
A guided reflection experience for university students that helps recommenders write more personal, meaningful letters of recommendation.
The strongest letters of recommendation do more than recount accomplishments. They give the reader a sense of who a student is, what matters to them, what has shaped them, and how they have grown.
But when educators are responsible for writing recommendations for dozens, or even hundreds, of students, knowing each person deeply can be difficult.
Ontos Insight Inquiry helps close that gap.
Before a recommender can write meaningfully about a student, they need something meaningful to write about.
Insight Inquiry gives university students the time and structure to reflect deeply on their experiences and what those experiences reveal. It then brings those insights together with the recommender's own knowledge of the student to support a more personal, substantive letter.
The student brings their story.
The recommender brings their perspective.
Ontos helps bring them together.
A standalone experience for university students
Ontos Insight Inquiry is founded on the same principles as our primary high school Ontos experience, but is adapted for students who are already in university and need a letter of recommendation for what comes next.
It can support recommendations for:
Graduate and professional school
Scholarships and fellowships
Internships
Employment
Research opportunities
Leadership programs
Awards and honors
Other academic and professional opportunities
The circumstances may change. The need for someone to understand and advocate for you does not.
Go beyond what they did
Transcripts tell us how a student performed.
Résumés tell us what they did.
But neither necessarily tells us why those experiences mattered.
Insight Inquiry gives students a structured opportunity to explore the meaning behind their experiences:
What experiences have stayed with me?
What kept me engaged?
What did I learn about myself?
How did this experience change me?
What challenges shaped the way I think or work?
What do my choices reveal about what matters to me?
What would I want someone writing about me to understand?
Through this process, students can surface experiences, ideas, values, and patterns that may be difficult to articulate on their own.
Give recommenders more to work with
A recommender may know a student as a researcher, a student in their class, a member of a team, or someone they have mentored.
They may know a great deal about that particular relationship.
They probably don't know everything.
A student might have an experience that shaped their goals without ever having discussed it with their professor. A challenge may have changed how they approach their work. An interest that appears unrelated on a résumé may actually connect to a much larger pattern.
Insight Inquiry gives students a way to bring some of that context forward.
Recommenders can then add what they know firsthand: the projects they've supervised, conversations they've had, qualities they've observed, and moments that have shaped their own understanding of the student.
LOR Higher Ed
Better LORs begin with deeper insight.
Ontos Insight Inquiry
A guided reflection experience for university students that helps recommenders write more personal, meaningful letters of recommendation.
The strongest letters of recommendation do more than recount accomplishments. They give the reader a sense of who a student is, what matters to them, what has shaped them, and how they have grown.
But when educators are responsible for writing recommendations for dozens, or even hundreds, of students, knowing each person deeply can be difficult.
Ontos Insight Inquiry helps close that gap.
Before a recommender can write meaningfully about a student, they need something meaningful to write about.
Insight Inquiry gives university students the time and structure to reflect deeply on their experiences and what those experiences reveal. It then brings those insights together with the recommender's own knowledge of the student to support a more personal, substantive letter.
The student brings their story.
The recommender brings their perspective.
Ontos helps bring them together.
A standalone experience for university students
Ontos Insight Inquiry is founded on the same principles as our primary high school Ontos experience, but is adapted for students who are already in university and need a letter of recommendation for what comes next.
It can support recommendations for:
Graduate and professional school
Scholarships and fellowships
Internships
Employment
Research opportunities
Leadership programs
Awards and honors
Other academic and professional opportunities
The circumstances may change. The need for someone to understand and advocate for you does not.
Go beyond what they did
Transcripts tell us how a student performed.
Résumés tell us what they did.
But neither necessarily tells us why those experiences mattered.
Insight Inquiry gives students a structured opportunity to explore the meaning behind their experiences:
What experiences have stayed with me?
What kept me engaged?
What did I learn about myself?
How did this experience change me?
What challenges shaped the way I think or work?
What do my choices reveal about what matters to me?
What would I want someone writing about me to understand?
Through this process, students can surface experiences, ideas, values, and patterns that may be difficult to articulate on their own.
