Im an international student applying for CS. My LoR teachers are from math and science: one from college lvl math teacher and one from CS teacher. But my intl counselor advices me to get the LoR from a distinct different field (e.g. science and history etc…). I just want to stand my position and stick to the plan I’ve intended to since I’m confident these two teacher know the best of me and are most suitable for LoRs. Will this be a wise decision? Or should I follow my counselor and change my LoR teacher?
Some colleges have specific requirements for LoRs and want to hear from both a STEM and a humanities teacher. Depends where you are applying. IMO, follow the counselor’s advice. I’d encourage you to get the second rev from a humanities field, not science.
Thank you! Tbh, I really can’t find a humanities teacher who knows me well cause my longest term studying under a humanities teacher is an year. For my math and CS teacher however, I’ve learned from them for 3 years straight. Do you think I should still change my LoR?
Again, you need to see what the colleges you are applying to want to see.
For example, MIT wants one of the letters to be from a nonSTEM teacher: https://mitadmissions.org/apply/firstyear/letters-of-recommendation/
Most schools will have their admissions requirements listed on their website.
I highly recommend that you give the schools what they are asking for in the applications.
I agree that you should defer to what colleges specify in terms of letters of rec.
However, I don’t have a problem with the two teachers who know you best being math and science teachers. As long as they like you and you like them, I think that’s more important.
A teacher working with a student for only a year is very common. Do you know and like the humanities teacher? If your GC is advising you to do this, maybe it’s because the GC is aware of the colleges you are applying to. If you don’t think the humanities teacher will write you a good rec, that’s very different from deciding against the humanities teacher simply because you only had her/him for a year.
Request letters of recommendation from all three teachers, and then follow the guidelines set by each school you are applying to with regards to recommendations (some schools, like Penn, highly recommend that the letters be in different subjects, others like Northwestern only allow you to submit one so check the admissions website for guidance.) It’s always better to request 1 or 2 more letters than the minimum of 2, given that some colleges (like Brown which allows you to submit 4) will allow you to submit more or just-in-case.
Some colleges will allow you to submit supplemental letters (from jobs/internships, volunteer supervisors etc.) so look into that opportunity as well to provide a letter outside of an academic setting.
Hope that helps! Good luck with admissions!