Which teacher to write my recs?

<p>I need to choose one more teacher to write my recommendation. I already knwo that my current Calc teacher is going to write it. However, who should write the other? Here are my choices</p>

<p>English Teacher: I don't think she should write it, because she writes "rarely participates in class" on my report card.</p>

<p>Biology Teacher: I don't really know him that well and he doesn't write comments on report card. I don't think he should write it, because he might view me as shy or timid, </p>

<p>Chemistry teacher: My college counseler thinks I should get a rec from him, solely based on the "consistently outstanding work" comment on my report card. However, I really dislike the teacher and the class, and I don't really talk to him or say hi to him at all. All I do is perform well on the tests. I'm getting borderline A- on his tests</p>

<p>History Teacher: I might ask her. I've talked to her sometimes, but I get Bs and B-s on my participation grade (she tells me to talk more), but I enjoy talking to her and enjoy the class</p>

<p>Spanish Teacher: I don't know if I should ask him. I sometimes participate in class, but not a lot. I do well in the class (A A A- for quarter grades), but I might come off as shy to him because I speak quickly and not too much. He also wrote a "rarely participates in class" on the first quarter report card, but nothing after that... (although he did say "major project well done" on my recent 4th quarter progress report)</p>

<p>Who do you think I should ask for my second recommendation?</p>

<p>hmm... guess I'd probably go with the history teacher...</p>

<p>Ask your teachers if they would/could honestly provide a <em>good</em> recommendation for you. Be open and honest with them so you can best gauge who will provide the best rec for you. Good luck!</p>

<p>ye...i'm gonna have a hard time with this crap. I slack in all my classes but still get good grades, which probably wont do me any good on recs</p>

<p>I agree- go with the history teacher.</p>

<p>I'm having a similar issue. I know my European history teacher will write me a good reccomendation. I was hoping my English teacher would write me one, but he only writes a certain amount of recs and he already chose who he would write for (which I have to admit is really mean), so now I have to choose among my other teachers which don't know me as well. </p>

<p>Should I go with my Spanish teacher (I've had her for 3 years and she likes me but grades aren't that great), American history teacher (I don't talk much but he likes me and I get excellent grades, but would it be bad to have 2 recs from the same subject?), or my science research teacher (knows me the best but class doesn't meet often, although looked highly upon by colleges, and I'm not sure that she's a great writer)?</p>

<p>bump.............</p>

<p>bobmallet1: Immediately remove those teachers who wrote "rarely participates" from your list. Colleges want to see you engaged in class and these teachers obviously don't think you engage enough. I would say (if you're still in school now) start participating consistently in chemistry and history, as those seem like your best bets.</p>

<p>calhoon: Have you worked hard at Spanish, but just don't get awesome grades? Have you asked for extra help and it just doesn't work? Recommendations from those kinds of teachers can be awesome because it shows you are dedicated to learning even if you don't always succeed. I would say stay away from the American history teacher because you want to show breadth of learning. The science research teacher sounds awesome. If you are thinking about continuing science in college, I would say DEFINITELY pick him. Even if you aren't he may be a good choice.</p>

<p>BOTTOM LINE: Don't pick recs based on who you like. Pick teachers who know you well and have seen some type of progression (if possible, ie: they taught you twice or have known you more than just the one year you were in their class). Also, don't pick teachers based on grades. The classes you struggled in can sometimes make the best recs if you had good work ethic and tried your hardest.</p>

<p>NOTE TO UNDERCLASSMEN: Become friends with your teachers now! Never slack off in class! Teachers you have now might be writing recs for you later!</p>

<p>^Maybe I should also note that my history teacher wrote a recommendation for me for the harvard summer school program (along with calc teacher) and I got in... unfortunately got waitlisted at the specific course I wanted cuz my guidance counsler took to long in preparing my transcript.</p>

<p>It's also kind of late to start participating more cuz we only have one more week of real classes before finals... Can colleges (elite and ivies) accept art/music teachers as the second required recommendation?</p>

<p>bump! .</p>

<p>i think its best to get a rec from an AP or honors class, even if you did not get an A. like most people say, if you tried hard and the teacher likes her personality it should be fine.</p>

<p>Get it from a junior year AP teacher who you know well and whose class you recieved As and Bs in.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Get it from a junior year AP teacher who you know well and whose class you recieved As and Bs in.

[/quote]

yeah, after my math teacher, the best teacher would be my history teacher, but she doesn't really know me extremely well but I'm getting an A in...</p>

<p>sort of off topic, but how important are teacher recs? I'm probably ranked 1/2 in my class, but I'm often slacking/doing homeowkr in class, with a few exceptions. Will this break me for college apps? I probably only have 2 decent recs, and they're both from history teachers. Is it bad that they both teach history?</p>