Give recommenders more to work with
A recommender may know a student as a researcher, a student in their class, a member of a team, or someone they have mentored.
They may know a great deal about that particular relationship.
They probably don't know everything.
A student might have an experience that shaped their goals without ever having discussed it with their professor. A challenge may have changed how they approach their work. An interest that appears unrelated on a résumé may actually connect to a much larger pattern.
Insight Inquiry gives students a way to bring some of that context forward.
Recommenders can then add what they know firsthand: the projects they've supervised, conversations they've had, qualities they've observed, and moments that have shaped their own understanding of the student.
LOR Higher Ed
Better LORs begin with deeper insight.
Ontos Insight Inquiry
A guided reflection experience for university students that helps recommenders write more personal, meaningful letters of recommendation.
The strongest letters of recommendation do more than recount accomplishments. They give the reader a sense of who a student is, what matters to them, what has shaped them, and how they have grown.
But when educators are responsible for writing recommendations for dozens, or even hundreds, of students, knowing each person deeply can be difficult.
Ontos Insight Inquiry helps close that gap.
Before a recommender can write meaningfully about a student, they need something meaningful to write about.
Insight Inquiry gives university students the time and structure to reflect deeply on their experiences and what those experiences reveal. It then brings those insights together with the recommender's own knowledge of the student to support a more personal, substantive letter.
The student brings their story.
The recommender brings their perspective.
Ontos helps bring them together.
A standalone experience for university students
Ontos Insight Inquiry is founded on the same principles as our primary high school Ontos experience, but is adapted for students who are already in university and need a letter of recommendation for what comes next.
It can support recommendations for:
Graduate and professional school
Scholarships and fellowships
Internships
Employment
Research opportunities
Leadership programs
Awards and honors
Other academic and professional opportunities
The circumstances may change. The need for someone to understand and advocate for you does not.
Go beyond what they did
Transcripts tell us how a student performed.
Résumés tell us what they did.
But neither necessarily tells us why those experiences mattered.
Insight Inquiry gives students a structured opportunity to explore the meaning behind their experiences:
What experiences have stayed with me?
What kept me engaged?
What did I learn about myself?
How did this experience change me?
What challenges shaped the way I think or work?
What do my choices reveal about what matters to me?
What would I want someone writing about me to understand?
Through this process, students can surface experiences, ideas, values, and patterns that may be difficult to articulate on their own.
Give recommenders more to work with
A recommender may know a student as a researcher, a student in their class, a member of a team, or someone they have mentored.
They may know a great deal about that particular relationship.
They probably don't know everything.
A student might have an experience that shaped their goals without ever having discussed it with their professor. A challenge may have changed how they approach their work. An interest that appears unrelated on a résumé may actually connect to a much larger pattern.
Insight Inquiry gives students a way to bring some of that context forward.
Recommenders can then add what they know firsthand: the projects they've supervised, conversations they've had, qualities they've observed, and moments that have shaped their own understanding of the student.
LOR Higher Ed
Better LORs begin with deeper insight.
Ontos Insight Inquiry
A guided reflection experience for university students that helps recommenders write more personal, meaningful letters of recommendation.
The strongest letters of recommendation do more than recount accomplishments. They give the reader a sense of who a student is, what matters to them, what has shaped them, and how they have grown.
But when educators are responsible for writing recommendations for dozens, or even hundreds, of students, knowing each person deeply can be difficult.
Ontos Insight Inquiry helps close that gap.
Before a recommender can write meaningfully about a student, they need something meaningful to write about.
Insight Inquiry gives university students the time and structure to reflect deeply on their experiences and what those experiences reveal. It then brings those insights together with the recommender's own knowledge of the student to support a more personal, substantive letter.
The student brings their story.
The recommender brings their perspective.
Ontos helps bring them together.
A standalone experience for university students
Ontos Insight Inquiry is founded on the same principles as our primary high school Ontos experience, but is adapted for students who are already in university and need a letter of recommendation for what comes next.
It can support recommendations for:
Graduate and professional school
Scholarships and fellowships
Internships
Employment
Research opportunities
Leadership programs
Awards and honors
Other academic and professional opportunities
The circumstances may change. The need for someone to understand and advocate for you does not.
