D needed a teacher recommendation for a summer program she is interested in (academic pre-college). She selected a teacher that she really likes who D said she was pretty sure she was the top student in the class-- she also selected this particular teacher because she thought she is probably a good writer and could answer the prompt questions froth form more descriptively and is a current teacher.
The teacher was having a lot of problems with the form and CCd D and counselor the PDF but most answers were incomplete (the form kept deleting portions of what she was trying to write and she had tried 3 Xs–she admitted she was very frustrated). Looking over her answers I was honestly taken very aback by her very short and simplistic writing. Though her answers were incomplete it did not seem like she was fully answering the prompt questions and I don;t know that the best if her answers would have been any better. Of course D is devastated and blames herself for not selecting a different teacher. I guess I could assign a number of reasons why her writing was so poorly done: her frustration, maybe not recognizing the need to write as well as you would for a college applicant, and even that D maybe overestimated how much the teacher really knows her.
But I suppose this has opened my eyes to a question I had never thought of before: how do students know what kind of writer a teacher is? I’ve now read several pages that talk about what makes a good letter and now recognize there is some skill that is involved. I think this is a better lesson to learn now and not be looking back on actual college applications but she will have to face this question again. How have others navigated this?
For my LOR I took into account both the relationship I have with the teacher as well as how well I think they would write. As you have described in your story, finding a teacher you know will write well is the harder of the two. For me I had good relationships with most of my teachers, so instead of focusing on who I was close with I focused on who I thought would write the best. For one of my LOR I chose my AP Lang teacher. My logic behind this was that she taught us how to write essays, poems, etc. so she must be good at writing LOR. Additionally I was friends with older students who had her write there LOR and they all got in to their top choices (yes I know LOR is only a portion of what colleges looked at, but a great LOR sure didn’t hurt them). I believe asking an English teacher is almost always a good idea, because if you think about it, it is their job to know how to write well/ teach us how to write well.
For my second letter of rec, I asked my AP Bio teacher because I am a Psych Major on the pre-med track so I wanted them to hear from one of my STEM teachers. With her I had also heard from other students that she was a reliable source, so I asked her.
I guess the best advice I can give is 1) English teachers will hopefully know how to write a great LOR so always go to them first and 2) Word of mouth from older kids ( this tip isn’t as strong so I would rely on tip 1 more). 3) maybe ask for a sample before they submit a final copy if possible, or if the LOR can be turned in via hard copy I would ask multiple teachers and just pick the best one. 4) Look for a teacher that has experience. My english teacher mentioned early on if we wanted one we had to come talk to her privately to see if she would write one for us (She said she doesn’t write LOR when she knows she’ll say something bad about the student so she would like us to approach her individually). Since she had a system in place it shows she’s been doing this for a while. Additionally I found that LOR mainly came from upperclassmen teachers ( at least in my school), so maybe a teacher who has only Juniors/ Seniors would know better how to write LOR because they would’ve had many students that asked for one.
I would like to note that I did waive my rights to read my LOR, but I did end up in my #1 school so I’m assuming they were pretty well written.
We had read similar advice about choosing English/ Language teachers and so thats why D selected her AP Lit teacher. So perhaps it may be a good rule of thumb but certainly not a given. D is well liked by all of her teachers but worried about some not being good options as letter writers. D is very shy and introverted and does not like to “brag” (as she would say) about her accomplishments at all- we have worked with her since elementary school on “self-advocating” So fewer of those teachers have had the chance to really know her in they way that seems best from some of these examples of great LORs. The teachers that she has had for multiple years and that have really gotten to know her personality were teachers she thought would not be good writers because they don’t necessarily teach the core subjects (or just felt like she had no information on what kind of writer one was and thought it was too much of a wild card). I suppose I just wish there was a better way to know about the strengths of the letter writers. I also wish that a teacher would tell a student directly that while they would be happy to write a letter/ fill out a teacher rec form (which Ds teacher said) if they have ANY reasons why they would not be able to write a very specifc detailed account of the student- versus a hastily filled in form- they should discuss that with the student.
@CuriousPhD I can really feel for your daughter as I shared similar personality traits with her in highschool (ie not wanting to “brag” and make others feel bad so I would never talk about my accomplishments as well). I wish I could offer more advice but I feel like some of it also does come down to luck/ chance. I had an english teacher that was very straight forward about whether or not she would write you a letter. Unfortunately some teachers don’t want to come off as harsh as will agree to write letters even if they don’t have much to say. Maybe in the future your daughter could provide a teacher with a Resume/CV so the teacher can also learn about other accomplishments your daughter has. My AP bio teacher asked for my resume “just in case” and thinking about it now this could have possibly helped with your daughter’s situation.
wishing your daughter the best in the process!
Ask the guidance counselor! I read ALL the letters of recommendation that are submitted. Some teachers are fantastic, some are solid, and some are just NOT good letter writers.
Some students go ahead an ask teachers without consulting me. When I meet with students, I ask them, “What teachers are you considering for LORs?” and they’ll say, “Smith, Jones, and Black.” And that gives me the opportunity to say, “Oh, I’d go with Smith or Black, I think the combination of that subject and that teacher will yield the better letter for you.” without telling the student that Jones is a bad letter writer.
I also give the teachers who struggle with this sample letters at the beginning of the year, and offer my help in crafting a good letter! 
We have the same issue with our DS introvert. Luckily, I happened to wander into the college counselor’s office during afternoon parent/teacher conferences. I was shocked (really shocked) at how open she was concerning who wrote good recommendations and who didn’t.
Concerning how well the teachers actually know/understand the student vs liking them… at his school the kids provide a resumé plus a text on what they ‘got’ out of the teacher’s class when requesting the recommendation. This provided a great opportunity to include the student’s inner voice.
DS gave both teachers printed copies in a file before summer vacations. Good idea as we found out later that one favorite teacher had 50-something recommendations to write in the fall.
Agree with @STF4717 : it’s the guidance councilor’s job to know these things. And not just who writes a “good” letter, but they know who has written a service academy letter, or for a specific school or program. and they’ll even be able to help you avoid anyone who might have trouble with deadlines, since that’t not solely a problem for students. ;-0 If you don’t have a strong GC then maybe ask a teacher you trust who they think might do a good job. If you phrase it right and they really want the job they’ll volunteer, or else they’ll put you in touch with someone who really values the role.
I’m a student, and I’ve needed letters of recommendation from time to time. I usually choose the teacher I believe to be the most articulate and who has the richest vocabulary. This hopefully translates into a well-written LOR. I’ve typically picked well. Surprisingly, my science teachers have been my go to recently.
All of this is really helpful! I was not sure about openly asking the GC about this but it seems like a well-phrased question would really ease some of the anxiety D now has about LOR for college applications. Even though D won’t know for a while about the summer program she is convinced she is not going to get accepted now but I keep trying to remind her that this is a learning experience and how much better it is to learn this now than to be looking back at college applications and wishing she had made a different selection.
I wanted to update that D was accepted to the summer program. But I got an interesting remark from my dad (Ds granddad) when we told him she was accepted regarding the LOR issue. He wondered if AOs are so used to getting lengthy “flowery” recommendations that a straightforward blunt short letter stands out (and maybe it just did not matter that much in this situation because it is only a summer program and not for the college apps). I just wondered if anyone had thoughts about his remark?
This is a great link to what colleges are looking for in recommendations: http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs