<p>what did you say?</p>
<p>"Hi Ms. Valente. How are you? I feel like you've taught me a lot throughout the years we've known eachother and I would be honored if you would write me a recommendation for Yale University. The school is my number one choice and I feel that you're the only teacher who knows me well enough to write an effective recommendation."</p>
<p>The way that the counseling dept. suggested to my D's class is that they say to a recommender, "Do you feel that you could write a positive recommendation about me to colleges (specific college, or Common App as the case may be)?" That question allows a graceful exit if a teacher is concerned about the quality of the rec. That would not necessarily mean that the teacher thinks poorly of the student, but that he/she has not had enough of a chance to view the student, or to assess the student in a partic. subject.</p>
<p>My D had a sophomore teacher that was wild about her. However, the teacher had worked many yrs. ago in college admissions, & appreciated the fact that adcoms like the interaction with the teacher to be close in time to the date of the application submission. Therefore, she suggested that a jr. yr or first-quarter Sr. yr teacher be chosen, despite this very close relationship. Luckily, my D had several other options; however, if she had not, the soph. teacher was prepared to submit a rec anyway.</p>
<p>Anyway, framing the request in the above way offers a chance to discuss such things candidly. Remember to offer written summaries (lists) of courses & e.c.'s & possibly accomplishments to a recommender.</p>
<p>My guidance department gives everyone two 'brag sheets' - one for the student and one for the parent. You submit these, as well as a copy of your resume or list of activities, and the required forms from the college along with a pre-stamped envelope.</p>
<p>I've never heard of a teacher declining a request. But I do know that there are certain teachers whom everyone loves to get their recs from.</p>
<p>just like FrenchBaroque says, it is CRITICAL that when you ask a teacher for a rec you also ask that teacher if they will be able to write a strong rec. </p>
<p>While it can be uncomfortable for a student to ask a direct question like this to a teacher, it HAS to be done. In the book "The Gatekeepers" is an example of a bad rec.
[quote]
There were times, I must admit,that I thought Tiffany might have taken a stronger interest in mastering the material in our course. When I saw that Tiffany was a National Merit Semi-Finalist I was a bit surprised. While clearly bright and competent, I had seen in Tiffany neither an exceptional skill for testing nor a particular affinity for the subject.
[/quote]
I doubt the student set out to get a poor college req, but this is what can happen if you don't ask. the student did not get in, BTW.</p>
<p>also, give them PLENTY of advance notice- they are much more apt to say no, or write you a less than stellar rec if you ask them a week before its due, or when they're swamped with writing other recs.</p>
<p>huskem55 is right. Also batch them up. Its much better to ask a teacher ONCE to write 6 recs then to ask for 3, a couple weeks later ask for 2 more, and near the final deadline ask for one last rec.</p>
<p>Personally, I don't think you should be <em>too</em> formal when asking. You should be asking teachers/people that are your friends as well as your mentors. I just said, "(teacher name), I was wondering if you would be willing to write my recommendation letter(s) for (insert colleges here)." I guess stick with the tone that you have with that person...if you're not quite that informal, do what other people above me have said to do. :)</p>
<p>I walked up to my teacher and told her that she was probably one of the teachers that tought me the most through out my high school experience. I told her that she tought me more about social, leadership, and life in general than I would have ever expected. It came easy for me asking her to write me a recomendation, but that was probably because everything I said was true and she was my absolute favourite teacher. Just try to speak from the heart, I know it sounds corny, but teachers can tell when you're lying.</p>
<p>I plan to do what onsilverwings did. Ask informally but politely.</p>
<p>It'll be fairly easy for me...my favorite teacher who's known me the best just joined the college counseling office this year...and she's my college counselor. For my other rec...I'll be asking a teacher who's taught me all four years of high school, and is teaching me two subjects this year (and she's my homeroom teacher).</p>
<p>Be sure to select teachers who you think can write well. A poorly worded recommendation with disconnected thoughts and spelling errors won't impress anyone. And it is indeed a good idea to sound out recommenders to be sure they feel they can give you a strong recommendation. They could still zap you in the sealed recommendation, of course, but it would take a really unethical jerk to do that.</p>
<p>so its not ok to have a teacher from frosh or soph year to write you a recommendation? What if that teacher is the coach of the sport your on for the school team so you've known him or her all 4 years? I had a teacher in soph year that liked me a lot so is it still possible to get a recommendation from him or her?</p>
<p>Would colleges by any chance count off at the fact that I've never had a teacher for more than a semester (im on block schedule btw) ???</p>
<p>I am planning to ask 2 teachers in the fall semester of my senior year who are the best teachers i've had so far and seem to know me well...</p>
<p>mikemac, that rec is just HORRIBLE! That teacher sure doesn't mind saying the hard truth.</p>
<p>Roger_Dooley, Michelle Hernandez states that admissions officers won't take a teacher's writing ability into account. that would be unfair? </p>
<p>also, it's hard to tell whether non-english-teachers are good writers or not.</p>
<p>basically, i don't think a student should make writing ability a factor in choosing their selected teachers.</p>
<p>I have a question. If the school i'm applying is rolling admissions can i send my application and transcript first to give the teacher some time for the recs?</p>
<p>Quick question: if you have ALOT of colleges (i.e. 12 or so), can you just ask the teacher to make copies with the different college names on them?</p>
<p>Well I have a few sophomore teachers who I think would give me very strong recommendations such as my Spanish teacher who taught me Spanish I. Do you think it would be advisable to take recommendations from these teachers or should I try and get some from my junior or senior year teachers ?</p>
<p>When my child was applying for private school, she had a math teacher who thought the world of her. We asked her to write a letter of recommendation. She said she was honored that we asked but she thought it would be much better for our child's application if we chose teachers who were currently teaching her, which was what schools are most interested in.
I'm sure it was good advice and my daughter did get into the desired school. I believe schools want to know how prospective freshmen were as juniors and seniors rather than how they were as freshmen and sophomores. In any case, I'm encouraging our son to get his recommendations from among his junior & senior classes.
I believe most teachers would put your info on their computer & could easily print out the info on the appropriate form, especially if you give the teachers all the forms at the same time (rather than piecemeal--one or two every few weeks).</p>