<p>I'm a rising senior, and I'm thinking about asking one of my sophomore teachers for a college recommendation. I know that Stanford strongly recommends that I get my recs from junior/senior year teachers but none of my teachers I've had during junior year knows me very well, while I've had a great relationship with my sophomore year English teacher. Should I ask my sophomore English teacher for a recommendation? I can't ask this teacher for a supplementary rec, as Stanford explicitly says supplementary recs should come from someone who's not a teacher or counselor.</p>
<p>If you think it would be stronger than an 11th-grade teacher, go for it. Stanford does not require you to ask teachers only in 11th/12th grades, which suggests that there are some cases when it's better to ask teachers from your sophomore year. This may be one of those cases. Just make sure that your teacher emphasizes the continued relationship you have had with him/her.</p>
<p>I think that you should ask a teacher (in this case, your English teacher) who knows you well and can elaborate on your positive qualities. Actually, it is funny because I asked my sophomore English teacher to write a recommendation for me. Don't worry about it too much.</p>