Hello everyone, I’m a rising senior in high school. I’m planning to ask my teachers for letters of recommendation soon, but I’m still not sure who to ask. For some context, I go to a mid-sized public high school and i’m planning to major in applied math or computer engineering.
AP Chem teacher
We are pretty close and I talk to him a lot both inside and outside of class.
I did very well in his class but was definitely not the top student.
AP Stats teacher
I was one of the best students in his class.
He doesn’t usually talk to students a lot, so I didn’t get to talk to him that much
I was still the one who talked to him and participated in class the most, but I don’t think he knows my personal qualities that well. I feel like his letter will be more about my academic abilities, not personality.
I’m thinking about majoring in math/engineering so his letter might be really important
Ap World History teacher
I participated a lot and did pretty well in her class
I talked about history outside of class a little but not much about my personal matters
I was planning to ask my chem and stats teachers, but then i realized that many schools recommend or require 1 stem and 1 humanities. Who should I ask for a letter? Would it be possible to ask all three of them and send different letters to different schools?
Chem and World History - and congrats to you for having these relationships! You can also add your stats teacher and use for schools that will accept a 3rd letter, I do not believe many schools do - but check all you end up applying to in the Fall.
Please ask your teachers in person if at all possible, also ask them if they would like you to provide them any additional information about you and then make sure to thank them after the letters are submitted. I would also follow up your in person ask with an email that thanks them for doing this for you and add what you hope to study, as that could be of value as they write the letter.
I’d say any combo of the two but agree chem and history so they’re not two STEM - not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Don’t worry that you weren’t the top student.
The letter is about you - not your grades - which they see on your transcript. It’s about your characteristics as a person, what you bring to the table…so those that know you best, that you have a great rapport with - that want the best for you - can be great.
As an FYI, look at the colleges you are applying to see if two teacher recs are needed. Two is not very common. At our private high school, you need to get permission from the college counselor before asking for a second.
We use Scoir and it will only send what is required for recommendations, not what is optional.