<p>I'm a junior this year, so I'll be doing college apps next year, and I've seen that some people recommend that you ask teachers to write recs for you before the summer so that they have the entire summer to do them. Is this necessary? I've also noticed that people recommend that you give them your essays, goals, etc. but if I don't have these yet, will it be bad if I wait until August to ask, or is it okay if I just ask them to do it now? Thanks!</p>
<p>With the chaos of back-to-school, it may slip their mind to do it in August/September. I’d ask now.</p>
<p>So it’s fine to do that even if I don’t have any information regarding my college choices, goals, etc prepared yet?</p>
<p>Its not necessary. I didn’t ask my teachers for recommendations until September -and reminded them a week before the recs were due- and everything turned out fine. </p>
<p>I asked my teachers in the fall. I gave them a list of my activities/accomplishments, a transcript, and a letter about why I want to go to college and why I want to study the major I applied for. </p>
<p>Our high school requires that kids ask one teacher in May of Junior year, then another in the fall. It spreads out the work some for the teachers. If you wait until fall, be ready to talk to them within a couple of weeks after school starts. I think @noel597 has a good idea of providing that information to them, too. </p>
<p>You should ask now even without any school in mind. Some teachers may set a quota. Make sure you follow up with them once school resume and hopefully you will have some schools in mind by that time. Prepare a CV over the Summer. It will be helpful to the teacher when they work on your LOR.</p>
<p>Do you know your class and teacher assignments for next year? If you have done well in a class with a teacher you will have again next year, it is a definite plus. The teacher will still have your face and voice right in front of him or her. Have you already decided whom to ask? It’s not necessary to request before the fall, but it can’t hurt to let teachers know now if you’ve determined your selections. You might want to wait until you get your final grades. You will need to have this fixed early in the fall, though, if you want to make all deadlines for early notifications and scholarship awards. </p>
<p>Some teachers are better at writing letters than others. At some schools, this is even known through the parent grapevine, and those teachers can get taken early. If you know of someone you’d like to write a letter, asking even informally is better in the spring rather than the fall.</p>
<p>I’d ask now for sure. It is not necessary to have the list of schools you want to apply to. If the teachers ask for any information you can either get it to them by the end of the year or ask if you can email it to them a week or two after your finals so you can give it the proper attention.</p>
<p>Ask your teachers NOW, as it takes time to write a great letter of recommendation. Many teachers, especially those in high demand that write 20, 30, 40 or more letters of recommendations use the summer months to thoughtfully compose a glowing recommendation that paints the applicant in the best light. Of course, you could ask in September and your teacher could just throw something together at the last minute with not as much effort – but hey, it’s not that important – right? ASK NOW! Your teachers will appreciate the advanced notice!</p>