If I am going to ask my history teacher to write a rec letter for me but only for one particular university (because only that unversity requires a history rec letter), do I have to tell her all the other schools that I am applying to or just that particular one?
<ol>
<li>Does Naviance separate different rec letters for different schools? All the colleges that I’m applying next year have different requirements, so I’m wondering if Naviance separates them all. </li>
</ol>
You don’t really have to tell her any of the schools you’re applying to. Just add it to the common app, and send it to the one school that asks. If she asks, you could tell her all the schools, or just this one. Your choice.
I’m applying for a summer program (it’s a local one, but I’m sure it’s pretty competitive). It’s for a biomedical lab thing, but I don’t know who I should ask for my letter of recommendation: my Science Olympiad coach or my AP Bio teacher. I’m practically the favorite on the SciOly team, and I know he would write an outstanding letter for me. However, I don’t know if he would be able to express my interest in biology, since I’ve only very briefly mentioned my thoughts on anything non-SciOly related. He is a biology teacher.
I have a pretty good relationship with my AP Bio teacher, but I’m definitely not the top in a class of 25 students (maybe in the top 5? I average A-s on tests, A in class, but still). However, I’m the only one who discusses the concepts and questions in class with him, sometimes staying back to keep talking about advancements in genetics research. I don’t feel as though he likes me as much as my SciOly coach does, but I know he truly appreciates the thought and effort I put into the class… since I’m the only one that makes an effort to talk at all. Will my lack of top-student status work against me?
The deadline for the application is the end of March, so I have time. Who should I ask to recommend me?
I’m thinking about which teachers I want to ask for recommendations and I’m hoping for a second opinion. I will definitely be asking my Latin teacher for one rec since I’ve had him as a teacher for three years now and have consistently been the top student in class. I’ve also chatted with him about some of my extracurricular activities, which he took in interest in, and we both love the same genre of books (fantasy/sci-fi). Plus, the general consensus from the seniors is that he writes good recommendations.
For my other rec though, I’m debating between asking my AP Chem teacher or my Precalc teacher. I actually knew my Chem teacher before this year because I’m really good friends with his daughter. He sees that I am very strong academically and we’ve talked a bit about my plans for college/major, what I did over the summer etc. I still find it hard to gauge how good of a rec he could write me though partly because his teaching method doesn’t really allow room for class participation, but also because he’s hard to read.
My Precalc teacher clearly likes me a lot and she’s proud of my achievements on the school’s math team. Also, I’ve made connections between math and some other subjects. We haven’t really talked about what I do outside of the classroom much though.
Would it be better to ask my Chem teacher when I’m not sure how much enthusiasm he would convey or would it be better to ask my Precalc teacher, who would be enthusiastic but may not have as much substantial info to contribute? I plan on going into the sciences, likely biology, by the way, so does that make a difference?
I would first ask students who graduated if which of the two teachers wrote better recommendations (if they were read) or ask your guidance counselor.
You should focus on getting a recommendation from the teacher that knows you better as a student and person. You don’t need your recommendation coming from a teacher you do the best academically with because your transcript will show how strong you are academically.
It doesn’t make a difference as long as you have at least 1 math/science recommendation.
I’m applying for a scholarship that my school gives out and I need a recommendation from a community member. Would it be inappropriate to ask the superintendent of my school district for one? She and I worked together on a few things last year and she knows me pretty well. Thanks!
Does the background of the teacher matter? For example, I have a Literature teacher whom I adore and hope to ask a recommendation letter from, however I have another teacher, whom I like but don’t share such a close bond with, who was a Brown graduate and has much more achievements and stuff. I’m sure they’d both write wonderful letters for me, I’m just wondering if schools would value the Brown graduate’s letter more or if it doesn’t really matter.
Go up to your teacher and ask them. Also ask many teachers. What if you end up getting deferred and need an extra recommendation? Some schools will let you send in letters of interests and recommendation letters even if your app is pending. You should ask four teachers (one counselor, one ec coordinator , one academic teacher, another academic teacher (in the math or sciences, or depending on which major you apply, ask an AP or honors teacher ) .
