Letters of Recommendation

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>I visited the Yale website (as well as Harvard's and some other Ivies'), and it said that it prefers letters of recommendation from 11th and 12th grade teachers. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>That being said, do any of you know any applicants who had a letter from a 9th or 10th grade teacher and still got in?</p></li>
<li><p>Just out of curiosity, how much of a disadvantage is an application with a letter from a 10th grade teacher at? (I know schools like Duke specifically restrict letters to only 11th and 12th grade teachers...)</p></li>
<li><p>Why do they have his preference?</p></li>
</ol>

2

<ol>
<li> It’s felt that your most recent academic work will best display your abilities and influence among your classmates. A picture of you as a 17 year old scholar will serve you better than a picture of you as a 14 year old scholar.</li>
</ol>

<p>But you live with your choices. You feel that your 9th grade teacher can say more about you and how you might be able to contribute to a Yale freshman class than an 11th grade teacher? Take your chances.</p>

3

<p>Answer to #3: Hopefully, your maturity and outlook on life, in addition to your writing, and class participation has changed from your freshman year to junior year. Admissions officers want to hear from a teacher who has known you recently as a student, so they can better judge who you are as a person today.</p>

4

<p>Thanks guys for your responses. The problem basically is that I have a LoR from one of my 10th grade AP teachers, but I feel like he knows me well, and I’ll be helping out with his classes this coming school year. I also have a LoR from another teacher who has taught me German since 9th grade, and who’s next year’s class is one of my AP classes.</p>

<p>Do you think Yale (as well as other schools) will understand this situation? Both teachers are AP teachers, except one has taught me only in 10th grade, while the other has taught me my entire high school career.</p>

5

<p>There’s no doubt on the German teacher. As for the 10th grade teacher, since you’re staying in his presence (assisting in his class), I think that’s fine as well.</p>

6

<p>The issue isn’t “Will Yale understand the situation” The issue is who will write me the best recommendation. MIT has great advice for teacher rec’s: [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</p>

7

<p>^that sounds like excellent advise… But how do I get my teachers to write recs like that? I don’t want to step on their toes by telling them how to write it.</p>

8

<p>^advice*. Sorry I can’t edit on my phone.</p>

9

<p>I found the advice to get the LOR from a teacher you had during your senior year as odd. At my son’s HS, he had to have all the LOR’s submitted to the guidance office in the early Fall. How well could your teacher know you in less than 2 months unless you had them before. My son used teachers from 10th and 11th grade. No Problems as long as it is a good LOR</p>

10

<p>Send your teacher and Guidance Counselor an email – something along the lines of:</p>

<p>Dear Mr/s. Teacher and Mr/s. Guidance Counselor,</p>

<p>Thank you for writing my college recommendation. You should have received an email from the Common Application about my recommendation, but just in case you didn’t get the email, you can log-in at: <a href=“https://schoolforms.commonapp.org/schoolforms/SchoolFrmLogin.aspx[/url]”>https://schoolforms.commonapp.org/schoolforms/SchoolFrmLogin.aspx&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I realize that you have been writing recommendations for many years, but I didn’t know if you were aware of MIT’s site for teachers: [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</p>

<p>Thanks again for writing my letter. If you need any more information from me, please let me know.</p>

<p>All best,</p>

<p>Student</p>

11

<p>Well, why a German teacher- you will major in humanities? The choice isn’t just about who can write best, but who is relevant to your plans. And, the upper grade teachers because, in theory, those are more rigorous classes, closer (again, in theory) to college level work.</p>

<p>Yale’s own advice on requesting; maybe you saw it: [Requesting</a> Strong Letters of Recommendation | Application Process | Fellowships | Academics | Yale College](<a href=“Yale College”>http://www.yale.edu/yalecol/academics/fellowships/application/letters.html)</p>

<p>and: [Writing</a> Letters of Recommendation | Application Process | Fellowships | Academics | Yale College](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/yalecol/academics/fellowships/application/writing.html]Writing”>Yale College)</p>

12

<p>Some colleges, like MIT, specifically state that one must be a science teacher and 1 a math teacher. I would honestly choose 1 teacher in your area of interest and 1 who can give the most personal letter possible (even if he/she is out of your subject area). This will give adcoms info about your academic interests and doings outside the classroom</p>