<p>Is that true? Also, would it make more sense to ask an english and italian teacher who both know me very well on a personal level or an english teacher and a 10th grade math teacher (who doesn't know me outside of academics)?</p>
<p>Teachers who taught you as an upperclassman have a significantly better idea of who you will be when you go to college, so yes, it is true that schools much prefer recs from 11th and 12th grade teachers.</p>
<p>I would say that you should go for the Italian and English teachers because they taught you in 11th and 12th grade. Whether they know you on a personal level vs. an academic level really shouldn’t matter here, because the recommendation is about what kind of person you are in the classroom. Comments about you outside of the classroom should be in supplemental recommendations (which should be limited or nonexistent).</p>