<p>I'm getting ready to ask a couple teachers for college recs, and have had my soph year chem teacher on my mind. She recommended me for the ACS scholarship exam and worked with me studying for it, plus we've developed a very close relationship throughout the years. She's basically my mom at school and knows me better than anyone else there and she has a reputation of writing great recs. We've kept close so she has a clear picture of who I am today, but the last time I had her in class was 2 years ago and I know colleges prefer Junior or Senior year teachers. Do you think asking her will hurt me with admissions chances?</p>
<p>First, check the schools you are going to apply on their requirement for recommenders. If they do describe the specific criteria, you should follow the guideline. Stanford makes it clear that you should have junior or senior teachers from core subjects to writer LOR for you. 10th grade teacher is fine if that is from an advanced level course. It is better to play safe and follow the guideline. If it said junior/senior teachers preferred, then it may be fine. My D also has a sophomore (and freshmen) teacher as recommender, but she did not use this teacher for some school for that reason.
Also, there may be additional recommendations allowed from some schools on your list. Those usually has less stringent requirement. My D put that sophomore teacher there for some school as she was also the adviser for NHS.</p>