I want to go into the science field(pre-med) but art is a big part of my life as a hobby. I have ECs relating to both art and medicine but medicine is a career path and lifelong for me while art is a hobby/second passion.
I’ve already asked my current AP Chemistry teacher and she agreed. I’ve known her for two years/been in her class 2 years in a row and I have a really great relationship with her.
Art teacher? I have a good relationship with her since the start of junior year but, since I don’t want to go into art, is this worth it or important?
Biotechnology teacher? Also a good relationship but that class is a joke. Easiest A I’ve ever gotten. Can’t wait for it to be over in a few months because it’s just the biggest waste of time. 70% of our classes are spent watching movies. Teacher likes me though.
Current math teacher? I’ve only known him this year but I have an A and during our one-on-one conference last month he said he’s very happy with my performance in the class and thinks i’m very strong in math. I don’t have a friendly/casual relationship with him like the above two teachers though.
History and english and french teacher(s) are definitely out of the question.
I could also ask my sophomore math teacher as she wrote me a recommendation last year for a summer program, but I’ve only seen her twice this year and I just gave her a “hello,” no real conversation. So we don’t really communicate anymore. We did, however, have a good relationship and she was always happy to see me.
My last option is my math tutor, who I’ve seen every week(except summer) since seventh grade. She’s definitely seen me grow and change and improve.
So which of the above would you recommend? I am just unsure, to be honest. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
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A lot of this depends on what sort of schools you plan on applying to. If you want a liberal arts education, or plan on applying to an ivy with a strong emphasis on liberal arts, I recommend the art teacher. It shows you are not one-sided, and it sounds like she knows you well. If applying to an IT, I’d recommend either the biotech or current math teacher. For everything else, it’s completely up to you. Pick who you think will write the best recommendation. You want someone who really understands you. Even if you got a good grade in his/her class, unless your pick know you well, you could get stuck with a bland/average recommend.
The only thing I would recommend against is your tutor. First of all, most schools require two teacher recommends, and it would be a stretch to have a tutor in that category. Secondly, having a tutor is a luxury that many students cannot afford or do not have access to. Having a letter from a tutor highlights a certain degree of privilege, one that could work against you.
Obviously, this is just personal opinion. Feel free to go with what seems best to you. Good luck!
I would go with the Biotech and Chem teachers. You are doing well and they like you,…they can put a personal spin on it.
I like the idea of getting a science rec letter and an art rec letter, but it’s good to have more than two people ready and willing to give you rec letters, so you are ready for anything. You may be applying for scholarships as well as college admittance, honors programs, etc. For each application, you may want a different “spin” in your rec letters. You can also talk to your art teacher, with whom you have a good relationship, as ask if she would be willing to include in her letter than she knows you excel in math/science and intend to major in science (or whatever), but that you have talent and a passion for art, and blah blah blah talk about whatever else she would talk about. That shows a unique and interesting side of you that distinguishes you from other STEM kids.
My son has needed rec letters from teachers, his counselor, the principal, a person in industry (for an engineering scholarship), and his employer. For the teachers, he asked well in advance if his math, physics and history teachers, as well as a coach who had a particularly useful story to tell, would be willing to write letters. Then he used different recommenders for different things. For an engineering scholarship, he needed 2 teachers (he used physics and history) plus the industry person. For engineering honors at one school, he used physics and math. For an honors college, he used the history teacher and the math teacher. For a leadership scholarship and a scholar/athlete scholarship, he used the coach. For one app, he needed a non-teacher who has known him for over 5 years! He used a neighbor, but you could use your tutor for something like this. Anyway, you get the picture. For everything you are applying for, look at exactly what they are looking for and decide at that point whether to ask your art, your chem, or some other teacher.
Then write each of them a really nice, heartfelt note of thanks. And keep each of them informed of how things are turning out. If a teacher wrote you a rec letter and you got accepted, be sure to let him/her know!
Some schools get really picky about which teachers give recommendations. It usually goes like this:
Science/math teacher for one, and English/history/other humanities/other class teacher for the other. I’d be iffy about using the art teacher only if you’re going to choose a picky school (look into the requirements and see what the schools say.) Biotechnology, no offense, sounds like an elective at your school (and you don’t seem to have a high opinion of the class either). I would go for the current math teacher.
That was the advice we got from the GC: One rec in the arts/humanities and one from the sciences/math. But our son ended up asking two humanities teachers for recs because they knew him so much better than the science teachers and could really write detailed, enthusiastic recommendations rather than a potentially perfunctory one. In his case that seemed to work, but if he had had a science teacher who really knew him well and could have written a detailed recommendation, having more balance between the recommendations would have been our preference.
Thanks everyone! I will see where my college search and scholarship search lead me and, from there, see which teachers would fit which options.