<p>OK, I am sort of in a quandary. I need to decide my second teacher to write my recommendation letter... The person I had originally asked was my 11th grade Us history teacher and right before I asked, she told me that she noticed I was enrolled in AP Euro history and wanted me to talk more in that class... I felt I did participate in my US history class (I barely participated in my other classes), even though it wasn't a lot compared to others... I doubt she would say "he did not contribute to class" straight on, but probably more like "I wish he would partipate more", and I don't know what she will check in the "participation" block on the common app... I asked her for a rec, and she said "sure"</p>
<p>So now, I'm thinking about asking my current (12th grade) english teacher, who I had freshman year. I think I'm participating a couple times each class and so the participation might be worth it in terms of college admissions... To be honest, I know none of them will say "he participated and talked a lot in my class" but I think I could improve in my current english class... </p>
<p>Who should I choose? the history teacher who wants me to talk more or my current english teacher (whom I can talked more in)... If I choose the english teacher, should I ask her to write my EA recs, or should I let my history teacher write the EA recs and the english teacher write the RD recs? Or should I do a different thing?</p>
<p>Check the college applications carefully. I remember one of my daughter's only wanting recommendations from junior and senior year teachers. Another wanted one from the Math dept and the other from English/ Social Studies.</p>
<p>I didn't go to an Ivy, but I did go to a top 50 school. One of my high school recs was glowing but described me as "reticent about verbal participation" (I was in a shy stage). The rest of what he wrote was glowing, and I still got in to my top choice school. I don't think any of us can really know what you should do, because you really never know what someone will write until the ink is dry and you have read it. I believe that the best recommendations sound authentic and realistic, and no one is perfect (we all have areas for development). </p>
<p>If there is another 11th or 12th grade teacher who really gets you as a student and has seen your best work, pick them instead if you wish. Otherwise, I would bring your concern to the teacher you described. Ask her if she thinks she would be a good person to write your recommendations. Is she someone who has seen your best work? Perhaps if you choose her, you could just make sure your other rec is from a teacher who has seen you participate actively in class.</p>
<p>^The other one is a math class, so I didn't really participate a lot in that class either, since it was mainly group work and lecturing... But I chose her because I got to spend one month with her in the class because all of the seniors had left for their internshipos, and I'm sure she has plenty of good things to say about me after working closely with her with new material.</p>
<p>It's good that a slightly negative phrase like "reticent about verbal participation" won't get you automatically rejected from every school (did you use the common app for those schools and where did you get accepted to and where did you get rejected/waitlisted)</p>
<p>Omigosh, Bobmallet - I am like 150 years old! I applied ED at the school I attended (I don't want to mention it in order to try to maintain some anonymity). I used the university's application. I don't even remember if there was a common app when I applied to college. The Director of Admissions at one Ivy did tell me in a face to face that I would "definitely get in", but I ended up not even applying (my parents were freaked about what they perceived as an unsafe location, so they sent me off to the cow pastures). She did not see the rec, however, yet I doubt it would have hurt my chances at all.</p>
<p>Seriously, there is no student, anywhere, who has nothing to improve on. From the business world as well (I have lots of experience hiring in a Fortune 100 environment), I can assure you that having an area for development is not a negative (unless it is something that cannot be easily improved). Talking more in class? That is an easy fix. Besides, you don't know if she will even write that or not. She could just be giving you advice, with no intention of writing this thought down on paper. But even if she did, if a college rejects you because of that one benign remark, you really don't have enough positives to win in that applicant pool anyway. My $.02 is: Don't worry about it. :-)</p>
<p>So if a teacher says someone like "I wish that he/she could improve on participating more in class", that wouldn't get you excluded from top schools? (because no one is perfect)</p>
<p>You will be judged on your whole file. If you can include another rec from a class which describes you as enthusiastically participatory, then great. But if that is not available to you, then don't worry about it. If your file has the necessary positives which set it apart from the other applicants, one minor statement like that will not keep you out. It just isn't negative enough, and again it is an easy adjustment to make. </p>
<p>What if you found a way to include some hint of a resolution to this matter in your essay? If you had a compelling and authentic story of personal academic growth, which allowed a well-placed, sincere comment, it could be done. I don't think you need to do this, but you seem to have some anxiety about this rec and perhaps if you saw a way to take some control back you'd feel better about it.</p>