My son will be applying to Middlebury this fall and is considering majoring in Classics. However, he has other interests, particularly in science. He definitely would like to ask his physics teacher for a letter of recommendation. However, for the second letter, he is deciding between his chemistry teacher, whom he meets with almost weekly (she was his teacher in 10th grade), his current English teacher, whom he meets with to discuss essays but does not know very personally, and his Latin teacher, who he has only met with a couple times out of class. He also has participated in the Latin Club with him and does very well in the class. Any advice for his second letter of recommendation is appreciated! Thanks!
The rule of thumb is to get one rec from a math/science type teacher and one from a humanities teacher. Schools do say they prefer recs from teachers the applicant had during his/her junior year. Of course you can stray from the norm, that is up to you. In this case it sounds like the physics teacher is the best for the science rec. I would not use the 10th grade chem teacher if your son thinks the physics teacher will write a strong rec. The other should come from either the English or Classics teacher, up to your son as to who he thinks is the better option. I don’t think it matters to Middlebury if it comes from the English or Classics teacher (even if he wants to be a classics major). Choose the teacher who writes well, who is willing to strongly recommend him, and who has a grasp of what schools like Middlebury are looking for in a recommendation. Often English teachers are a good bet- they should be able to write well- but in your son’s case the Classics teacher would be fine if their relationship is stronger.
Hi there,
I was admitted to Midd for this September and will be attending in the fall! I am also interested in majoring in Classics and I was the president of my school’s Latin Club (yay for certamen). I got my letters of rec from two language teachers, my Latin teacher and my Spanish teacher. I was very skeptical about doing that but those were the teachers who truly knew me best, and the teachers that can speak the most about my interests in the classical world, as well as my passion for studying languages (Midd loves their language schools). I wouldn’t be too concerned about creating a balance with the letters of rec. Just choose the teachers that know him best and that can speak well about his work ethic. If his Latin teacher can elaborate about his contributions to his club or his interests in Classics, then that’s definitely a win win situation. Good luck to him!