If a school is asking for a personal letter of recommendation, basically it says a non family member who can serve as a personal character reference, is it all right to ask a very good friend to write it. She is the one I think of that has known me the longest and bestest. Is this letter of recommendation supposed to be from an adult though?
How much would an additional letter recommendation, say from a coach, affect your admissions? Assuming that itās good of course. And how much do top colleges weigh additional letters of recommendation? Equal to the two required ones or not as much?
Just go up to teachers you feel got to know you best during your high school experience. I chose teachers who saw me put in extra effort, especially if I excelled in their class after struggling at the beginning. By seeing me turn around my grades in addition to seeking extra help from them I felt that they got to see the best side of me. Pick teachers that got to see you grow as a student as well as a young adult. Also try to find teachers who have great educational credentials like a PHD or masters as well as career work in other fields than education. Their reputation will help the strength of your recommendation letter - colleges do check out information on the person who wrote the letter. One of my favorite teachers taught AP physics and served as the beginning of my extensive science education. I put this together as a guide for students wanting to peruse a career in science, technology, or engineering.
[How</a> to Start a Career in Science](<a href=āhttp://www.yurtopic.com/education/college/science-career.html]Howā>http://www.yurtopic.com/education/college/science-career.html)
i canāt imagine any college admin (or faculty reader) having the time to check on the credentials of the letter writers.
I read applications for an honors program at a large university and I could not care less if the referee had a phd or not (almost all teachers have masters these days). I do care about the level of classes they taught, the years teaching, the number of students they have known over the years and how they know the applicant (all good letter writers include this info in their letters). Giving a higher weight to a teacher just because they have a phd is elitist. i feel this way and I am a professor.
sidekick. i do read letters from coaches sometimes, but Iād have to say more often than not they hurt the applicant. there are some instances where they were very valuable and helped the applicant a great deal. This is less frequent.
One reason why they hurt- they just donāt know how to write good letters and it shows. This propagates the impression that the weaker teachers in a HS are the coaches. Thatās unfair, but thatās my experience.
One thing you can do is find out if the coach writes many letters and if those students get into top colleges.
I have seen letters from community leaders that the student worked with as part of an EC. They tend to be on-par with those from teachers. They can have a big impact.
@luvthej, itās great to hear from the application readerās perspective. Thank you.
believe it. College admissions people have nothing better to do then to check your facts
interesting information, and good points to think about!
thanks this helped alot
Is it better to have very diverse letters no matter what my major is? For example, should I have a literature LOR if I am applying for biology?
dora,
this is one personās opinion.
It is more important that you select teachers who know you the best and they can/do write effective letters. having an english teacher write one for the sake of diversity of evaluation could backfire.
I can say I find it odd when someone aspires to be a science major, for example, and asked no science or math teachers for a rec. this makes me wonder. This is a bit different from what you asked about, however.
What about a Soph teacher? I want to major in Chem and IK I want my english teacher to write me one because she knows me best, but then I could ask my AP Chem teacher from this year but I feel my Hon Alg 2 teacher from last year would write me an awesome rec. So is Soph year okay? Or should I ask my chem teacher?
Should The LOR be hand written? Iām like applying to 14 schools and I wonder if all the LORs should be original or just copies.
I hear from a lot of people, including my friend at Harvard, that it is recommended to have 2 LORs- 1 from a humanities subject teacher and 1 from a science/math teacher. I want to submit my 2 from my business teacher and my english teacher because I know them much better than I know my math teacher. I want to pursue the math side (economical) of business, but I donāt think my math teacher would write as great a LOR because I donāt know him that well. I come to see all 3 teachers regularly during lunch for extra help, and I am involved with my business teacherās EC clubs. I just feel a much greater connection between my english and business teachers because I can freely talk to them about non-school related stuff.
My question is, do I NEED a science/math teacherās LOR? I can submit all 3 but Iām not sure how well that will play outā¦ also Iām not applying for big time schools, Iām most likely EDing NYU.
How many recommendation letters are too much? And does the credentials of the person matter? For instance my prof my harvard last summer (ssp program) was happy to write a letter for me and as I am going back this year, I will probably ask this prof to write one. Basically does it matter that they are harvard profās or does it really make no difference?
Hi guys! Iām not sure whether this question has been answered before, but is asking foreign language teachers (teachers whose native language is not English) for recs a good idea? I know my foreign language teacher well and have done well in her class; her English, however, is good but not excellent, and my counselor thinks that I should ask my English teacher instead. My English teacher is an excellent writer (professional), but although I work hard, I donāt really participate in English class and the teacher intimidates me. I got a good grade but I was never very active in class discussions. I think my English teacher likes me, but I donāt know him well. He conducts interviews before writing recs though, so that shows that he is serious. (BTW, I participate in my foreign language class).
Sorry for this unnecessarily long post 
Iām just really stuck between these two teachers and Iām not sure what to do. Thanks so much in advance for any advice!
for my school you go online and fill out a letter of rec packet for your teachers and counselor, then bring it to them to ask. Your school may have something similar.
and my advice would be to ask AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Some teachers only do so many and even if you ask in october it may already be too late! So just do it early and youāll look super prepared and it will make them happy
I have a similar problem:
I had classes w/ my chem teacher for 3 years now and will continue to have him for another year.
Iām planning to study hard chem, or pure chemistry.
Iām applying to 20+ schools.
How do I ask him for so many recs?
(I can easily give him the envelopes and stamps; this is not a problemā¦)
Ask in person, donāt just send an email. Ask if they would like a copy of your resume, as will as a list of schools you are applying to.
just be kind, polite and carry a positive relationship throughout the year. you should have no problems