<p>So, I know that MIT requires two letters of recommendation: one from a science or math teacher and the other from a humanities teacher...So, I understand that humanities is pretty wide, but does it include Foreign Language? Additionally, I'm thinking of asking my French I/Pre-AP Spanish (she taught both and I took both the same year) teacher, who I had during my Sophomore year. I'm confident she will write a great recommendation letter as she really liked how I was the most hard-working student in her class (hard-working enough to have me skip French 2) and thought I was a very motivated student. However, I couldn't take French 3 this past year, so I didn't have a French class, but now senior year, I'm taking French 4...(with another French teacher). I haven't had her for a year, but I'm sure she would write a much better (nicer, anyways) letter of recommendation than my other humanities teachers this year (particularly because I didn't do so swell on AP exams..., partly because one of them left, another one is not very proficient in English, and the other two aren't very fond of me and a bad score but okay letter of recommendation would look like a weird combination, in my opinion). I'm kind of skeptical if getting it from a 10th grade teacher would look good (particularly also because it's French I), but I know she would write one that shows my positive qualities.</p>
<p>And did this make sense or should I reword it?</p>
<p>First of all, foreign languages do count as humanities.</p>
<p>As for getting a teacher from 10th grade, personally I think that’s OK, but some people would recommend against it (typically people get junior year teachers to fill out recommendations). If you do use your 10th grade teacher, I would say the math / science teacher should be someone who’s taught you more recently. When I was applying my humanities recommendation was from a teacher who taught me freshman and sophomore year, and my math recommendation was from a teacher I had senior year. </p>
<p>Ultimately, its what they write about you that counts. If this teacher is going to write a much better recommendation than a teacher who’s taught you more recently, I’d say to ask her.</p>
<p>I confirmed with Matt McGann last week that anything that would be taught in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, if it were taught at MIT, is fair game for the humanities recommendation.</p>
<p>And this includes music (it’s listed)? If it does, it’s something for me to think about. </p>
<p>I’m worried about the humanities recommendation because I think all the humanities teachers I have had get the impression that I work hard and get high grades, but don’t really like their subject.</p>
<p>Usually, other colleges only accept recs from teachers of academic subjects. In Common app, it states that students should ask two academic subjects teachers. Is MIT an exception? Isn’t a rec from a music teacher any disadvantage?
It’s a big deal to my S. He may get strong recs from his Math and Music teachers but not so from other teachers.</p>