<p>First, I'd like to preface this by apologizing for potentially coming off as pretentious or "braggy" during this post. I'm just being completely honest here, and I'd greatly value any feedback! :)</p>
<p>So here's the deal: I'm currently a high school junior, with 2 weeks left of school to go. (Yay!)
Because the end of the year is so close, my teachers want students to ask them for college recommendations now...but I have a dilemma. I've already asked my English teacher for a rec, and he said yes, but I don't know if I should ask my history or math teacher for my other rec.</p>
<p>Here's some background info on each class, and the pros and cons of asking the teacher of that class for a rec...</p>
<p>History
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[<em>]PROS: This is an AP US History class, my first AP so far (in my high school, most APs are taken senior year), and it was pretty rigorous. I've received A's all year, doing well on both tests and essays and participating actively in discussions every day, and my big final research paper was one of the only two in my class submitted by my teacher for a special scholarship prize. I know my teacher likes me, and I'm very confident that he would write me a great rec; he said that if a student asks him to write a rec and he says yes, he will be sure to write that student a stellar rec, putting a lot of time, effort, and care into it. He's an impeccable writer, which would certainly make a rec look better.
[</em>]CONS: I don't think I'm absolutely my teacher's favorite student, and while he certainly likes and respects me, we don't have a "connection" that some teachers have with students. Additionally, there are other kids in my class who were clearly far more interested in history than me, and made much more insightful comments on a regular basis. Another important thing to consider is that I'm already getting a rec from a humanities teacher, so I'd rather have a rec from a math/science teacher instead.
[/ul]</p>
<p>Math
[ul]
[<em>]PROS: Given that I'd like a rec from a math/science teacher, this would perfectly complement the rec from my English teacher. (Since my biology teacher is boring and terribly unprofessional, I wouldn't dare ask him for a rec, and besides bio, math is my only math/science class this year.) This is an advanced pre-calculus class, considered to be quite challenging. (In my school, math can be taken at the standard, honors, or advanced levels, with advanced-level students going on to take AP BC Calc senior year instead of AP AB Calc.) My teacher has often praised me for being a "talented mathematician," and she always compliments my leadership role in class and how well I work with and help other students. My teacher helped me gain confidence in my math abilities throughout the year and always treated me with the utmost support and kindness when difficult family issues and overall stress caused a small dip in grades. She's an extremely patient and caring woman, and I know that if she wrote me a rec, she would do a great job of highlighting my strengths, including how hard I worked all year.
[</em>]CONS: Even though I got A's in math my sophomore year, this is the only class in which I haven't gotten straight A's junior year; first quarter I got a B+, second quarter an A, third quarter a B, and fourth quarter an A-. This fluctuation was due to family issues, lots of stress (I bit off way more than I could chew this year in terms of courses and extracurriculars), and a lack of confidence in my math skills (thanks to my mean and super condescending freshman-year math teacher). There were kids in my class who got A's and A-'s all year, and perhaps getting a rec from a teacher who taught the only class I didn't do amazingly well in is a bad idea.
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<p>The questions are: Does it matter that my history teacher and I aren't best buddies, since I did in fact do very well in his class? And even though I wasn't one of best students in my math class, does my hard work and dedication and my teacher's compassion outweigh my weaknesses? Also, is it imperative to get a math rec since I already have a humanities rec?</p>
<p>Which one should I choose??</p>