Still Clueless About Teacher Recommendations

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>I asked this before, but none of the responses really helped me. </p>

<p>I need two or three teacher recs for my Common App, but I'm not sure where to start. Here is my predicament: </p>

<p>I have all of my teachers from freshman and sophomore years. I am on great terms with my sophomore English and history teachers, as well as my sophomore math teacher. Don't get me wrong: all of my teachers like/liked me, but freshman year was ages ago, and sophomore year still seems too far off.</p>

<p>Then, there's junior year. From that year, I only have my English and history teachers. One of my classes was online, so that won't work for a recommendation, since there was really no contact between teacher and student. Science, math, and some other class were at another building (dual-enrolled at the local community college), but I stopped going there starting this year since it was so time-consuming, so it's not like I can go back and ask for a recommendation letter. I did great in history, but didn't talk much to my teacher. So, that leaves English. </p>

<p>And then, there's senior year. This year, I have my math, English, government, and environmental science teachers. Everything else is online. Doing great in everything, but I'm mostly quiet in math, only answering questions which no one else seems to get. I think that my government teacher likes me (since I'm in two social studies clubs), but it's not like we talk much outside of "good morning". My English teacher likes me, too, but I only have her for 50 minutes a day, and I sit in the back. And then, I think my APES teacher likes me, but we haven't really interacted much. Remember that senior year started just three weeks ago. </p>

<p>So, what to do? Junior English, sophomore English, sophomore history, sophomore math, (maybe) sophomore chemistry, and the four core senior teachers. Plus, how should I go about asking for teacher recommendations? And last but not least, can you just use the same teacher recommendations for every school you apply to (provided there are no specific class requirements), since it's not like I can get 30 different teachers to write for me. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Hmm. You want to ask the teachers that you feel will give a positive review. Junior year is best, then sophomore. It’s not great to ask a teacher that has only known you 3 weeks. Use English junior year and History sophomore year, especially if any are AP classes. I have not heard of a school that wants 3 teacher letters. Most want 1, some want 2, some don’t require any at all. Some would prefer a letter from a coach, activity director or employer.</p>

<p>Yes, you can use the same recc’s from the same teachers for all schools. For sure.</p>

<p>A good way to ask is to ask. Go to the teacher and ask if they would be willing to write you a GOOD college recommendation letter for you. If they say Yes, be prepared to bring them a packet a few days later that contains:</p>

<p>-a cover letter thanking them for their time and mentioning something that you liked about their class.

  • a list of your schools and the application due date
  • instructions on how to submit the letters. Common Ap will invite them. Other schools may have them send in the recc’s in a different system. Go on every school website and print out their instructions and give to teacher. Your school may use Naviance, which has its own method.
  • your transcript
  • your resume</p>

<p>It’s kind of confusing and stressful to know how to do all these different parts. But, be sure to do this right away, especially if you are applying Early. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>First, look up for the LOR requirement of each school on your list. Some school may require teachers from certain grades (e.g. Junior and senior) or certain subjects (e.g. the 4 or 5 cores). If there is no such requirement, you may invite the teacher that knows you more and will write a good positive LOR for you.</p>