<p>Please help me decide who to ask for my recommendation letters.</p>
<p>English Teacher
Said she'd be delighted to write mine. Said my class participation was stellar, writing was beautiful, etc. etc. etc. Only problem is I didn't win the class excellence award and wasn't ranked 1 in the class, would that hurt my chances at Harvard? (I still got an A+)</p>
<p>US History
Said I was a positive influence in class. Said I have strong critical thinking skills. I'm probably the only guy in his career who got A+ on his tests. But I didn't really try in his class. Also he might have overheard me admitting to looking up homework answers online instead of actually doing them.</p>
<p>Math
Said I was top few in his career, very honest, strong mathematical ability of college student or even graduate student level. Said that if he had to name a weakness, would be my work ethic. I fooled around a ton in his class and never did the homework. I kind of treated him more as a friend than as a teacher in terms of respect. However he said if he was forced to mention the work ethic because recommendation letter asked for weakness, he'd also try to mention that the reason is that the math was of too simple level for me (not saying this is true, it's just what he would say).</p>
<p>Chemistry
Said he'd be happy to write my letter. Nothing else. I got Chemistry Olympiad semifinalist in his class, our class was also filled with kinda disrespectful students, and I was the only guy who paid attention and was interested. Problem is I had him last year too, fooled around a lot in his class, was dishonest about doing the homework (pretend to do it when I hadn't, he caught me and was very disappointed). I never did the homework this year either. And he doesn't seem too close to me, sometimes he does, sometimes he's kind of distant. Also asked him to write me recommendation letters to summer research programs. I was rejected from RSI, also waitlisted from a University research program.</p>
<p>Preferably, I'd choose one guy from humanities (English/US Hist) and one guy from sciences (Math/Chem). Can you guys tell me if I'd be getting strong letters? And who should I ask?</p>
<p>English would seem a “duh, yes.” All of the other three sound extremely problematic for all top colleges, though. Harvard and it peers aren’t just looking for very smart people, even ones who have graduate-level math abilities. They’re looking for students who will not cheat, who will do the work, and who, most importantly, will contribute a significantly positive presence to a class or campus atmosphere. I have trouble getting that picture of you from these descriptions. Even if it was just your high school situation, I don’t see a ton of signs that you’ll start contributing more in college. Many successful Harvard applicants, if faced with a class that is too easy, will go above and beyond the expectations of the class rather than just giving up and fooling around, making trouble for teachers and peers alike. If I were an admissions officer and saw your math teacher’s recommendation, with that as your weakness, I’d probably reject you immediately, unfortunately. You seem smart enough to find a good place to go to college, but it also sounds like you still have a lot of growing up to do. Good luck</p>
<p>OK :S. I am very immature even right now but I am trying to work on it. I feel like I would be a lot better in college because then I’d be surrounded by motivated people and have a clear purpose. I work hard from time to time, but the problem is that I am not the type of guy who will go out of my way to find opportunities for myself, I am kind of complacent and happy with life the way it is, in class my only goal is to learn the material well and then to get an A+, which is probably the exact opposite of what Ivies want.</p>
<p>In Harvard recommendation letters, do they proc the teacher to mention a weakness? My math teacher said he wouldn’t mention work ethic unless the recommendation letter asked specifically for a weakness. If he glosses over my work ethic, are college admissions officers going to notice it? (And will my English recommendation letter counteract that)? I was genuinely interested by Calculus this year and asked him a lot of questions after school and went beyond the curriculum, but I didn’t do any of the class assignments.</p>
<p>I took a look at the Harvard rec form. I think I’d be getting top 1% on academic achievement, intellectual promise, quality of writing, creative thought, integrity, self-confidence, initiative, reaction to setbacks. I’d get top 5% on leadership. I’d get very good on maturity, motivation, concern for others. And then Good on Respect accorded to faculty and Disciplined work habits (these are all inflated because he has some lower math classes where the students aren’t so good). </p>
<p>For my Chem teacher, I think it’d depend on whether he evaluated me based on last year or this year’s performance. This year’s performance would basically say excellent (top 10%) character and motivation and academic achievement outstanding (top 5%). I went beyond the classroom material and studied on my own a little. Last year’s would only be average character and motivation. Is Chem a safer pick?</p>
<p>I mean, I could always ask my sophomore AP Physics teacher for a recommendation. He’d probably say I worked hard and was smart, but he wouldn’t say anything stellar (especially since I didn’t even get Phys Olympiad Semifinalist that year).</p>
<p>If Ivy League schools are looking for motivation and discipline and stuff, would Harvard be OK with me going for English / US Hist recommendations and completely ignoring sciences?</p>
<p>You want a teacher that writes YOU, pianiseemo, have been the most outstanding student they have had in 30 years of teaching. You have the potential to be a scholar, you are passionate about everything you do, you are thoughtful, mature and respectful of others. You have gone above and beyond what was required in class and that faculty admire you as a role-model among your peers. That is what MIT is looking for; ditto with Harvard and all selective colleges.</p>
<p>With the choices you listed, I would go with your English teacher and US History Teacher. </p>
<p>(The Chem teacher seems too unpredictable and you don’t want your Math teacher making excuses for your lack of work ethic. That seems like a killer right there.)</p>
<p>In terms of SCEA or RD, see your other thread on that subject.</p>