LORs from teachers no longer working at the HS

Applying to College
1

<p>So... My DS will be applying to several common app schools (and one non-common app school). He's planning on studying Mechanical Enginnering. </p>

<p>Scanning through their requirements it looks like they each only require one Letter of Reference from a teacher, plus the counselor recommendation.</p>

<p>Two teachers have volunteered to write LORs for my son. </p>

<p>The first is his calculus AB teacher from junior year. She actually only taught him for the 2nd half of the year. The regular calculus teacher had a serious health issue come up midyear and had to leave, and will not be coming back. This teacher was a recently retired math teacher (qualified for AP Calc AB) from a nearby high school. Since our school does not offer math beyond Calc AB, he will be taking math online this year. Knowing that he wouldn't have a real math teacher this year, last year's calculus teacher offered to write him a LOR. Based on the very nice email she sent to us (parents) offering that, I have no doubt that it will be a very strong letter. This will ideally be his primary LOR for all schools. </p>

<p>He also took an Engineering class last year, and a CAD class the year before from the same teacher, at the vocational school next to our high school. (The class is part of the Project Lead the Way curriculum, but he couldn't fit in enough of the classes to get the college credit for it, so it's just a non-academic elective for him.) The teacher also offered to write him a LOR (and actually already wrote it and gave him a copy). It's a very nice letter, and different enough from what the math teacher will likely write that it would make a good supplemental letter. She left the school system to take a different job this year.</p>

<p>He had initially thought to ask last year's AP English Language teacher (who does still work at the HS) for a recommendation also, for any schools that asked for 2 teacher recommendations, figuring that he should have 2 from core subjects, and use the Engineering letter as a supplemental. But it looks like none of his schools require 2 LORs. (I don't know if some of them prefer it or not.) English isn't his area of strength, and he started out pulling C's in that class, but actually got an A on the final, an A in the final quarter, a B overall in the class and a 4 on the AP exam. So... I don't know what the teacher might have to say about him. But it almost certainly won't be as strong (or as relevant, for an engineer wannabe) as the calculus letter. </p>

<p>So, we're wondering at this point whether he even needs to ask the English teacher, if none of his schools requires 2 LORs from teachers, and whether it's going to seem weird if he submits 2 from people who no longer teach at the HS. </p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Can’t speak to the English teacher question, but it is certainly not “weird” to submit rec’s from teachers no longer at the high school. People move on, change jobs . . . it’s a common occurrence that in no way reflects on the kid.</p>

<p>Well, actually it does reflect on the kid in one way: it shows that he or she actually thought about this process in advance, while the teachers were still at the high school. And that’s a GOOD thing!</p>

3

<p>In the case of teachers no longer at the HS (or teaching at any school) I was worried that they’re not as obviously verifiable (as being from genuine teachers) as if the email address that the Common App LOR request went out to was clearly at the high school.</p>

4

<p>I think you’re thinking too hard about this. </p>

<p>When I applied to college, I submitted a letter from my Latin teacher, who had retired after my junior year. And as a teacher, I have written a couple of college recommendations for former students after I’ve moved on from the school where I had taught them. I just explain in the first paragraph that I taught them [course] when I was on the faculty at [name of school].</p>

<p>No big deal.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, Sikorsky.</p>

6

<p>Well, my DS just spoke to one of the teachers, and she told him that she thinks she can only give him an “other” recommendation rather than a “teacher” recommendation since she is no longer a teacher. That sounded wrong to me, so I contacted the Common App applicant support online, and they are saying the same thing – that only a current teacher can do a “teacher” rec, and a teacher who has retired or moved on can only do an “other” rec. Am I being given incorrect information? If this is correct, my son will need to quickly find another teacher willing to write him a recommendation :frowning: Unfortunately, the next obvious choice is ALSO no longer teaching (!) (I’m pretty sure that’s just coincidence and my son is not driving teachers out of the profession… :wink: ) </p>

<p>There are other teachers who still teach at the HS who could write him a letter, but they aren’t the best choices, and it seems unfortunate that the letter most likely to be actually looked at will be from a teacher who doesn’t know him as well as these other recommenders know him academically – but I imagine that the “other” recommendations are often skipped, if the school even allows them. :(</p>

7

<p>I’m a student, so I don’t think I know much about the semantics of these things…
But I’ve already asked a teacher who retired and who I had junior year. She’s writing it as a normal teacher recommendation. I’ve also brought up this topic at my meeting with my guidance counselor, and IEP case manager, and they didn’t see a problem with it.</p>

8

<p>Thanks quidditchcat – it doesn’t make any sense to me that someone who was an active teacher last year and taught my son shouldn’t be allowed to provide a teacher recommendation.</p>