<p>um for the teacher reccomendation for Duke Part II, it says give rec form to a teacher who taught us within the last 2 years</p>
<p>so does that include freshman year... because I want to ask my Freshman Geometry teacher (had me for both semester 2002-2003... so since it's 2005 would 2003 count?)</p>
<p>... also he is one of head teachers for math team and I have been in it for the past 4 years so he is still basically teaching me math, would that count?</p>
<p>ALSO... i am using the common app rec form and that doesn't specify, so would I be alright by asking him for a reccomendation for duke?</p>
<p>when i asked about it they said they wanted a teacher from 11th or 12th grade but if it was someone who knew you well you could submit it as a supplementary rec</p>
<p>Duke specifies that they want letters from 11th and 12th grade teachers only, but if you have had the teacher twice (and once is 11th or 12th grade), you should be fine.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if that "ay caramba" was for me or just a general expression of frustration, but yeah, as others have said, I'm pretty sure they're looking for someone who's taught you in an academic subject in the past two years, and so freshman year doesn't really count. </p>
<p>If you know that freshman year teacher is going to give a really strong recommendation that will add to your application, you can definitely send in his recommendation in addition to the ones that are required. But you don't want to try to get around the requirement on technicalities, that won't make you look any better.</p>
<p>haha, that ay caramba was in frustration... I saw who the last post was by and I was thinking 'Whoa, did someone make a username just because I used that phrase?!'</p>
<p>... well I guess I am going to have to get another teacher for my rec... just a problem of choosing one</p>
<p>well thanks for your help guys, it really clarified this for me</p>
<p>what will happen if both of your recs are from sophomore year teachers? I used them for early action at another school, but one of these teachers is the advisor of the club I'm an officer in (i've worked with her a lot junior/senior year). I'm really worried about this, because school lets out next week for christmas break, and I'll be screwed if I was supposed to have recs from junior/senior year teachers only! Thanks for your help</p>
<p>The reason I overlooked this was because I was always planning on using the Common App, which says nothing about the junior/senior year teacher rec requirement (only that Duke has a supplement).</p>
<p>I think why they ask for 11th and 12th grade teachers is because the ad com thinks that they will give the most accurate and recent description of you and your work. </p>
<p>If you have a freshman or sophomore year teacher who can give a different perspective of you, that would be good. If they can tell how you've grown or changed, that would really help, especially if they've been the advisor for a club you're in or a coach for your team. </p>
<p>But they do ask for 11th/12th grade teachers, so that's who should write your recs. Have the others do supplementary ones. The ad com would certainly not reject you just because you asked fresh/soph teachers. They just want the most complete picture of you possible.</p>
<p>One last note: if you've already asked fresh/soph teachers, don't worry about it. I doubt they care that much. But if you do want to ask a junior/senior teacher, ask soon! ie, tomorrow. And beg. Because asking tomorrow means teachers would have to do them at the last minute over the holidays.</p>
<p>thanks, ria215. That's exactly why I'm getting worried, because if I must ask a junior/senior teacher, they'll be having to do it during the holidays. Still, I picked those two soph. teachers because they were the ones who knew me the best- both inside and outside the classroom. I felt that they were the two teachers who would provide the most accurate recs, as opposed to a teacher from last year who just knows me from that one class.
If it doesn't matter that much, I will just stick with what I have. I'd rather have the problem with recs be that they're from 10th grade teachers than the problem be that they're poorly written, unpersonal, and simple repetitions of my resume that were written in a hurry. Thanks for the advice; anyone else have anything to say?</p>