<p>My DD 2012 made a very strong personal connection with her 10th grade teacher, who taught her both English (all year) and Creative Writing (one semester). The same teacher is her moderator this year for her 11th grade (extracurricular) Literary Club.</p>
<p>Colleges want a letter of recommendation from an English teacher, preferably from 11th or 12th grade. DD really wants to ask 10th grade teacher to write a LOR, but of course there's the possibility that colleges will question why she selected a 10th grade, and not 11th grade, teacher. I'm not sure how much weight colleges actually put on this sort of decision, especially in light of what the different teachers would say about DD.</p>
<p>DD could ask her 11th grade English teacher, but she hasn't formed a very close bond with her. They don't share personal interests (it's a small Catholic all girls school, so it's common to have lots of one-on-one time with instructors), nor do they really connect academically.</p>
<p>I'm sure that 11th grade teacher would write a nice LOR, but 10th grade teacher would praise DD to the rooftops and really knows about her personality & drive.</p>
<p>What should she do? Please let me know whether you think it would be best for DD to ask...</p>
<p>Teacher A (10th grade English teacher)</p>
<p>-or-</p>
<p>Teacher B (11th grade English teacher)</p>
<p>Even if you don't have time to elaborate on your answer, I would really appreciate your input. Thanks very much!</p>
<p>Go with the 10th grade teacher. She or he is still involved with your daughter in the Literary club, and even though this is an EC, it is an academic one.
My daughter could not use any 11th grade teachers, as an EC took her out of town for a semester during 11th grade. She used a rec from a 10th grade teacher and a 12th grade teacher and it was fine.
What do you mean by “does not connect academically”?</p>
<p>10th grade teacher, absolutely! To lose the honest enthusiasm of a teacher who has known your daughter for several years would be crazy, imho. And I’d definitely use the 10th grade teacher for reaches-- they are looking for kids who can elicit real respect and admiration, not kids who can check the box marked 11th grade teacher.</p>
<p>Generally speaking I think enthusiasm trumps the year the course was taken and it’s also an advantage that the 10th grade teacher knows your daughter in other settings.</p>
<p>Is this something new? Neither of my kids needed to have an English teacher write a recommendation, though MIT required one Science/Math and one Humanities/Social Studies.</p>
<p>I can’t remember whether Chicago did last year when S2 applied (I don’t think so since they had switched to the Common App), but since had history/math by choice we never worried about such requirements.</p>
<p>My daughter’s English teacher did a wonderful thing…she solicited a few paragraphs written by the later grade’s English teachers and incorporated them into her own letter.</p>
<p>I would suggest the 10th grade teacher as the main letter writer and have her solicit a nice paragraph from the 11th grade teacher.</p>
<p>CommonApp has a feature to have multiple versions of an app to send to different schools. I have seen someone explain it in one of the threads (2012 parents thread?).</p>
<p>It was being mentioned in reference to varying the scores you send to different schools but samething can be said of changing the names. Only problem is if you are loading the letter online as opposed to mailing it separately.</p>
<p>OP> You mentioned “colleges” want a letter from English Teacher. I wasn’t sure whether you meant ALL colleges or a specific one. If it’s the former, thats not always the case.</p>
<p>However, I would encourage you to look on the sites of the colleges of interest as they usually specify.</p>
<p>For example, some may say to solicit recommendations from teachers who have taught you in academic subjects and who know you well. However, it may go on to say that its preferable to have teachers who have taught you during your junior or senior year of high school.</p>
<p>I would give great thought to using VP’s approach in post#10</p>
<p>I think Vicariousparent’s idea is a great one with either teacher writing the rec if the teachers will cooperate. </p>
<p>One issue that I know arose several years ago was when a friend of mine’s D did have her 10th grade teacher write her rec when one small LAC asked specifically for 11th grade. It was not an issue for any of her schools but that one. The admissions officer who handled the app actually called the school to ask why the student could not get an 11th grade teacher as requested. It really took everyone aback. Basically, she was asking why the kid couldn’t follow directions. </p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that you don’t know who is reading your application and making the decisions on it. If the person is one of these stick to the rules type, it’s an issue if you aren’t following them. I know some people like that and they can give you every argument under the sun why everyone should follow the rules as written. By limiting the teachers to the ones in 11th grade, you are forcing the student to a common ground rather than cherry picking. An outstanding student would get good pickings despite such limitations and would not have to go outside of picking grounds. So, yes you are taking a bit of a chance when you do this. </p>
<p>One of my kids has great math talent but just was not a great student in high school. His junior year math teacher despised him and never had a good word to say about him. To ask her for a rec would have been suicidal in terms of applications. He hated chemistry and did not do particulary well in that course either, but was doing quite well senior year in both physics and calc with teachers glad to give him a rec. So he had them do so rather than the 11th grade teachers though the school policy was to grab the teachers junior year and they have the summer to compose the rec. I have no idea if any of his colleges had a particular year designated for recs. He got into his most selective schools despite some issues with his profile, so I guess it didn’t matter in his case. </p>
<p>But there are some people who are sticklers about rules. If the 10th grade teacher can write a rec and pass it to the 11th grade teacher to incorporate, that is the best way to go.</p>
<p>Something my daughter’s high school did that I thought was wonderful was to require every teacher to write a paragraph on the first quarter grade report each year. At the end of three years, the college counselor then had a nice selection of comments to use on her letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the helpful comments. Yes, it actually can be a Humanities teacher, not specifically an English teacher. It’s just that DD is such a passionate, strong writer–and she loves writing & literature so much–that she was hoping for an English rec.</p>
<p>As it turns out, we found out today her 10th grade teacher is leaving after this school year. Noooooooooooooooooo! She’s going to be studying for her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt (nice for her). Well, now the choice is pretty clear, because the 10th grade teacher won’t even be a teacher at the high school. <em>SIGH</em></p>
<p>DD says she’ll ask her 11th grade History teacher for a LOR instead of the 11th grade English teacher. </p>
<p>As far as not connecting academically, I mean that DD has a B and not an A in her 11th grade English class, and I <em>promise</em> this isn’t me being subjective–she is writing awesome papers and getting 85s-88s on them, and it’s ticking DD (and me) off. DD has approached the 11th grade teacher throughout the year about what she can do to write to that teacher’s specs, to no avail (she gets vague advice). 11th grade person is a first-year teacher and needs a few years of seasoning. ;)</p>
<p>Again, thanks for all the ideas. I esp. like the idea of asking one recommender to consolidate some other teachers’ comments.</p>
<p>Oh, and to add insult to injury, DS’s beloved Latin teacher is retiring this year after 25 years in the school. She told everyone today, and DS is crushed. Thankfully she told the students after the AP test! And she’ll still write DS’s LOR.</p>
<p>If at all possible, see if your daughter can get the information for the English teacher who is leaving. </p>
<p>This hasn’t been for college apps, but for boarding school and for summer program apps my daughter has asked several former teachers to write recs.</p>
In my daughter’s senior year, she had the same English teacher she had had as a sophomore. She earned A’s as a sophomore, but as a senior, she told the teacher that she could make herself crazy earning A’s or coast and get B’s and she was shooting for B’s. I thought it was great that my daughter could have the strength to say that and have it be okay to get B’s.</p>