S24 is in an unfortunate situation with LORs, and we’re trying to figure out how to best navigate it.
He has not had any in person classes until this semester (fall senior year). (He is homeschooled & we have some family members with health issues so we were more cautious than many people due to covid, among other reasons.)
On top of that, it turned out that for his junior year classes none of his STEM AP classes were actually taught. 
His teachers for all 3 classes listed a plan of study for students to follow and did not provide any individual or group teaching or support. Two of the 3 classes were graded by TAs. S24’s grades were fine (A, A-, & B+) in the classes and he got 4s on all the AP tests, but I don’t think any letters written by those teachers would add to his application. One of S24’s biggest strengths is his support of other students and contribution to class discussions.
He is getting one LOR from a junior year teacher (American Literature, his only non-honors/non-AP/non-college level class) who offered to write it and could have positive things to say about his strengths, since that class met virtually, had discussion, and did some peer reviewing. Also, she actually graded his work herself! I don’t know if it will be a great recommendation, and I have some concerns because he is applying for engineering majors, but at this point it is the best he has from junior year.
When S23 applied last year, we asked multiple AOs about LORs for his similar situation and they all said they really wanted to have a LOR from a teacher who had taught him in an in-person class, and they would prefer at least one of the LORs be from a teacher who hadn’t known him very long but who had him in-person, to 2 letters from teachers who had taught him for a full-year but only online.
So that brings us to my question. S24 has 2 in-person DE STEM classes this semester, and both have a significant peer interaction component (which he loves, and should reflect well on him). He intends to ask one of those professors for a LOR. Our questions are, would it be better for him to
- forgo applying EA anywhere (including schools that say there is a definite benefit to applying EA), in order to have the benefit a LOR from a teacher who has known him longer?
- ask one DE professor for a LOR for the schools where there is a big advantage to applying EA, and ask the other DE professor for a LOR for the schools where he can apply RD?
- only use the LOR from the literature teacher for schools that require only one LOR (but allow more) and that have a definite benefit to applying early?
- for the the schools that only allow 1 recommendation total (Binghamton & Lehigh), should he use the Lit LOR or one of the STEM LORs?
If it matters his application list is:
| College | App Type | Apply Date | LOR Req’d | Extra Teacher Eval Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case Western Reserve University | EA | 11/1/2023 | 2 | 2 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | EA2 | 11/1/2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Northeastern University | EA | 11/1/2023 | 1 | 1 |
| SUNY Binghamton University | EA | 11/1/2023 | 1 | 0 |
| UMass Amherst | EA | 11/5/2023 | 0 | 3 |
| SUNY Oswego | EA | 11/15/2023 | 0 | 2 |
| SUNY University at Buffalo | EA | 11/15/2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | EA | 12/1/2023 | 1 | 2 |
| University of Rhode Island | EA | 12/1/2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Lehigh University | RD | 1/1/2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Tufts University | RD | 1/4/2024 | 1 | 1 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | RD | 2/1/2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Kansas State University | Rolling | – | 0 | 3 |
| Mississippi State | Rolling | – | 0 | 0 |
(My impression is that for some of the public schools, EA is very valuable because money & space in programs can run out. I think EA is a benefit at the private schools he is applying to also.)
ETA: He could ask his youth group leader (for which he is a student leader) to write a non-academic LOR. All the schools would take that letter except MS State, UMass Amherst, and Binghamton. I think she would speak to some of his strengths in interacting with peers. I know it isn’t something she has done a lot of, & I’m not positive she would do it because she is super busy. How much would that letter change the decision on how to manage the LOR situation?
