<p>I approached my math teacher today and asked him for a recom. He seemed reluctant or hesitant (maybe he was intimidated, as I said I was doing H, Y, and P) but he agreed. At this point, I don't know if i want him to do it because I dont think he can do a good job. </p>
<p>How should I break the news to him? Or should i let him write it, not send it, and ask another teacher to write one instead?</p>
<p>Go back up to him, state that you thought he might be uncomfortable writing it based on his reaction, and then ask him if he would be comfortable completing it. Don't waste his time If you aren't going to send it.</p>
<p>When you ask a teacher for a recommendation, ask if he can write a strong letter of recommedation. If he hesitates or says no, find someone else.</p>
<p>I suggest that you ask him if he can write a strong letter of recommendation and go from there. After all, if he can't write what you need, it will probably not help your application. Good luck.</p>
<p>In most cases, you don't get a choice about sending it. Recs are most often sent directly to the school in pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes you provide, preferably on your high school's stationery. If he was hesitant, I suggest going back to him and saying something like, "You know, you seemed hesitant about writing a rec for me. Maybe I was misreading that, but I certainly don't want you to feel that you need to write something glowing about me when you don't really feel that way. Perhaps I should ask someone else and let you off the hook?</p>
<p>Have you seen the recs these teachers have to fill out? The Stanford one was incredible a couple of years ago. I remember looking at it and noting how much work it would be for the teachers. Email this teacher and give him/her an easy way out by saying although he is your first choice if he can write a strong rec, that you have a second choice in mind so if he has a time crunch or too many other recs to give yours the attention it needs, you another teacher who can do it. Include a copy of your resume and summarize everything you want in your rec without seeming to write the rec for him so if was worried about what to write then that problem is solved. If he doesn't want to write you a good rec, he will advise you to go to # 2. If he does want to write you a good rec, he probably hesitated because he was trying to figure out his schedule and how many other recs he has to write in the next few weeks.</p>