<p>do colleges require a letter of recommendation from one of my senior year teachers?</p>
<p>is it okay to have one from junior/freshmen year?</p>
<p>Generally most colleges want a rec from a junior or senior year teacher. Freshman and Sophmore years aren't always the best indicators of what kinda student you are now. </p>
<p>Also, I would recommend sending a rec from your junior year teachers cause chances are, they know you better than your senior year teachers who've known you for a only a couple of months by the time they have to write the rec.</p>
<p>Not aware of any that require a senior year teacher's rec. Majority of colleges do not want recs at all (particularly most public universities). High ranks generally do, want one or two teacher recs and do not specify year, although junior year may be better as more recent evaluation.</p>
<p>Many say they prefer recs from junior or senior teachers because those teachers supposedly know you best as a student. I think if you have a rec from a frosh/sophomore teacher who still knows your really well (you're very active in a club he/she sponsors or something like that), it should be fine</p>
<p>Many colleges won't accept recommendations from freshmen or soph teachers because the colleges want a read on the student's current performance.</p>
<p>northstarmom, what if he/she is a supervisor for a community service program that I did (tutoring, things related to helping the school, etc) and knows me really well (classes, personality, etc)?</p>
<p>I have a question regarding the subjects for which you would want a teacher recommendation and how colleges view them..</p>
<p>Some colleges request only that the letters come from teachers of "academic courses," while some may prefer to see one science vs. one "humanities."</p>
<p>Would a music class you take in school (instrumental or vocal, not theory or history) be qualified as either "academic," a part of "humanties," or both (or none!)?</p>
<p>neither krypton.</p>
<p>Academic classes: Science, Social Studies/History, English, Math, Language.</p>
<p>I understand a performance music class as being 'non-academic,' but is it not suitable for a recommendation requiring a humanities source?</p>
<p>"The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. The humanities are usually distinguished from the social sciences and the natural sciences and include subjects such as the classics, languages, literature, <strong><em>music</em></strong>, philosophy, the <strong><em>performing arts</em></strong>, religion and the visual arts." ~ As per Wikipedia, entry: Humanities</p>
<p>And then again, the definition of humanities mentions its components as 'academic subjects.'</p>
<p>"northstarmom, what if he/she is a supervisor for a community service program that I did (tutoring, things related to helping the school, etc) and knows me really well (classes, personality, etc)?"</p>
<p>Most colleges specify that recommendations come from junior or senior year teachers because the colleges particularly want insight into how you are currently doing on your coursework/</p>
<p>If you have a fresh/soph teacher whom you've kept in contact with through ECs, you may be able to submit a recc from that person as an extra one if the college allows. However, the college still will want the recommendations from teachers who have taught you junior year or senior year and who therefore have intimate knowledge of your current study habits, writing, behavior in class, etc.</p>
<p>Any perspectives about how colleges might feel if you choose two teachers from the same academic area (math, English, science, etc.)?</p>
<p>This is, of course, pertaining to colleges that don't specifically require teacher recommendations from two different academic areas.</p>
<p>My high school itself has some teachers that advise against choosing, say, a biology teacher and a chemistry teacher (in the case of science), unless a college requests recommendations like this, of which I have yet to hear of any.</p>
<p>Since teachers from exactly the same subject are likely to say very similar things about you -- for instance English teachers may focus their recommendation on the quality of your writing and your participation in the h.s. newspaepr -- having teachers from the same subject isn't the optimal way to select your recommenders. If that's the best that you can do, however, and the college allows it, then go for it. Having two excellent, but similar recommendations is better than having one excellent recommendation and one that basically says you breathed in class, passed, and seem to be a nice person.</p>
<p>For those of you who wonder whether specific disciplines meet college's requirements that recommendations come from teachers of academic subjects, call or e-mail the colleges' admissions offices. That way, you'll be sure to comply with their guidelines.</p>
<p>On several websites, they consider math & science to be two separate areas... but people keep telling me I should get recs from a math or science teacher and one from an english/humanities teacher... which is right?</p>
<p>Ask the colleges that interest you. The answer depends on the college. Some care, some dont.</p>
<p>some colleges require recommendations from teachers of different departments...i asked mine if it was okay to have more and they said sure. so i had one from my psych teacher, one from my history teacher (more of a personal recommendation since he's sponsor of a club i was chair of) and one from my boss from my summer internship.</p>