Hello,
I’m currently a senior who would like to apply to fairly selective universities around September (30-50% acceptance rate). Many selective universities require teacher recommendation letters, but this is the one missing part of my application.
I have no one to ask for a recommendation letter from. I was very shy in high school, barely talked, and never raised my hand, so none of my teachers know me very well. I only have one supplemental letter that I can use and I can get a letter from my counselor, but that’s about it. Teacher recommendations are out of my equation…
Despite this, are there still any universities, LACS, or 30-50% AR universities that I can apply to, without a teacher recommendation letter?
Talk to your GC. S/he will advise you. Look at the list of your schools. Some will stipulate a math or English teacher, this year or last, so it can pretty much point who to ask.
You are not in an unusual situation. A lot of quiet students feel their teachers don’t know them enough to ask. The teachers will likely be ready to write refs -as it is part of their jobs. They will likely ask you to list things you want mentioned, reminders, events, just stuff that YOU feel would be beneficial in a LOR. ,
Any teacher can speak to your work as a student, quiet and shy or not.
I also think it is helpful to put together a sheet about your non-academic ECs, what you do out of school so the teacher has a more complete view of you as a whole person.
Don’t be afraid to ask. It’s part of a teacher’s job to do these college recommendations. But ask as soon as you can.
I believe U of Iowa doesn’t require LORs, but that’s the only one I can think of right now. I agree with the other posters… just ask! Your English teachers are likely to know more than you think after reading all your writing assignments. Do you have any teachers who also coached or advised you in an EC activity? Your GC might also have suggestions, because they see this all the time.
University of Illinois will NOT accept, much less require, letters of recommendation. University of Minnesota and UNebraska did not ask for LOR. Just thinking of schools that daughter applied to before she had LORs in hand.
My son was like you. Ask someone that you had a good grade in the class, his was math. She did notice how hard he worked to obtain his grade. Just because your shy doesn’t mean your teachers don’t notice you. The worst they can say is no. You’ll learn this later in life but sometimes you have to break out of your mold and just bet on yourself. Just ask. You might be surprised at the answer.
About 16.8% of colleges (36.5% of public and 6.6% of private non-profit) do not consider recommendations. Also, some which may consider recommendations may have them as optional.
It would be a shame, however, to limit your applications to that 16.8% because you are afraid to ask a teacher to write a recommendation for you. As many of us have said here, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask, plenty of shy and introverted students get teacher recs all the time, and it is part of the teachers job. Just ask!