<p>I'm a junior and I am starting to finalize all of the colleges I'm going to be applying to next year. I'm interested in applying to Harvard and Yale and two teacher recommendations are required for both schools. They strongly encourage that applicants use teachers from junior or senior year. One of the teachers I was thinking about is my AP Chem teacher, so that's fine but I wanted to use my sophmore history teacher as well. I feel like those teachers know me the best. Both colleges aren't requiring the use of certain teachers so should I just go ahead and choose those teachers?? I would appreciate any input!!</p>
<p>Use two junior year teachers, and then, if you must, add a third rec from your sophomore chemistry teacher or an extracurricular advisor or something. If you don’t use junior year teachers, it can put into question whether any of them liked you enough to write you a good one.</p>
<p>I’m gonna have to disagree with jojodevka on this one. I would just go ahead and choose the two teachers who know you best, because a mediocre recommendation can really hurt you. Maybe you can get your sophomore history teacher to focus his LoR on your personal qualities and your AP Chem teacher to focus his on your academics? If the letter from your sophomore history teacher is very effusive and personal, it will outweigh the fact that he last taught you two years ago.</p>
<p>Question</p>
<p>I plan on getting on from my junior AP US History teacher, well I didnt really get to know any of my teachers besides her and my debate coach and band director… so will it hurt me to submit one academic and one personal? if so would it help if i had the history one and the both band and debate?</p>
<p>I am pretty sure you can’t choose like that. You MUST have two academic teacher recs and can submit additional extra recs from whoever you choose.</p>
<p>Just choose the teachers who you liked and who know you best, regardless of the year. Schools tell you exactly what is required, so for Harvard, for instance, it has to be two academic teachers (although, if music is a class, and music is a future interest of yours, it is possible to use a music teacher- just call admissions and ask them- they don’t bite!).</p>
<p>If you take classes or have activities outside of school, you can also send in supplementary recommendations, as someone already said.</p>
<p>You should not be stressing about this in May of your junior year. Relax and deal with it next fall. And, again, you can call admissions anytime and ask them about things. They are very helpful and accessible. But ask them in the fall, not now.</p>
<p>The advantage to thinking about this your junior year is able to notify teachers now of your intent. </p>
<p>My D determined that the teachers she planned to use were both junior year teachers (there was absolutely now doubt last spring), she notified them both that she would be asking them to do recommendations in the fall. One actually worked on it over the summer, the other was more spontaneous and did it in November but at least the teachers had time if they needed/wanted it. Teachers get a lot of requests from students in the fall so sometimes finding the time can be hard for them.</p>
<p>Similarly, my son determined spring of junior his junior year who the writer of one of his teacher recommendations would be and asked her. We were lucky because she ended up marrying and moving to another state that summer. She got all the recommendation work done before she left and then did any school specific work by mail for my son.</p>
<p>i have a similar question.</p>
<p>i want to use my spanish teacher, who has taught me for 2 years (next year is my senior year and i will have her for a third year for ap spanish and ap spanish lit) and my current ap us history teacher, who will also be my ap english lit teacher next year. do you think i should use a math/science teacher instead? or are these subjects different enough? i would ask my math teacher who has had me for 2 years, but all she does is plug your stats in to a generic letter 
OR should i use my volleyball coach/ceramics 1 teacher/ possibly AP 3D art teacher (next year, if she can get me into the class)? if i can get into the AP art class i would like to use her and my spanish teacher because they know me the best. </p>
<p>gahhh</p>
<p>Those sound like two fantastic teachers to me. If these teachers are excited about you as a student and have expressed it to you or your parents then they will likely be passionate about you in the recommendation. This trait was what made both me and my daughter realize that she should ask the two teachers she used for her recommendations.</p>