College Application Questions

Applying to College
1

Hello! I have a few questions regarding the college application process, and I’d appreciate it if anyone can answer them.

  1. I asked 2 of my teachers/club advisers for letters of recommendation on the last day of school (junior year) in hopes that they can write a superb letter of recommendation for me since I'm the only one who has requested a letter of rec so far and they have all summer to think about it. My guidance counselor told us today at a workshop that requesting for a LoR over the summer is not good since teachers would get annoyed about it since they should be on break over the summer rather than writing a letter of rec. None of the teachers I asked seemed this way, and I had told them that I'd need the LoR by October to clarify to them that they don't need to finish it by the end of the summer. Is requesting this early for letters of rec good or bad? One downside I have noticed is that I don't have all my test scores (AP scores and I'm taking 1 more SAT Subject test in August), but since my brag sheet is digital and shared with my teachers, I can update those anytime.
  2. How much does one's class rank affect college chances? Because of a few unforeseen events (such as not getting the classes I requested), my class rank dropped from 1 to 3 out of 110.
  3. I've been taking community college classes for math outside of high school since junior year since I finished the most advanced math class my high school offers in sophomore year. My parents are not very willing to take me to those classes, and they're considering disallowing me from enrolling fall semester of my senior year so that I can work on college apps and because it's not guaranteed that the credits I obtain at community college will transfer to a 4-year college. However, I really want to continue taking classes there. Would not taking a math class during senior year affect my chances in the college application process, especially since I'm planning on majoring in math?
2
  1. it is often suggested to ask teachers towards the end of junior year to write recommendations and not to wait until senior year - then they have more time to write the recommendation - also some teachers limit the number they write so it’s better to ask early. In my opinion you did the right thing!
  2. class rank of 3 is great - won’t make any difference if you are #1 or #3 - if you couldn’t take a certain class due to a schedule conflict you can also mention that in the additional information section of your application.
  3. If you can’t take the math class, just put in the additional information section in your application that you finished all the math classes at your school and was unable to continue at the community college this year. I assume that you already took calculus BC which may be important to have for a math major?
3

Definitely try to take a math class — especially if it is your intended major!! Worst case scenario, there are online math classes (through John Hopkins center for gifted and talented children), and I believe Stanford offers Online advanced math classes as well (though Stanford is a little pricey).

Try to explain to your parents the importance for you, and look into public transportation options, or ask a friend to take it with you, so you can alternate who drives.

All the best to you! If you can’t take any online classes, then just explain to colleges in your application that you wanted to take another math class, but due to transportation issues you were not able to, and Online classes weren’t economically feasible.

Ideally take a math class, but colleges will understand :slight_smile: