We’re looking for advice on recommendation letters, about which our S22 is unsure. He’ll ask for one from his English teacher, whom he likes and has had for a number of classes, but the other is trickier. He feels he should ask a math or science teacher, in whose classes he did well but who don’t know him at all due to online classes and with whom he has no particular relationship. His AP foreign language teacher, on the other hand, knows him well and he’s very engaged in class, but he worries that having two language teachers (English and AP foreign language) write for him will be a liability. Any thoughts are much appreciated!
Unless applying to MIT, or any school that specifies which teachers are to write recs, having recs from teachers from 2 different core departments is not an issue for an applicant not planning a STEM major.
Thanks for your response. What we’re most confused about is liberal arts schools that “encourage” letters from both a humanities/social sciences teacher and one in math/science. We’re unsure how strong to understand that encouragement to be if the math/science teacher will have little to say beyond “he did well,” which is already evident from the grades and AP scores. Our S22 is solid in math/science but doesn’t plan to go that direction in college, and we want to be sure his letters speak to him as a person. Really appreciate your help!
I am unaware of any LAC that specifically says in their website that they encourage one STEM and one humanities rec. Maybe there are a couple, but I have not found them. Conversely, MIT, Caltech, and Harvey Mudd, as examples, specifically state as such.
If there is a college on your son’s list that says so, I would follow their instructions. Note that the Common App allows the applicant to select which teachers go to which schools, so he can request 3 or more recs, and then just attach the ones he wants to go to each university.
I will emphasize that colleges will not expect you to read the tea leaves. If they want something specific, they will flat out say so. Your son needs to validate any contrary info from a counselor (or anyone her for that matter).