<p>So I am planning on applying ED to Rice this fall and was wondering if I should have my Teacher letter from a teacher who's field relates to my intended major. I want to go into Material Science or Chem E. I was really thinking about having my chem teacher of 2 years (Honors and AP) do it, but I'm afraid he'll sound a little dull and say "Yeah Jim was a good kid. Always got his work done on time and was never rude. Had good insights. etc etc" what do you guys think? Should I go for my chem teacher because's it'll show interest and passion for a chem related major or should I go for someone else? Like, maybe My lit teacher whose recommendation won't show interest in my major, but will be colorful? </p>
<p>There is little benefit to having an LOR from a teacher of a field similar to one you hope to enter. Colleges put fairly little weight on your field of choice, and a weak LOR speaks far more to your decision-making in the college’s eyes than your field of study. I would absolutely go for an LOR from an instructor who knows you better and can say something about your character.</p>
<p>Well, its not that I don’t know him to well (For a high school student, at least), I actually stayed after labs a few times and just chatted with him. Its just that I’m afraid he’ll make me sound dull on paper you know? </p>
<p>I’d say your best bet is to get two recommendations – one from the lit teacher and one from either the chem teacher or another teacher in the science/math arena. Even if schools ask for only one recommendation, they will read one extra (the just don’t want to be bombarded with a ton of letters saying the same thing). And for the record, it isn’t unusual at all to expect that an English teacher will write better than a science teacher!</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if you have one science/ math and one English/history/foreign language…
Get a teacher who can best speak about your abilities as a student and qualities as a human</p>
<p>Alright thanks guys! </p>