I want to ask one of my senior year teachers for a recommendation letter but I’m not sure when to ask. Should I ask right from the beginning of the year so that he knows to keep an eye on me (so he can write more stuff) or should I wait a few weeks before asking so he gets to know me more? I would think the first option would be better, especially since I won’t spend a lot of time with my teacher before college apps are due, but I just want to make sure.
At D’s school they were told to ask junior year teachers and they were supposed to do it before the end of junior year. My understanding is that teachers will only write so many and if they reach their limit they will refuse to do any more. The longer you wait to ask, the more likely the answer will be no.
Your senior year teachers might not know you very well by the time they have to write your letter. I’d say you’re better off getting a junior year teacher. Honestly I find it annoying that colleges want a letter from a teacher you had as a junior or senior only- I had some great teachers sophomore year who would write excellent recs for me.
I would wait a couple week before approaching. I used senior year teachers for my recs and it was fine (granted one also taught me sophomore year).
I agree to try to use your junior year teachers if possible as they will have known you better.
Some of it will depend on your timing – if you are applying ED/EA then you will need to act quickly. The question is will the teacher have enough time to know you? And will the teacher be willing to take on writing another recommendation in the fall (some popular teachers in our HS have deadlines of when they would need to be asked about a recommendation)? Both of my kids had their recommendations lined up by the end of junior year and didn’t ask any senior teachers.
My D used two of her junior year teaches (English, Physics) and emailed them two weeks before school started.
What I did was ask one of my junior year teacher what courses will he teach next year and I sign up for them. So I will get to ask for a letter of rec without any issues since he has known me for over a year!
If the teacher from senior class has not taught you before, it imay be not a good idea to invite her/him to write LOR for you. Anyway, once school starts, the teacher would be busy. It would be best to have initial contact with the teacher(s) about LOR before the end of junior year. Once school resumes, follow up with the teacher.
Thank you for all of the replies!
I’ve already asked two of my junior year teachers for letters of recommendation but the only thing is that they’re both humanities teachers (English and APUSH). I was planning on using each one for different colleges and then asking my senior year math teacher. My science teachers junior year were both pregnant and went on maternity leave so I don’t think they’ll be able to write a lot specifically about me. Also, I would rather not ask my junior year math teacher, which is why I’m in the difficult position of looking for a lor from a senior year teacher.
Would it help if the senior year teacher I’m thinking about asking has already taught me for around two months for math team? Or would I be better off asking my senior year AP Chemistry teacher, who was my teacher sophomore year?
From all of your replies, I’m guessing I should wait maybe a week or two before approaching my senior year teacher, but not more because than the teacher might not have enough time to write the lor?
At my school, some teachers prefer to get a start on recommendations over the summer, so I had mine lined up by the end of junior year. I did not use any teachers who only taught me as a senior.
IMO, either is fine. Pick the one who can write the more thoughtful rec.