Currently, I have a recommendation from my AP Seminar teacher and my AP U.S. History teacher. I am fairly confident that my AP Seminar rec will be good, since I know the teacher well and I’m currently doing a science research project with her. I have not seen my A.P. U.S. History teacher’s letter, but he told me that he just recycled the letter for National Honor Society that he wrote for me last year, only adding in a few more current details. I have already read the NHS letter, and it was pretty mediocre, making me think that this one will be as well. It mentioned a few specific highlights from class, but otherwise just mentioned my clubs and grades, which colleges already see from my transcript.
I guess this is my fault. I already knew that the NHS letter wasn’t very good, so I shouldn’t have trusted him with this one. I also did not expect him to just reuse the previous letter. And since he had already turned in the letter when he told me this, it is too late to ask him to change it.
My question: is it worth it to ask someone else for a letter to replace his? The only other teacher I can think of is my Junior-year English teacher. His letter would likely be better written, and he loved my writing, but I did not know him very personally. Ideally, I would ask a math teacher, since I am going into engineering. However, I have not made any close relationships with my math teachers, and I feel like it is too soon to ask my current teacher.
Any advice? Will a mediocre letter of rec make a huge impact? Is it worth stressing over? Thank you.