So, how important are teacher recs?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Obviously, they're really important for Chicago. But, I have a question. My social sciences teacher wrote me an EXCELLENT recommendation, and my optional recommendation (from a former teacher) is also really good. However, Chicago requires one recommendation to be from a math/science teacher. My science teacher retired last year and has basically cut all ties from our school (he's in Montana taking up farm life), and so I was forced to ask my junior year calc teacher. He happens to not speak English very well, and he happens to not know HOW to write a recommendation, so his was really generic and unordinary.</p>

<p>My question is, will Chicago hold this against me? It's not my fault that my teacher doesn't know how to write good recommendations, is it? Some teachers just don't know how to communicate through writing. My math teacher, for example, thinks I'm an excellent student and person (he's told me so), but he simply doesn't know how to express that in a letter.</p>

2

<p>No, they CAN'T hold this against you. Trust me, if you truly are an excellent student and person, this will come through in other ways. For instance, your counselor can further articulate what your teachers think of you in her letter, and your social studies teach most likely shares your calcular teacher's sympathies. Maybe you could inform your college couns of this? I'm sure it will be OK.</p>