I am a bit confused about letters of recommendation (I am currently a junior).
If I apply to 7 private schools next year, each requiring two letters each, then do I need 14 different teachers? Or is it perfectly acceptable to ask a teacher to write the same letter for four or five schools?
<p>same teacher...btw u seem to be a fan of Magic, right? I have that card btw...its worth nice $$$ now!</p>
<p>yeah the price is in the hundreds
you should definetely sell (btw i am not looking for it, couldnt afford it in a million years)</p>
<p>Generally speaking, you select two teachers who agree to write recommendations for you. Here's a great way to go about it: When the time comes to apply in the fall, you present each teacher with a package containing one clipped-together set of papers for each school you're applying to. In each set should be any form(s) the school requires (some have a cover sheet they want recommenders to fill in), any instructions for the teacher from the application package, and a stamped envelope addressed to the Admissions Office at that school. Include with these sets of papers a copy of a "resume" or list of things about yourself that you'd like the teachers to keep in mind, and include a cover letter on top of the whole thing, thanking the teacher for their help and listing each of the schools you've asked them to respond to with the date when each Admissions Office wants their recommendations.</p>
<p>In this way, the teacher has everything they need to proceed. Generally, teachers will write one rec and copy it for each school, although sometimes the cover sheets will ask specific questions -- teachers do not always tailor their recs to each school, that would be crazy-much work! Include everything they need to make it easier for them, and put it all in one big envelope with your name/address/phone on the outside. Then keep track yourself of the dates for rec submissions, and drop the teacher a polite email about 10 days before each due date as a reminder.</p>
<p>And be SURE to write them a VERY NICE thank-you note after they send in the recs: this takes a lot of work on their part!</p>
<p>(PS: Generally speaking you do not get the recs back -- the teachers send them off directly to the schools themselves, unless the schools' instructions specify otherwise [rare in my experience]. Before you give the packet to each teacher, check the cover sheets from each school: most have a place where you have to sign the cover letter to assure the teacher that they may be candid and send the rec directly to the school, and if there are places on the cover sheet referring to your personal data, FILL THOSE IN before you put the form in the set to give to the teacher. No need for them to be filling in your name, address, and date of birth! :) )</p>
<p>(Oh, and PPS: at many schools, they prefer (or sometimes even explicitly request) that the teachers be in two different disciplines, typically "math/science" and "english/humanities". If you are applying for a specialized program (art or music comes to mind), one of your recs should come from a teacher you've worked with in that specialty. And most schools expect or hope for a <em>third</em> recommendation from your Guidance Counselor (GC) along with a school transcript. Note that you could consider sending <em>ONE</em> (1) more rec, from a coach or mentor or community person for whom you've done service projects, etc., to supplement the teacher recs. But almost every school will stop reading after that fourth rec, and when you go much further than that, it can actually <em>hurt</em> you at some schools. So don't go overboard: choose the teachers you ask carefully, and only supplement with one extra if it's truly going to help describe you and what your strengths are.)</p>
<p>thanks for all your replies mootmom, this is good news to me, seeing that I am planning to have my AP Spanish teacher and my Calc teacher write me one letter each. My math teacher already wrote me a letter this year for a summer program and the next day I wrotehim a thank you card.
I have one last question. If I had the same English teacher for freshman year AND junior year, yet I did not ask her to write me a letter of recommendation, would the colleges see this as strange and view it negatively?</p>
<p>No, they won't evaluate in that way the teachers whom you chose to ask for recs. (Typically they won't even know your teachers' names unless they're on your transcript... but they probably won't take the time to match up each year's teachers to see if you've had any more than once. :) ) It's best if the teachers you choose know you reasonably well: all the apps will ask how long the teacher has known you and in what context.</p>
<p>Note that it will not help to get the recs early, since many schools <em>do</em> have cover sheets that the teachers will also be asked to fill out. My S's teachers wrote a single narrative about him, then filled in the cover sheets he gave them, attached a copy of their narrative, put them in the envelopes he provided, signed across the seal to demonstrate confidentiality, and mailed them.</p>
<p>Juzam
It's great that you are planning for this ahead of time.</p>
<p>Just pick your reco-writers based on how well they know you, and how sure you are that they have only good things to say about you. Do mention to them before the end of your Junior year, that you would like them to write your reco.letters, as sometimes in Sept/Oct, there is such a rush of students asking for letters, some teachers actually turn away students. Many teachers would like to have a short bio. of your other activities, so you could also enclose a prepared list along with your college forms.</p>
<p>My D's teachers actually tailored their letter for each school, highlighting her strengths as would apply to the program that she was interested in. They were amazing in their happy willingness to do this, and we showed them our appreciation as soon as the letters were done, without waiting for acceptances.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses mootmom and chocoholic. Yeah, that's a good idea to tell the teachers ahead of time that I am planning to get them to write it. I know most of my teachers fairly well, so I should have a few to choose from come September of next year.</p>