<p>For some schools, they require your LORs to come from teachers that have taught you in an academic subject. I asked my history teacher from last year for a rec, so that's fine, but my other one is a little more difficult to say. I had the other teacher in a class that allows students to raise money for a cause. It's an elective class and it's one of the core parts of my application. The teacher is a social studies teacher, and I have him next semester for a social studies elective. Do you think I can get by using his LOR? It's already on the Common App. I didn't have him for an academic subject, but I will next semester, and he teaches academic subjects. This letter is really important, and I really don't want to ask another teacher for another one. Do you think it will matter that I didn't have this teacher for an academic subject yet? It's not like I had the teacher for gym class.</p>
<p>You need to look up each college that you are applying to - every college is different. Some request one rec from a math/sci and one from a humanities; other request only one’; some specify only junior and senior year recs and other don’t specify. </p>
<p>The ones I’m applying to don’t request letters from teachers of different subjects. My problem is whether the teacher I mentioned above would be sufficient for a LOR.</p>
<p>Bump</p>
<p>Did the school you are applying to make that requirement? As in, did they explicitly say, “recommendation must come from an academic subject”? If they didn’t, I wouldn’t worry about it. It does not matter what “some schools” do it only matters what your target school does.</p>
<p>“We require two recommendations from teachers who have taught you in an academic subject.”</p>
<p>Ooh, that does sound like a firm rule then. I bet they also give you a list of academic subjects too right, so you can’t wriggle around? </p>
<p>Crazy idea – would they possibly allow you to submit 3 recommendations? Or, failing that, can you ask them to count this elective class? If there’s no hard and fast list of which subjects count and which ones don’t, it may be a discretionary thing that the school can give you more feedback on.</p>
<p>Assuming you are a senior, the teacher would clearly have to write the letter before he/she has you for the academic elective in the spring semester. I would use that recommendation as an extra/activity based recommendation and get a third from an academic class teacher.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am sending three. That teacher’s LOR is already under the Common App as an academic letter though. Oh well.</p>