<p>The problem i'm having with these is that i have never really built a realtionship with my teachers. Occasionally i would ask them to explain something, but i never really talked to them that much or answer many questions in class. I feel like they just know me as a kid who got an A in their class and nothing more. Will this be a problem?</p>
<p>BTW i'm applying to Mich, Vandy, Case Western, UIUC, Pitt, and Duke.</p>
<p>It could make or break at top colleges, yes. You will need strong letters of recommendation for top 25 schools. Most applicants who are accepted by those colleges do.</p>
<p>Maybe think of getting a supplemental letter? Do you have anyone, like a club adviser or someone you did volunteer work for, that can write you an additional letter?
It could help.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to try and build a relationship with your teachers now. Just visit them after school and ask them how everything’s going.</p>
<p>Yes, it matters a lot. The top schools say they could fill their entering class 2x or 3x over with students just as good they had to turn away. So they have to make decisions somehow, and one of the “make or break” items for kids that are clearly qualified is whether they have strong recs.</p>
<p>Some recommenders write well, some don’t. Some know their students very well, some less so. I doubt those factors matter a lot.</p>
<p>Bottom line, I doubt many recommendations “make” applicants’ chances, and probably only a truly bad recommendation will “break” ones chances. By a bad rec, I mean one that talks about character problems, cheating, or the like.</p>
<p>They are extremely critical. One of the top tier schools we visited said in the info session that it was the most important part of the application since almost everyone who applies have top GPA’s and test scores. They also said that the letters of rec better be stellar and not just say how you “showed up every day, worked hard, and got A’s.” They said that too many letters of rec that they see do that and it tells them nothing that they can’t discern from your transcript (so they are basically useless). You really need to start forming a relationship with one of your teachers right away so they can write a good rec in a couple of months. Good luck. :)</p>