Go beyond what they did
Transcripts tell us how a student performed.
Résumés tell us what they did.
But neither necessarily tells us why those experiences mattered.
Insight Inquiry gives students a structured opportunity to explore the meaning behind their experiences:
What experiences have stayed with me?
What kept me engaged?
What did I learn about myself?
How did this experience change me?
What challenges shaped the way I think or work?
What do my choices reveal about what matters to me?
What would I want someone writing about me to understand?
Through this process, students can surface experiences, ideas, values, and patterns that may be difficult to articulate on their own.
Give recommenders more to work with
A recommender may know a student as a researcher, a student in their class, a member of a team, or someone they have mentored.
They may know a great deal about that particular relationship.
They probably don't know everything.
A student might have an experience that shaped their goals without ever having discussed it with their professor. A challenge may have changed how they approach their work. An interest that appears unrelated on a résumé may actually connect to a much larger pattern.
Insight Inquiry gives students a way to bring some of that context forward.
Recommenders can then add what they know firsthand: the projects they've supervised, conversations they've had, qualities they've observed, and moments that have shaped their own understanding of the student.
From
reflection
to
recommendation
Insight Inquiry is designed to support the entire process, from reflection through the finished letter.
1. The student reflects
Students work through a substantial, guided inquiry into their experiences and what they have learned from them.
2. Meaningful insights emerge
As students reflect, connections and recurring themes begin to take shape, helping them articulate things they may not have considered or expressed before.
3. The student shares their insights
The student makes their reflection available to the recommender they have chosen.
4. The recommender adds their perspective
The recommender provides as much or as little additional context about their relationship with the student as they want.
5. The letter takes shape
The combined context gives the recommender a substantive starting point for the letter. They can revise, add, remove, and reshape the draft until it reflects their own perspective and voice.
The technology supports the process. The recommendation remains the recommender's.
From
reflection
to
recommendation
Insight Inquiry is designed to support the entire process, from reflection through the finished letter.
1. The student reflects
Students work through a substantial, guided inquiry into their experiences and what they have learned from them.
2. Meaningful insights emerge
As students reflect, connections and recurring themes begin to take shape, helping them articulate things they may not have considered or expressed before.
3. The student shares their insights
The student makes their reflection available to the recommender they have chosen.
4. The recommender adds their perspective
The recommender provides as much or as little additional context about their relationship with the student as they want.
5. The letter takes shape
The combined context gives the recommender a substantive starting point for the letter. They can revise, add, remove, and reshape the draft until it reflects their own perspective and voice.
The technology supports the process. The recommendation remains the recommender's.
From
reflection
to
recommendation
Insight Inquiry is designed to support the entire process, from reflection through the finished letter.
1. The student reflects
Students work through a substantial, guided inquiry into their experiences and what they have learned from them.
2. Meaningful insights emerge
As students reflect, connections and recurring themes begin to take shape, helping them articulate things they may not have considered or expressed before.
3. The student shares their insights
The student makes their reflection available to the recommender they have chosen.
4. The recommender adds their perspective
The recommender provides as much or as little additional context about their relationship with the student as they want.
5. The letter takes shape
The combined context gives the recommender a substantive starting point for the letter. They can revise, add, remove, and reshape the draft until it reflects their own perspective and voice.
The technology supports the process. The recommendation remains the recommender's.
From
reflection
to
recommendation
Insight Inquiry is designed to support the entire process, from reflection through the finished letter.
1. The student reflects
Students work through a substantial, guided inquiry into their experiences and what they have learned from them.
2. Meaningful insights emerge
As students reflect, connections and recurring themes begin to take shape, helping them articulate things they may not have considered or expressed before.
3. The student shares their insights
The student makes their reflection available to the recommender they have chosen.
4. The recommender adds their perspective
The recommender provides as much or as little additional context about their relationship with the student as they want.
5. The letter takes shape
The combined context gives the recommender a substantive starting point for the letter. They can revise, add, remove, and reshape the draft until it reflects their own perspective and voice.
