<p>Before school ended last year, D asked one of her teachers for a rec. She's considering who to ask for her second rec now. No paperwork issued yet.</p>
<p>Just to echo Marny1's meeting idea. We did the same (Sat morning limited appointment)... (but I didn't think about the cookies) when my s was in shutdown mode.</p>
<p>My problem is that I always think about the cookies. Seriously - I don't know if this "meeting" approach will work for you- but I got to admit- I am less stressed. I am assuming that I will again meet with my d later this week to discuss "things to do" like following up with Teacher Recommendations etc. So I am feeling comfortable knowing that we will talk about it by week's end. Prior to this arrangement, I think I was beginning to "bark" at her when our paths crossed asking if she did this -that- and something else. Maybe that's why she avoided me. So I think the "scheduled" meeting time might work. I also think giving her the $10 bucks a meeting works for her too.</p>
<p>My D. had a couple of teachers lined up already - though they may not "fit" what is best. One his her freshman English teacher who retired at the end of that year - she was in a very small class of 10 students with him and became very friendly with him and continued to email him and send essays for his suggestions, ideas afterward. He thinks she should apply to Harvard! (ha, ha). Because it goes back so far, he isn't really the best choice for a letter - but I think that as long as he explains that he has continued to see her work it should be o.k. She seems to really like her AP English teacher this year -- she would have had her first full class today, and I noticed that when telling me about it she was referring to the teacher by first name - so maybe there's a possibility for a more current rec too.</p>
<p>Another teacher is her chem teacher from sophomore year - last year the teacher thought she was a graduating senior and offered congratulations. When she said that she still had another year to go, he said, "great! then I can write you a recommendation!" -- so that was taken as a volunteer. Because my daughter spent half her junior year abroad, going back to 10th grade teachers makes some sense - at most, her 11th grade teachers had her for a semester, which really isn't adequate to get to know someone. </p>
<p>So we'll see. These may not be the conventional choices, but obviously teachers who feel strongly about her. One big advantage of the retired teacher is that he has had years of experience, and at the same time will not be burdened by writing other recommendations or have any conflicts about other strong students. I mean, he's could probably check off "one of the best students in my career" on the form without any qualms. I've seen some of their email/IM's over the years, and this guy has really been a great mentor to her. He's really great because he knows how to direct her writing without telling her what to do - I'd see her write to him saying she was stuck or fresh out of ideas, and he's write back with some gentle questions, and pretty soon the creative juices were flowing.</p>
<p>My D. approached teachers at the end of last term to ask whether they would be able to write recs for her - we wanted to give lots of advance notice bec none of them had had students applying to US universities before. She asked whether they'd like to get the forms and background info then (end of term here is July) or at the start of the new term (mid Sept) and each one of them asked for it on the spot. Personal statements for the UCAS form are due the first day of school and Oxbridge deadline is mid October so D is trying to get all this done early.....</p>