• About
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    In 2009, Zaytuna College was founded in Berkeley, California, with a mission that called for grounding students in the Islamic scholarly tradition as well as in the cultural currents and critical ideas shaping modern society.

  • Academics
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    As a Muslim liberal arts college in the West, Zaytuna offers a curriculum that provides its students with a foundation in the intellectual heritage of two major world civilizations: the Islamic and the Western.

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  • Admissions & Aid
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    Our mission is to educate students to become morally, intellectually, and spiritually accomplished individuals ready to contribute to our contemporary world in ways that are proportionate to their gifts and to the needs of human society.

     

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  • Campus Life
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    Zaytuna’s campus is on Holy Hill and students enter the College as part of a cohort, a community of learners that travel together through the curriculum.

How to Write a Letter of Recommendation

Your letters of recommendation provide essential information for the selective admissions decisions that we seek to make. Descriptive and detailed letters give us deeper insight into a candidate beyond the transcripts, resume, and essays we have. Above all, we seek a reliable portrait of the intellectual and moral life of the applicant. Whenever possible, please describe academic milestones in the progress of the candidates for whom you write. We’re grateful for concrete examples that offer a fuller view of your students’ accomplishments and the broader context within which you know them. Above all, we value your candor in evaluating their readiness for the rigorous and unusually demanding undergraduate program at Zaytuna College. We thank you wholeheartedly for your time and effort in preparing this letter of recommendation.

Please address some of the following questions in your evaluation:

  1. Under what circumstances have you interacted with the applicant? Please let us know if you have had only had limited interactions with the person.

  1. What has made this applicant stand out to you?

  2. Has the applicant demonstrated intellectual curiosity that goes beyond the curriculum?

  3. Has the applicant displayed leadership, talent, or skills not captured in the transcript?

  4. What gets this applicant motivated?

  5. How have your interactions been with the applicant? How does this person interact with instructors, supervisors, and peers?

  6. What made this applicant stand out to you?

  7. If you are familiar with Zaytuna College, why do you believe that Zaytuna College is a good match for this applicant's academic goals? How do you see this person contributing to the Zaytuna College community? How do you think this candidate will grow from an experience of Zaytuna College?

  8. Are there any circumstances that affected the applicant that you think will give us a better understanding of the person behind the application?

Thank you for your continued participation and support.