Teacher writes almost exact same letter of rec for each student?

Applying to College
1

<p>So my history teacher's letter of rec is always 3 paragraphs, with the first and third always being exactly the same for each top student in his classes and a really short second paragraph that talks a bit about the extracurriculars of the student. My question is: would admission officers care if two people have the almost exact same letter of rec? Or is this a really common thing for teachers to do?</p>

2

<p>Awful, lazy rec writing. Might not make much of a difference, but it’s weak sauce anyway.</p>

3

<p>So would I be better off with a letter of rec from my english teacher even though I barely participate in that class?</p>

4

<p>If your english teacher thinks highly of you, then use that person. But if your English teacher can not write a positive recommendation, then having one good second paragraph from the history teacher would be better.</p>