<p>My school district is pretty much buying out all the old teachers and forcing them to retire for money since they're too expensive to keep! :) So as a result, most of the teachers that I would consider getting recommendations from are leaving. :(</p>
<p>So my question is, how important are teacher recommendations? I mean, don't most teachers say generic things anyway? Or should I start making friends with the new teachers fast? Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you a junior? If so, then you might get them to write you teacher recs anyway. My IB English was out on maternity leave this year, but I wanted her to write me a rec because she really knew me well (she was my sophomore and junior English teacher). Although she wasn't teaching this year, she still wrote me an awesome rec for Duke. If you're not a junior, then choose new teachers. Teacher recs are important because, like essays, they are one of the few subjective parts of the application.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm a junior. Did you have to contact your teacher at home for a recommendation letter? Wouldn't that be kind of weird if the teacher was retired, though?</p>
<p>from my experiences... recs won't have any effect on your admission status unless your teacher starts to talk crap about you (which is rarely the case, since u get to pick the teacher; who is usually someone that likes you :) )
If the schools want you, they'll take you no matter what others say. (this came from two college interviewers) But... a recommendation that says something like "in 3 years of having so and so, he/she never disappointed me," WILL boost ur status. (unfortunately, recs like this are rare as well)</p>
<p>bottomline, recs don't weigh that much in high school... but they can get u into places for grad...</p>
<p>Hope i helped in someway</p>
<p>I think teacher recs count more than interviews at least, especially considering many applicants don't get interviewed. Just look at how much importance applicants put on interviews that don't really matter (well, at HYP they might)! </p>
<p>crazy14, I asked for a rec before she left. That makes it less "weird." </p>
<p>The bottom line is that a good rec by a teacher that knows you well could help (especially at highly selective schools) and will not hurt you- but a mediocre rec written by a new teacher could.</p>
<p>ask your teachers NOW, before the end of this school year, if they would be willing to write you a college rec next year, and if they say yes, ask them how they would like you to contact them when the time comes.</p>
<p>soccerguy, sounds like a plan.</p>
<p>Another question, which teacher rec would be better if I'm going to go into engineering?
1) Teacher who knows me very well, but teaches Spanish.
2) Math/Science teacher who knows me not quite as well, but would still write a good letter.</p>