Hey everyone. It’s that time of the year; it’s time to ask teachers for letters of recommendation. I plan on applying to very selective schools, so the choices I make for recommendations are very important. I’ve read that ideally you’d want a letter from a math/science teacher and another from a social studies/English teacher, however I have also heard to disregard that and pick whichever teachers know me the best and can accurately and enthusiastically “sell” me to colleges. My top choices are my French teacher, who I have had as a teacher for 4 years as of now (I will also have her again next year), and my AP US History teacher. I am very confident that they will write me great letters, however I am concerned because I am not getting a recommendation from a math or science teacher, despite wanting to major in Biology. I have considered asking my AP Physics teacher, but he has told our class many times how much he hates writing letters, which seems like a strange thing to tell the class, and my math teacher has been out half the year on maternity leave, and she had a student teacher teach us for awhile, so I don’t exactly know her too well, and she barely knows us. This is all fine because I have two perfectly good candidates for letters - my French and APUSH teachers - but I’m still concerned that not having a science teacher’s letter for an aspiring science major is an issue… any advice?
Stick with the bit where you say “disregard…” The teachers that know you best, who you like, and who like you, are the best choices. Sure, it’s great to have one from a math teacher and one from an english teacher, but not if they aren’t the people who will write the best rec possible. The recs are really important because the teacher knows you, not because of what they teach.
See if the colleges themselves say anything specific on their website (a few do). Also, ask your GC whether they would recommend both those teachers (sometimes they know who writes a good letter and who doesn’t).
The only reason you may want to reconsider is if you’re saying your interests are STEM related. In that case, it’d be odd to not have a math or science teacher.
Definitely look at each college’s website for any requirements or recommendations about who should write your letters of recommendations. Many of the colleges my D applied to specified what classes recommenders should have taught, or what year of HS.
I would encourage you in any case to find a recommender in a science field. Do you have any science EC involvement with a faculty advisor who has also taught you in the past? Might you get a teacher next year who already knows you somewhat? I think my D used one of her first term senior year teachers (because of college specifications) but she had some previous contact with him, for ECs.
Thank you all for the advice. A checked 7 college websites and most didn’t specify what teachers are recommended, though a few specified the need for a math or science teacher recommendation if pursuing engineering. They all, however, said to get letters from teachers of different “areas of study”. I think I’m going to go with the teachers who I know will write me thoughtful letters and who know me the best. It doesn’t make sense to ask a teacher reluctant to write a letter anyway. I would love to see what teachers I get next year, as I would certainly get a math or science teacher who would write me a strong letter, but I feel that by the time the letters will be due, they won’t really know me well enough. Relationships with teachers take time to build, and I feel that 2-3 months isn’t enough time for teachers to get to know me.
If you want to major in STEM, definitely find a STEM teacher…what about one from last year?