Hi, I am currently asking teachers for recommendation letters and I can’t decide which one.
One would be my math teacher, which I have had for 2 years. She has seen me fail and excel, but I don’t have a close connection with her. Recently, she has decided to bump me out of a program too.
My other teacher would be my art teacher, and we have somewhat of a better relationship. She was my teacher for 2 years, and I am apart of her club as executive board. We talk and laugh at times, and I really enjoy her class.
Unless you are applying for an art program or submitting to a non traditional admissions review, you really need the recommendation from a core teacher. But that math teacher isn’t a good choice unless all the others are stinky.
Art is not an academic subject so that would not work. You could use her as a supplemental recommender. The math teacher doesn’t sound ideal. Any other choices?
Are you applying to schools that require you waive your right to see the recommendation? Sometimes knowing that the applicant will read it helps soften the language used. To be honest if you were my kid I’d be in the principal’s office expressing my concerns for the consequences of bad teacher hiring and retention. The guidance counselor also needs to know why the recommendation isn’t coming from an ideal source and deal with it in her recommendation.
Are any of the teachers who have left someone you’d consider? They don’t have to be currently employed by your school district to submit a valid LOR, you know.
yeah, I would have considered my science teachers… but I don’t have contact with them or they wouldn’t do it because they are preoccupied with something else. Is it necessary to have a core subject teacher for a letter of recommendation? Or a teacher you have a better relationship with? My math teacher doesn’t entirely dislike me because she sees how I challenge myself. I did originally ask her, but I felt she might not have been the better choice… So I am a bit hesitant. :-S
" Is it necessary to have a core subject teacher for a letter of recommendation?" Yes.
If I were you, I’d try to get the contact info (whitepages.com) of a former teacher. Don’t use this math teacher. She’ll probably tell you she can’t write a positive LOR for you anyway.
We had a french teacher change schools over the summer and I know a student who really wanted a LOR from her. The student and her mother did some digging and tracked her down and he teacher was happy to write the letter.
Can you ask any of your other teachers? I wouldn’t pick the art teacher unless you are planning to major in art. You want your recommendation to be in an academic subject. Why are you picking your math teacher? It’s not necessary to pick a teacher you’ve had for two years, if that’s the only reason.
