I wanted to get a letter of recommendation from my accounting and US History teacher. My accounting teacher knows me really well, even worked with me after school to prepare for a DECA competition, where I won 1st place in states and 6th in nationals in. My US History teacher is also an advisor to a club I founded, that raising money and works with refugees and IDP’s. However, I’m worried that since accounting isn’t considered a core subject, it might be problematic (I am applying for either a finance or economics major in most colleges, so it relevant to my major though). Also, Accounting and US history are the two non-honors/AP classes I took (I took 2 aps, 2 honors, 2 regular classes my junior year so I’m worried about that). My math and science teacher are both known to spend 10 minutes on each letter of recommendation, my language teacher for aplac is known for being a bit harsh on letter of recs so I don’t want to take that risk that he might write something bad (though i don’t think that’s likely) and my spanish teacher is certainly not someone who knows me very well. Is this okay? What about schools like claremont mckenna, who want “core” subjects, and Princeton, who asks for teachers from “higher-level” classes. I can only ask 2 teachers for letters of recs in my school so I can’t mix and match.
anyone?
What is aplac? If you mean AP Lang, I think I’d approach the teacher and ask him if he felt like he would be able to write you a positive recommendation, and if he says yes I’d use him.
@suzy100 Yes, that’s AP Lang. To be honest, though, if I did ask him, I don’t think he’ll tell the truth. He’s known to be the most “honest” recommender in our school- he’ll write the rec for anyone, but if he doesn’t like you, he doesn’t give “faint praise”- he very directly will call out your negative qualities in the letter.
Well, you said that it was not likely that he’d write something bad. Does he like you?
@suzy100 I don’t he’ll write anything bad but is that a risk I should take?
I don’t think*
OK, here are my thoughts on this, take them for what they are worth. My D had the same dilemma: her AP Lit teacher had a rep that he would talk about the good but also the maybe bad about a student, so she didn’t ask him for a rec. She chose a science teacher who wrote a really bland recommendation (saw it because he gave it to her, it really was bland mostly because he just wasn’t a great writer) and her French teacher who totally loved her. She was admitted to 2 schools in the top 20 - only applied to 3. So the bland recommendation didn’t hurt her. At the same time, we later learned that her AP Lit teacher really loved her and probably would have written a really great recommendation.
So…there’s no “right” answer here. If the schools you are looking at seem to really want a recommendation from a teacher in a core subject - and that seems to be the case here - then I repeat my advice: I’d approach the teacher and ask him if he feels like he would be able to write you a positive recommendation, and if he says yes I’d use him.
@suzy100 okay, I understand. So its not disrespectful to indirectly ask a teacher if their recommendation will be good, right? Also, the “core-teacher” is only with one school (claremont mckennna)
It seems strange (or maybe sad) that one would need to ask a teacher if they would be able to provide a positive recommendation. If a teacher doesn’t feel comfortable putting themselves out there on behalf of the student, then they should suggest the student look to another teacher.
@RandyErika yeahh it did feel strange, that’s why I was hesitant to ask. But from what I understand, this teacher accepts everyone’s letter of rec request without saying anything, and then writes a very “honest” review of the student- including some harshly negative comments.
LOL - maybe he needs a refresher on the definition of “recommendation”. Personally I’d go with the accounting teacher, but you could probably make an anonymous call to an admissions office to see what they think.
ok, thanks! but will claremont mckenna automatically reject me if I submit a accounting teacher if they specifically asked for core?
Why take the chance is the correct observation. Great rec moves the needle up. Bland is neutral to slightly positive. Negative rec moves be needle down sharply. Risk reward.
Why don’t you email your admission officer at CMC and ask? It is a reasonable question that shows you are interested in the college and want to provide the school with the information they require to evaluate your application in the best light. If CMC says no you can ask a third teacher for LOR and still use the accounting teacher’s recommendation for other applications.
Okay I will! Unfortunately our school only allows you to get letters of rec from 2 teachers only so the only way I can get a rec from my accounting teacher is if she’s my main rec
If CMC does not allow the accounting teacher recommendation then you might speak with your guidance counselor and see if an exception to the 2 recommendation policy can be made (if your accounting teacher agrees) due to the requirements of the CMC application. Or you can might ask accounting teacher to write a supplemental recommendation that focuses on your involvement with DECA (rather than your classroom performance).