Which recommendation to get?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm submitting 3 letters of rec to most colleges. Numbers 1 and 2 are given.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Chemistry teacher- did excellent in her class, likes me somewhat, write excellent rec letters, has a Ph. D. from U-Michigan. So I think her word will be taken better. Have to get a science teacher rec anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Research mentor- This is just a given to prove my main EC.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Here are my two remaining options.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Club sponsor- likes me a looot. He was sponsor of my econ club of which i was president and won a prestigious competition. He didn't believe that I would win but when I did and led our team to NYC, he was ecstatic and loved me for proving him wrong. the downside: is not well liked by students so doesn't write many rec letters, and he never taught me any class (but he is an economics teacher).</p></li>
<li><p>APUSH teacher- she loves me. all the kids likes her so she has a good deal of practice writing rec letters. I was always the most participating student in her class so she would portray me well. the downside: doesn't show my leadership skills. also i never really improved in her class. started off amazing and ended up good, really a slight decline overall. additionally i was sometimes so loud as to be disruptive but she likes me still even so. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>What do you think 3 or 4? I don't want both. That would be far too many rec letters.</p>

2

<p>I thought you were required to have 2 recs from teachers you actually had as teachers? </p>

<p>That said, I think choosing a less popular teacher is a good idea. The teachers everyone loves have to write a lot of recs, so they can’t give them very much individual attention. The teachers everyone hates can put a lot of effort into 2 or 3 recs.</p>

3

<p>Oh in that case choice 4 it is. Do you know if top schools require a counselour rec? I think those are so useless. The counselors barely see us.</p>

4

<p>Like poster 2 said, colleges will want teacher recs first. Your apps will require zero, one or two recs, depending on the college.</p>

<p>Therefore you should submit #1 when one is asked for and #1 and 4 when two are asked for. You can submit #2 as a third supplemental. However #1 and #4 are your top priority.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about your counselor recs – standard stuff and colleges know they don’t know the students well in general.</p>