My son will be applying to colleges 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. Nevertheless, 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!
Generally it is recommended to have one Math/Science teacher and one humanities teacher. Offhand I might go with the Latin teacher given that he/she knows him outside of class as well and he has a particular interest in Classics, but certainly either would be fine. Sometimes the guidance counselors have a sense of who writes good recommendations so your S may want to run the alternatives by him/her.
@happy1 It is only the Latin teacher’s first year at his high school. Does that have any impact?
None at all (as long as she/he understands what goes into writing a LOR). Schools are only concerned about what the teacher has to say about the student.