Rec Letters: Does the Subject the Teacher Teaches Matter?

<p>Like the question states, does the subject that the teacher teaches matter much? For example, if I get a recommendation from a math/science teacher, would it be better to get the second one from a history/english teacher?</p>

<p>Yes. Many schools require one from a math/science teacher and one from a humanities/social science teacher. It’s best to get 1 from each field so that they can see you’re great at everything.</p>

<p>I get the sense that it would probably matter more for top-top-tier schools where your application needs to be practically flawless. Still, on their admissions blogs, Oberlin and Dartmouth both explicitly recommend getting recommendations from teachers for two different areas (math/science and humanities). I found out after I’d gotten two social studies teachers’ recommendations, but I don’t think their decisions were made based on that. If you have excellent grades in both areas, the decision definitely won’t hang on which departments your recs came from. That said, you should still get recommendations from teachers teaching in two different areas if they’ll be equally excellent.</p>

<p>^ Also math/science teachers and humanities teachers would prob talk about two different sides of you.</p>

<p>Science: great problem solving, good quantitative skills and works well in labs</p>

<p>Humanities: Excellent critical thinking, good grasp of language, discussion-oriented</p>

<p>What about the “lopsided” applicant? I’m planning on getting a rec from an English and a French teacher.</p>