Hey guys, I just realized I’m in a pretty tight spot right now. It’s currently end of April, and as a Junior, I don’t believe I’ve participated in class for any of my teachers to know me well enough to write recommendation letters for me. Also, APs are coming up, meaning it’d be even harder for me to interact during class since I’ll probably be tired from studying. My question is, should I just give up getting rec letters from my junior teachers and rely solely on senior teachers, or just try as much as I can to interact with my teachers starting from now? I’m looking a for a letter each from a humanities and a science, and I’m currently taking 2 sciences, 1 humanities class this year and will be taking 1 science 2 humanities next year. Will the fact that my teachers will only know me for a month affect the quality of a Senior rec letter if I choose to go the senior route?
Thanks guys.
Were you close to any teachers as a sophomore? You can ask one of them. If you really feel you don’t know your junior teachers and they don’t know you, I think you might need to wait for senior year. Please make an effort next school year. A generic reference from an 11th grade teacher who really doesn’t know you isn’t ideal. alternatively, talk with your counselor, who also should knwo you, and ask ifmyiu can get a rec from someone outside of school who you know very well. Maybe a coach, a priest, a music teacher, etc…
I wasn’t, unfortunately. So if I were to get my recommendations from senior year teachers, when should I ask them? I would like to do early action/decision, meaning everything should be turned in near end of October. I feel asking them immediately when school starts may be too early, but if i were to tell them ahead of time, they can pay some more attention to me to make up for the fact that they will only have 2 months to evaluate me.
Most people ask junior or sometimes sophomore teachers. There isn’t that much time for senior year teachers to get to know you before recommendations are due.My S was a quiet HS student and had no issue getting recommendations from teachers who knew he was a hard worker, diligent, nice, etc. I agree that talking to your guidance counselor to ask for suggestions may be good if you don’t know who to ask.
I don’t think you should ask a teacher who doesn’t know you at all for a rec. If you really want to apply ED, then the best bet is to go for a junior year teacher. Talk with your GC and ask which junior teacher is likey to give a good rec. You might be surprised at how well your teachers know you. My D is really quiet but got two very good recs from teachers. She worked hard and did well, which helped.
Otherwise, make a good effort in senior year and apply in Dec for RD. Be careful though, that you don’t come across as being too keen or fake in an attempt to score points. I think you might well need to submit an optional outside rec. Many colleges will let a student submit one additional recommendation.