This is my first post on CC so I’m sorry if this question has been answered elsewhere. I’m going into my senior year in September, and while I’m not sure who I want my second letter of rec to be from, I know I want one of them to be from my old principal, who also taught my APUSH class as well as a semester of AP Gov. However, when I suggested it to my mom, she said it might be weird if I get a LOR from someone who’s not currently my principal. I think it would be fine, as he could just write that into his letter. What do you guys think?
Another letter of rec question - I would love to get my second letter of recommendation from my theatre teacher, whose supervision I directed a play under. However, when I asked him about it he told me to write the letter myself and that he’d just sign it. I know this is a common practice in grad school admissions and job letters of rec, but it seems like it would be pretty inauthentic as well as obvious that the letter was written by a high school student and not by an adult. Have any of you ever heard of a high school teacher doing that? (I have other teachers who could write me a good letter, as well as the possibility of someone I did research under, which would be better for my plan of majoring in science anyways, but I just wanted to hear what you guys thought.)
@T26E4 Thanks! I’ll tell my mom that since an Internet Stranger said it, it must be true! I was kind of disappointed in that teacher, although I’m glad to hear that it’s not super weird. I think I’ll ask someone else - I don’t want to risk getting rejected because an admissions officer could sniff out a high school senior’s writing.
One of the reasons you want authentic letters of recommendation is that another person can present aspects of your talents and character that aren’t apparent to yourself. You sound like a strong student so you stand to gain from getting a recommendation written with someone else’s insights. You can present the experience of directing the play in your own voice on the app or supplements.
Agree with T26E4, nothing at all wrong with your former principal writing a letter for you.
Yup, the ex-principal thing is no problem, as everyone else said. I’m a little disappointed in the drama teacher, too, and I’ve actually never heard of that happening before. I think you should look for someone else to write your second LOR.
I would get a second LOR from a teacher for a core academic course, preferable a math/science course, especially if you are applying as a science major.
If you want to “write a LOR” from the theater teacher as an extra letter you can do it but I would focus more on personal traits that might be seen working on a play that may not be as apparent to a classroom teacher.
And agree that the ex-principal recommendation is perfectly fine.
@happy1 Yeah, I’m going to get a letter from my bio teacher who will be teaching me AP Bio in the fall. Is a third letter of rec from someone who’s not a teacher okay, or should I stick to two because I’ll have my guidance counselor’s letter as well?
Yes, a third non-teacher recommendation is generally considered fine as long as the recommended can speak about attributes that may not be readily seen in a classroom setting (ex. a boss, clergy, coach etc.).
As you start reading each school’s application instructions, you will see specific guidelines for LORs for individual schools. Guidance counselor letters are not considered the same as other LORs so you don’t need to worry about that counting against the stated limit. If a school says that they will accept 2 academic letters plus one additional, that one additional is meant to be a coach, music/art/drama teacher, mentor, etc.
I was kind of disappointed in that teacher, although I’m glad to hear that it’s not super weird. I think I’ll ask someone else - I don’t want to risk getting rejected because an admissions officer could sniff out a high school senior’s writing.