Recommendation Letters

Applying to College
1

<p>I have one recommendation lined up with my junior year AP english teacher, but i have a bit of a dilemma in choosing my 2nd recommendation. Since i intend to apply to a business related program or public policy, something along those lines, i know i should probably get a science/math related teacher recommendation. My options:</p>

<p>Sophmore year Honors Chemistry: I ended up with an A- in the class, but the teacher seemed very unenthusiastic. He was a mediocre teacher, and actually i really didn't like the material--also i had minimal participation. I've basically ruled this option out </p>

<p>Sophmore year Honors Algebra II: I had a great time in this class, i participated fully every day, and the teacher knows i worked hard because before every test she would tell me not to stress out because in turn i stressed out the entire class, which of course she didn't like! BUT a big issue, toward february, she accused me of cheating--shes a bipolar teacher. In order to regain her trust, i told her straight out that i didn't cheat (because i didn't) and told her i would voluntery move my seat to the front row. I proved her wrong because i started getting higher scores ironically. So even though i proved her wrong with this cheating situation, i know that she probably will still think of that event when writting my recommendation. I ended up with an A for the year though and i kept participating.</p>

<p>Junior year L1 pre-calc: Honors pre-calc is very rigorous in my school and i hated the honors pre-calc teacher with a passion, so i went with my gut and decided to drop to level 1. I really enjoyed the level 1 class though, and also because i was on the "brighter side" the teacher almost looked to me to inspire the other kids to participate. She was an awesome teacher, very enthusiastic and had tons of personality. She was the type of teacher that would ask me how i did on my SATS and always call me out in class to help her solve problems (and then told my after class good work on that problem) I ended up with an A+ for the year. The teacher went to MIT and Harvard (therefore i know she could probably right a fantastic recommendation), but on the other hand this is a level 1 class, so how bad would that look to a college?</p>

<p>Junior year Honors Physics: I ended up with a B+ in this class. The teacher was very mediocre, and actually had a stroke 3 years before he started teaching, so this effected his social skills and ability to interact with the class. Although,I must say he is a brilliant man who attended Columbia University at 16. I think he liked me as a student though, i participated, but i'm unsure of his ability to write a convincing letter and also i did get a B+ for the year.....its one of those situations where he knows i worked hard, but physics just isn't my thing.</p>

2

<p>I think that junior year teachers are generally a better idea than soph teachers as they have more recent knowledge of you and your work. Your pre-calc teacher sounds like an enthusiastic person who really cares about your academic career beyond how you did in her class. This is exactly the kind of person you want writing your recommendation. She is going to be able to say really glowing things about you and to come across as someone who knows you well and completely supports your application. (Also, I have a kid at a HYPSM university who had a recommendation from a regular level pre-calc teacher, so obviously, it didn’t hurt!) Finally, if senior year you moved up a level to honors or AP Calc, or to AP Statistics, be sure to let the teacher know so she can mention it, so you’ll have the “this student did so well in L-1 pre-calc that he was fully prepared to challenge himself with a more demanding level of math course the following year” thing going.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, IMHO do NOT go with the teacher who made the false accusation of cheating. You do not want even the slightest, teensiest hint of anything like this circulating. Ever.</p>