The technology supports the process. The recommendation remains the recommender's.
Why Insight Inquiry?
knowing
Better
letters
with
begin
more.
Every student is more than a transcript, résumé, or collection of accomplishments.
Insight Inquiry gives students the space to explore what their experiences mean to them, giving recommenders a stronger foundation for writing about the person they know.
Because a better recommendation starts with knowing more.
More than a résumé
Insight Inquiry isn't designed to produce another polished list of accomplishments, and it isn't a quick questionnaire about a student's strengths.
The value comes from giving students room to think.
They can follow meaningful threads, revisit experiences, consider what changed them, and make connections across different parts of their lives.
That takes time. And that's intentional.
The goal isn't to make a student sound impressive.
It's to help them articulate what is actually meaningful about their experience.
When time is limited, context matters more
Faculty members, advisors, supervisors, and mentors are often asked to write recommendations alongside teaching, research, advising, management, and other responsibilities.
They may care deeply about their students and still find themselves staring at a blank page with a deadline approaching.
Insight Inquiry gives them somewhere better to begin.
Rather than reconstructing everything they know about a student from a résumé, recommenders can start with the student's own reflections and then add what they have personally observed.
That can make the process easier without turning the resulting letter into a template.
A recommendation should sound like a recommendation
Insight Inquiry does not decide what a recommender should say about a student.
It does not replace the relationship between student and recommender.
The student's reflections provide context. The recommender decides what matters, what they can personally speak to, and what they want their letter to say.
The result should still sound like the person who knows the student, not like a product.
For college and beyond
Knowing how to communicate who you are doesn't stop mattering once you get into college.
Insight Inquiry can support students as they pursue the academic and professional opportunities that follow, wherever those opportunities lead.
Every opportunity is different.
But a meaningful recommendation always depends on the same thing:
Someone who knows enough about you to say something worth hearing.
Why Insight Inquiry?
knowing
Better
letters
begin
with
more.
Every student is more than a transcript, résumé, or collection of accomplishments.
Insight Inquiry gives students the space to explore what their experiences mean to them, giving recommenders a stronger foundation for writing about the person they know.
Because a better recommendation starts with knowing more.
More than a résumé
Insight Inquiry isn't designed to produce another polished list of accomplishments, and it isn't a quick questionnaire about a student's strengths.
The value comes from giving students room to think.
They can follow meaningful threads, revisit experiences, consider what changed them, and make connections across different parts of their lives.
That takes time. And that's intentional.
The goal isn't to make a student sound impressive.
It's to help them articulate what is actually meaningful about their experience.
When time is limited, context matters more
Faculty members, advisors, supervisors, and mentors are often asked to write recommendations alongside teaching, research, advising, management, and other responsibilities.
They may care deeply about their students and still find themselves staring at a blank page with a deadline approaching.
Insight Inquiry gives them somewhere better to begin.
Rather than reconstructing everything they know about a student from a résumé, recommenders can start with the student's own reflections and then add what they have personally observed.
That can make the process easier without turning the resulting letter into a template.
A recommendation should sound like a recommendation
Insight Inquiry does not decide what a recommender should say about a student.
It does not replace the relationship between student and recommender.
The student's reflections provide context. The recommender decides what matters, what they can personally speak to, and what they want their letter to say.
The result should still sound like the person who knows the student, not like a product.
For college and beyond
Knowing how to communicate who you are doesn't stop mattering once you get into college.
Insight Inquiry can support students as they pursue the academic and professional opportunities that follow, wherever those opportunities lead.
Every opportunity is different.
But a meaningful recommendation always depends on the same thing:
Someone who knows enough about you to say something worth hearing.
Why Insight Inquiry?
knowing
Better
letters
begin
with
more.
Every student is more than a transcript, résumé, or collection of accomplishments.
Insight Inquiry gives students the space to explore what their experiences mean to them, giving recommenders a stronger foundation for writing about the person they know.
Because a better recommendation starts with knowing more.
More than a résumé
Insight Inquiry isn't designed to produce another polished list of accomplishments, and it isn't a quick questionnaire about a student's strengths.
The value comes from giving students room to think.
