<p>The threads I've read on this seem to have conflicting views. I had this teacher for English 2 Honors sophomore year. However, I've kept in touch with her since. She's my Chess Club sponsor and helps me with writing (she was my sponsor for Scholastic Writing). Would it hurt to ask her for a letter of rec next year..? I know colleges traditionally want recs from teachers in 11/12 grade.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t want recommendations from teachers who don’t remember you or can’t accurately assess your academic ability, and generally 9th and 10th grade teachers fall into one of those categories. It sounds like she’d be fine.</p>
<p>I always had a problem with the recomendations from a 12th grade teacher. If this is the first time he/she has taught the student, they have only had them in class for a couple of months. How good of a rec. is it going to be? I think the best would be to find a teacher that knows you well and can write a great letter. I think a teacher in your 10 or 11th grade would work.</p>
<p>JMHO</p>
<p>^Yeah that’s what I think. I don’t get how senior teachers would know students well enough to write their recommendations</p>
<p>One school that Son considered specified 11th or 12th grade teachers. If you don’t have any of those on your list, go for it.</p>
<p>The teacher who wrote Son’s rec taught a 10th grade 3 hour G/T history and English block. She was beloved and I bet was among the most sought-after rec writers in the school. She was also the NHS sponsor, so she saw the kids in later years.</p>
<p>I had my sophomore lit & comp teacher write mine. He knows he is the sole purpose of my changed work ethic, and witnessed me pull a 79 to a 90 in a month, and then score a 100% on the final. I also had a math teacher for Geo Honors freshman year and Alg II honors sophomore year that I went to see every morning before school to review my homework and prepare for tests, and ended up with an A in a class I would have had a low B/high C in without that extra effort.</p>
<p>You should choose teachers you KNOW that will remember you and your academic ability. I chose teachers from sophomore year because that’s the year I realized that even though I was very intelligent, I didn’t want to float by with Bs. </p>
<p>Make sure your teacher is happy to write you a letter of rec. If you have one who thought, oh, well, he was a decent student, i think. Then the rec will be ok, but you won’t seem like an awesome student.</p>
<p>My D took her AP Chem in sophomore year, and has kept in touch with her. If she is going to apply for a Bio major, will it not be benefical to get a reco from this teacher, instead of, say AP Bio teacher in her junior year with whom she was not very comfortable? Any opinions?</p>
<p>One of the girls I know had a sophomore teacher write her rec. He coaches academic quiz team and she’s a member, so they interact 2-3 times every week. She was very successful in her applications, including those at the HYPMS level. I think that since you’re in sort of the same situation, with your being on a team which the teacher in question sponsors, you would be fine asking for a rec.</p>
<p>Actually, now that I think about it, one of my recs was from my sophomore year chem teacher. He is also my chem teacher for senior year, but as I had only been in class for a few months when he wrote my recs (I applied EA), most of his knowledge of me came from 10th grade. This also worked out quite well for me.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice :)</p>
<p>I would call the school and talk to the adcom. Tell the specifically why you would like to use this teacher for a recommendation; your ongoing relationship that you feel will give an accurate view of your strengths and suitability for their university. I would not mention why you do not want to use another teacher (ie not as long of a relationship, etc.). The only thing that’s relevant is the teacher/coach you do want to use. Some schools will allow coaches to write recommendations.</p>
<p>I am familiar with your situation. My son has a coach that has worked with him for two years on an competition academic team. She has spent more time with him than any other teacher at his school. Knowing the general request that recommendations be from jr/sr teachers, we arranged his schedule so that he could take a class from her next year.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>