Who Should I Choose for My 2nd Teacher Rec?

Applying to College
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<p>I was thinking about who to ask for teacher recommendations over the weekend and I have run into a bit of dilemma. I already have one teacher (APUSH/AP Gov/Freshman History) who I know will write me a glowing rec because he absolutely likes me as a student. The problem is, however, I don't know what teacher I should ask for my other recommendation. Here are my options...</p>

<p>AP Econ - Got an A both semesters in the class, but I had to work my butt off for them. This semester, I pulled an 85% up to a 90% during the last 8 weeks of the semester. She could definitely vouch for how hard I worked at this class, but I'm not 100% sure that the rec would necessarily be glowing. It would be good, but bland.</p>

<p>AP Calc - Unfortunately, got a B in the class. I still have a great relationship with the teacher though, and I think he can vouch for how hard I work at Calculus, even if I'm far from the best student in his class.</p>

<p>French V - I got an A both semesters. The teacher loves everybody, but I'm far from her best student. On one hand, she's seen me work extremely hard to improve my French and get help on improving my writing/speaking when I'm in class. On the other hand, I occasionally I forget to turn in homework or do occasional things that make me look like a "meh" student. Basically, this rec would be a wild card. It could be glowing, mediocre, or not that great. I'm not really sure. I've heard she writes good recommendations, but I don't know.</p>

<p>AP Lang - In a perfect world, I would more than likely use this teacher as my second recommendation. However, she's retiring at the end of this year, so that would make things a bit of a pain in the butt. I'm sure I could use her, but I don't really know how I would use a retired teacher. I absolutely aced her class both semesters. My writing and critical thinking skills have improved greatly throughout the duration of the class. She absolutely loves me.</p>

<p>So there you go, these are my options. Which one of these four teachers should I use for a teacher recommendation?</p>

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<p>My S got a recommendation from a teacher who was retiring at the end of his Jr. year and it worked out fine. The key is to ask her now and get very reliable contact info from her. Also maybe talk to your GC to see how they would coordinate having her submit her letter and link it to your apps. I would go with the one you know is going to write you a great rec. You can also ask nicely of the other teachers what kind of rec they think they would be able to write for you.</p>

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<p>I agree that your AP Lang teacher to be a good choice. Just make sure you have her contact information before she retired. Not only you need to send her information for writing recommendation, you should send her a thank you note afterward.
For recommenders, good picks are usually teachers from Junior (better if they have taught you previously too) from two different core subject area. Some schools request only teachers from junior/senior year while others may have the core subject requirement. A teacher that knows you for more a year can write more about you. Also, it would be good if the two recommenders can write different aspects of you, for instance, if one is also an adviser of a club that you participate. Last, you may contact more than 2 teachers. On the CommonApp, you may assign different teachers to different school application. Also, some schools accept more recommendation letters.</p>

<p>Remember, you may also need them when applying to scholarships too.</p>