<p>He knows me very well, but I've had him write a LOR for summer programs, and it was kind of generic. Basically, he says he basically describes the person in the classroom in the first section and the person out of the classroom in the second section, with a nice "guarantee she/he'll be a good addition to your college or your money back" to wrap.</p>
<p>He knows me enough that he can specifically mention things I've done/things I've said. But I'm worried he won't include the information essential for making me stand out. He's been teaching for longer than I've been alive.. How do I go about asking him to be more specific without offending him?</p>
<p>Write a note thanking him in advance for writing your recommendation. Then add some information specific to what you are applying to; you can also enclose a resume. My daughter did this especially for some specific programs. Often, teachers are not aware of activities and talents outside of the school–how could they be? If you have participated in something unusual (Destination Imagination comes to mind) you can also explain the program a bit. You want to walk the line about giving too much information because you don’t want to overload him, but most teachers appreciate some extra information. One of my daughter’s teachers said that she really liked getting the note and information.</p>
<p>Hi MD Mom! I’ve given him a resume-type document, but I also don’t want him to just repeat that, since I’ll be sending it to colleges, too. Mostly, I’d like to have him include things that wouldn’t be in the rest of my application.</p>
<p>Like what kind of things outside of your application do you want your teacher to write about? Won’t you be listing and talking about all your activities, achievements, honors, awards, etc in your application?</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses so far.</p>
<p>qwert13: I’ve heard that it’s good if your teachers can write about specific things you did for their class… presentations where you went all out or maybe a debate where you eloquently argued your point, etc., etc. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? Is this stuff even help you gain admission, or is it all in my head? (the latter seems to be the answer, more and more often :P)</p>