They can follow meaningful threads, revisit experiences, consider what changed them, and make connections across different parts of their lives.
That takes time. And that's intentional.
The goal isn't to make a student sound impressive.
It's to help them articulate what is actually meaningful about their experience.
When time is limited, context matters more
Faculty members, advisors, supervisors, and mentors are often asked to write recommendations alongside teaching, research, advising, management, and other responsibilities.
They may care deeply about their students and still find themselves staring at a blank page with a deadline approaching.
Insight Inquiry gives them somewhere better to begin.
Rather than reconstructing everything they know about a student from a résumé, recommenders can start with the student's own reflections and then add what they have personally observed.
That can make the process easier without turning the resulting letter into a template.
A recommendation should sound like a recommendation
Insight Inquiry does not decide what a recommender should say about a student.
It does not replace the relationship between student and recommender.
The student's reflections provide context. The recommender decides what matters, what they can personally speak to, and what they want their letter to say.
The result should still sound like the person who knows the student, not like a product.
For college and beyond
Knowing how to communicate who you are doesn't stop mattering once you get into college.
Insight Inquiry can support students as they pursue the academic and professional opportunities that follow, wherever those opportunities lead.
Every opportunity is different.
But a meaningful recommendation always depends on the same thing:
Someone who knows enough about you to say something worth hearing.
Why Insight Inquiry?
knowing
Better
letters
begin
with
more.
Every student is more than a transcript, résumé, or collection of accomplishments.
Insight Inquiry gives students the space to explore what their experiences mean to them, giving recommenders a stronger foundation for writing about the person they know.
Because a better recommendation starts with knowing more.
More than a résumé
Insight Inquiry isn't designed to produce another polished list of accomplishments, and it isn't a quick questionnaire about a student's strengths.
The value comes from giving students room to think.
They can follow meaningful threads, revisit experiences, consider what changed them, and make connections across different parts of their lives.
That takes time. And that's intentional.
The goal isn't to make a student sound impressive.
It's to help them articulate what is actually meaningful about their experience.
When time is limited, context matters more
Faculty members, advisors, supervisors, and mentors are often asked to write recommendations alongside teaching, research, advising, management, and other responsibilities.
They may care deeply about their students and still find themselves staring at a blank page with a deadline approaching.
Insight Inquiry gives them somewhere better to begin.
Rather than reconstructing everything they know about a student from a résumé, recommenders can start with the student's own reflections and then add what they have personally observed.
That can make the process easier without turning the resulting letter into a template.
A recommendation should sound like a recommendation
Insight Inquiry does not decide what a recommender should say about a student.
It does not replace the relationship between student and recommender.
The student's reflections provide context. The recommender decides what matters, what they can personally speak to, and what they want their letter to say.
The result should still sound like the person who knows the student, not like a product.
For college and beyond
Knowing how to communicate who you are doesn't stop mattering once you get into college.
Insight Inquiry can support students as they pursue the academic and professional opportunities that follow, wherever those opportunities lead.
Every opportunity is different.
But a meaningful recommendation always depends on the same thing:
Someone who knows enough about you to say something worth hearing.
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Join Ontos Admissions Insight
Ready
to
bring
Ontos
to
your
school
?
Whether you are a school leader ready to enroll, a counselor advocating for your team, a parent or student looking to learn more, or an IC3 attendee, we look forward to welcoming you.
Join Ontos Admissions Insight
Ready
to
bring
Ontos
to
your
school
?
Whether you are a school leader ready to enroll, a counselor advocating for your team, a parent or student looking to learn more, or an IC3 attendee, we look forward to welcoming you.
Join Ontos Admissions Insight
Ready
to
bring
Ontos
to
your
school
?
Whether you are a school leader ready to enroll, a counselor advocating for your team, a parent or student looking to learn more, or an IC3 attendee, we look forward to welcoming you.
Join Ontos Admissions Insight
Ready
to
bring
Ontos
to
your
school
?
Whether you are a school leader ready to enroll, a counselor advocating for your team, a parent or student looking to learn more, or an IC3 attendee, we look forward to welcoming you.