Who should do my recs?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm not sure if this is the right category, but the Common App category looked kinda dead so... hi guys :)</p>

<p>Background about me: editor of school newspaper, strengths in social studies, English, and biology, crappy at math, will prolly major in history, creative writing, or some sort of social science. I'm looking at UChicago, Brown, UPenn (legacy), and other liberal arts schools.</p>

<p>Anyways, I'm not sure who I want to do my recommendations. Which of these sound best?</p>

<p>AP Euro teacher: this guys a bit on the... senile side and my school counselor wasn't too hot on him doing my recs, but he LOVES me and I really like European history. His writing would likely go like: "Rachel is Spectacular at European history.!! Very interested in the topics and good participation.!" </p>

<p>AP lang teacher: I'm not THE best in the class (I don't get 9s on every essay, more like a 7 kinda girl), but I'm interested in improving America's education system (one of her interests, obviously) and watched this movie she recommended to us all and we have the same favorite author.</p>

<p>Newspaper adviser: Not one of his teacher pets, but I'm one of the best writers and a good leader of the paper. He writes pretty much everyone's recs who's on the paper. One of my biggest points of my application is that I'm the deputy editor of the paper and my journalism involvement in general.</p>

<p>Chem teacher: This guy also loves me (got moved out of "honors" chem, so I'm the only smart person in his class), but I have no big interest in chemistry and the rec is supposed to be about my academic fervor and ability... I helped him found the "Philosophy Society" of our school though and we have good conversations :p</p>

<p>AP psych teacher: I haven't had her yet, but my g-pa was a psych professor at Penn, so it might fit in well. Also, my friend said she gives really good recs.</p>

<p>AP bio: I have her next year... apparently she is a nutcase, but I do need someone who isn't an English teacher.</p>

<p>My main issue is that most of my teachers are English and social studies... who do you guys think should do my recs?</p>

<p>P.S. I'm pretty sure no one has asked about this, so I'm sorry if this is stupid :,(</p>

2

<p>It’s perfectly fine to have two humanities recs, though not from the same subject. (My recs were from my English and French teachers.) </p>

<p>I think it’s generally a good idea to have at least one rec from someone who knows you outside of the classroom. My English teacher, for example, was the writing club/lit mag adviser, and I worked with my French teacher on my senior thesis. </p>

<p>You also want teachers who can say much more than, “X is a fantastic student who participates and always does his/her work!” There should be mentions of your creativity, your ability to think outside-the-box, the way you help others by rephrasing the material, etc. A good rec isn’t good enough for top schools; almost every applicant will be well-liked by their teachers for being good students, and you need more. So find the teacher that can write about you with dimension.</p>

3

<p>I think you should go with the teacher that knows you best as a student and as a person. If you have worked extremely hard in a subject and have a good relationship with the teacher, they would be a great choice even if you are not planning to study the subject in college. I’d say go with whichever teacher knows you the best!</p>

4

<p>bumpppppppppppp… thanks guys. anyone else?</p>