My school only allows you to ask two teachers for recs. One of them is definitely going to be my math teacher. But I am having issue deciding the other.
My history teacher adores me and we have a great student-teacher dynamic, but he is new to the school and although he’s been teaching for 20+ years, his writing skills aren’t nearly as strong as my english teacher’s. My english teacher is “famed” for his excellent recs, and although he has said that I can be one of the 2 dozen students he is willing to write recs for, we don’t get along as much as I do with my history teacher. But combined with his writing abilities, he also has us write up a mini -application for him that tells him about us. It consists of a couple of mini-essays as well as the institutions we will be applying to, and it probably accounts for the success of his recommendations. Meanwhile, I have no way to know the “success rate” of my history teacher’s recommendations, but we do connect more personally.
^Not sure which one to choose, but if your counselor does review your teacher recs, then perhaps you could ask both teachers to write a rec for you and ask your counselor to decide. I would probably choose the English teacher because he does give you a chance to let him write about what you want him to focus on.
It’s almost the end of my junior year, and I’m having trouble deciding which teacher to write rec letters for me. I need to choose one science teacher and one English/history teacher. Here are my options:
English/History: I can choose either my Western Civilizations/IB Theory of Knowledge teacher or my IB English teacher. I’ve known my TOK teacher since 9th grade, and we do contact each other personally. He always speaks highly of me and among the faculty, but he’s not the adviser for any of my clubs. On the other hand, my IB English teacher, who is a new teacher this year, speaks highly of me, but he usually doesn’t give much praise to anyone (because he has very high expectations). He’s very stingy about grades (i.e. hardly gives out any A+'s), but I managed to get an A+ in his class last semester and maintained my A grade this semester. He’s the adviser for the newspaper committee at my school (I’m the editor-in-chief for that committee) and the supervisor for my English Extended Essay, but we don’t really contact with each other personally (because he hardly ever replies in his emails), unless the emails are about Extended Essays or English class.
Who should I choose, my IB English teacher or my IB TOK/West. Civ. teacher?
Science: I can choose either my Chemistry teacher or my Physics/IB Math HL teacher. I’ve known my Chemistry teacher since 10th grade, and I always get an A+ in her class. She speaks very highly of me, especially since I was the only one in my school last year who got a 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam. We do contact each other personally, but she tends to exaggerate about everyone’s work in the class, so I’m not sure if my rec letter would stand out. She is also the supervisor for my chemistry tutoring work. On the other hand, my Physics teacher is very stingy about grades, but she’s the adviser for Engineering Club (I’m the President for that club). We don’t really contact each other personally, but she does speak highly of me (because I always aced her tests and did my homework). She’s a new teacher this year, but she has 15 years of experience as a physics teacher.
Who should I choose, my Chemistry teacher or my Physics/IB Math HL teacher?
BTW, is it safe for me to let two teachers of the same subject to write two rec letters and submit them to the counselor so that he/she can help me decide which one is better?
I think your IB English teacher is better because he is more “recent” in terms of teaching you. Your other teacher might speak highly of you but perhaps those general statements wont come across as genuine to adcoms? Whereas I’m assuming the English teacher has recent evidence of your good performance.
Is it okay to ask teachers of the same subject, but you know they’re going to write you amazing letters? Because I don’t really have any other teachers that know me well enough, and I’m a mediocre student in other classes besides science. I want to ask my organic chem teacher and AP Chem teacher (who might be my physics teacher next year). Also, I want to go to a school with a strong emphasis on science like Carnegie or Georgia tech.
I’ve got around one month left of junior year. Should I start asking for recs now? Or wait til the beginning of senior year. Also, does a form tutor count as a ‘teacher’ rec since he does not technically teach a class of mine.
I’d advise against a tutor rec letter in lieu of a teacher rec letter. The perspective of a teacher – who sees hundreds of students over a few years and his/her view of you amongst your classmates is very important. All a tutor can say is “She’s great in what I give her”.