<p>So I'm a rising senior, and I guess it's about time that I start asking my teachers for recommendations for college apps. The problem is, I have no idea how to start.</p>
<p>I'm been reading around online, and the general consensus seems to be "in-person > over email", but I'm very shy, especially when it comes to talking to teachers one-on-one, so I was wondering if sending a polite email over the summer asking them if they could write me a strong letter and explaining why I liked their class would be appropriate?</p>
<p>Also, wouldn't asking over the summer give them more than enough time to actually write the letter? I'm worried that asking at the beginning of next year would not only give them the opportunity to forget me, but also be a bit short notice.</p>
<p>IMO, if you’re asking the right teachers, 1) you shouldn’t be so shy around them to talk to them one-on-one for five minutes at most, and 2) they wouldn’t have forgotten you over the summer. Ask them after on the second week of school or so, and you’ll be fine. Please ask them in person - I’m a shy person too, so I totally understand, but it’s really not appropriate to ask for such a major part of your application through email. They’ll be more likely to remember and say yes if you ask them in person, and doing so will put you in a more favourable light. Asking in person is just a courteous thing to do.</p>
<p>If these are teachers you had your junior year, you may want to tell them some things you want them to mention in your recommendation when you ask them, just in case they may have forgotten some details over the summer.</p>
<p>Best of luck :)</p>