How many letters should I get?
Because I asked 2 teachers. I could possibly get one from a teacher next year that I had during my sophomore year that I will be having again (senior year), but she’s sort of a mean teacher so I’m apprehensive. Or I could ask my guidance counselor who seems nice but I’ve never really talked to.
You must have a recommendation from your guidance counselor/principal/college counselor/however those things work in your school. Someone in administration. Sounds like it’s the nice woman. I would first make an appointment to talk about your college goals for 30 min+, and then drop by for 10 minutes every so often to give her an update on how you’re doing, say hi, etc. Ask if there’s any information you can give her to make writing the rec easier. (Actually, you can ask the teachers that too. Mine required packets of information.) Ask the teacher you’re worried about being mean if she will be able to give you a particularly good recommendation because you’red worried that she doesn’t know you that well, or because [whatever]. Careful not to insult her, but looking for reassurance is okay.
all4game- Most colleges require two teacher recs in addition to a letter from your counselor. If you have a good idea of which schools you’re interested in applying to, I’d check out their websites to be sure of what they require. From my experience it’s pretty unusual for a school to ask for more than two teacher recs, though, since they’ll be inundated with enough material come submission deadlines as it is.
As long as you’re confident that the teachers you’ve already asked know you well enough and can speak to your potential, I’d say go with your gut and don’t bother with the mean-ish one. And I definitely agree with Lirazel on the counselor front; try to sit down with her a couple of times so that she can get a feel for what kind of a student you are and what kind of college experience you’re hoping to have. It’ll make things easier for both of you. 
How do you make a cover letter/resume? I feel like a resume would just be a list of things…I don’t even know what a cover letter is.
are they supposed to write the letter or type it (or is it just up to them)
can you have as many letters as you want or should the max # be 3?
max must be three, and typed would be better.
how should i ask for recs from a mentor? i completed a research project this summer (part of a summer program) and wont get a chance to meet with them again. should i ask via email?
the program just ended. how long after the program should i wait to ask? i was too nervous/uncertain to ask during the last week of the program but i dont want it to appear rude bc i know its better to ask in person.
plz help!
Is it fine to ask current teachers for recommendations (classes that one would be taking while filling out the application)?
Yes, if you’ve had them before (even for a semester, or as a club leader.) If you haven’t met them yet (in any significant way), it’s probably a bad idea, but could be your best option if something went really wrong junior year.
Thanks for the clarification.
I have a quick question -
I’ve seen a few things about asking a back up teacher. In what way would I go about doing this? I am under the impression that I would give copies of the form/envelopes to the two teachers, but if I did so for the back up teacher, wouldn’t they mail that also and then I would end up with 3 recommendations?
Sorry for my ignorance!
Thank you!
also - if I would like to have my own application due earlier than the deadline (like three weeks before), should I give the teachers “my deadline” or the college-said deadline?
Thanks!
So my Math teacher from soph year already told me he would love to do a rec for me.
I’m trying to decide between my IB US History or IB Business/Management teacher for the 2nd. Is Business considered close enough to humanities?
question!!
do you think it would be a good idea to provide GPA and SAT scores to the teachers? if they are strong, then won’t these sway your teacher into writing a stronger application?
I think it would be more convenient for both teachers and students if the recommendation paper is e-mailed to the students. One of my friend collect his recommendation via internet while he was far away from his institute. Then he print out as many as copy as he needed. If you do this then there will be no need for photocopy.
My AP US History Teacher
The Superintendent of my School District
My private lesson violin teacher of six years
My AP Economics teacher or my speech and debate teacher
or should i use a counselor for a letter of rec?
I’m not planning on majoring in anything science-related, so is it a bad idea for me to ask my chem teacher? I did reasonably well and I know she’ll write a good rec…my concern is just that it’s not anything close to my intended major
Question- I want to major in pharmacy which is mostly chemistry related. But I think that my calculus and biology teachers know me better, so I would like to ask one of them. Does it really matter which teacher I choose?
Can teachers mail in recommendations before I submit my actual CommonApp application online?
ahhhh this is SOOO confusing.
^I’m wondering the same thing. How soon can teachers send in letters? Do I have to give them a list of where I’m applying? Do I need to fill out the addresses of all the schools to which I’m applying? What if my list isn’t quite finalized yet… should I just ask them to get started writing it, and then they can wait to send it out till my list is finalized?
I’m so confused too! Is it okay to ask a teacher that I had in 10th grade for a letter? He liked me when I was in his class, and when he sees me he still says hi to me. What do you guys recommend?