<p>Whoo, another one of these! Hope you guys can help me make a choice ><</p>
<p>Choice 1: Junior year English teacher: An awesome guy. My 2nd favorite teacher of all time (1st I'm already asking for another rec), he's wry, sardonic, and definitely liked me. I got high marks in his class and a 5 on the AP test. I've taught lessons in his class (he's a soccer coach and I had him last period; sometimes he would need to go to a game early. A few times over the year, he didn't have any knowledgeable substitutes, so he'd type up some basic instructions and leave it to me instead). I know that he'd be able to create a well-written recommendation, but he is a very popular choice for recommendations. I'm not sure if he would be overloaded and make a generic rec or not. </p>
<p>Choice 2: Freshman year SS teacher/Senior year SS teacher/Mock Trial Coach/New Forensics Coach: A wry and sardonic teacher (this is a common pattern in my school), I know she views me well, but I have no idea whether she actually likes me or not. I have acted like an idiot in her freshman class, but I've also shown myself to be extremely dedicated and hardworking in Mock Trial (created with her; in our 4th year now). I got a good grade in her class as well, and this year's class should be no different. I don't think that many people will ask her for recommendations because she doesn't teach many juniors or sophomores, but I also don't know whether she likes me enough to write a superb recommendation, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>I'm long-winded. Sorry =/</p>
<p>Help!</p>
<p>It looks to me like you've got two good choices.</p>
<p>But first questions first- who's the person writing your 1st letter in terms of what class they are.
And second- what are you declaring as your major (or if undeclared, what school; humanities vs. sciences, that kind of thing).</p>
<p>The person writing my first letter may just be the greatest teacher on the face of the earth. He was my junior year physics teacher and is my current AP Physics teacher. I came into his class a month late (my school messed up my schedule and I ended up in chemistry by accident) hearing rumors of his passion. He's a young guy who went to Rutgers instead of UBerkeley because of money issues. His teaching method is exuberant; his philosophy is to always go full throttle no matter the challenge. He was a tough teacher, sure, but I learned in that class. I was one of the 4 regular physics kids out of around 60 or so that he chose to go to AP Physics (everyone else in our class is from honors). I feel that there was that mythic teacher-student bond, because I found myself working hard in his class just for the sake of it, and he rewarded it with a strong grade and a very favorable attitude. I'm pretty sure that few people will ask him for a recommendation because many people didn't or couldn't keep up with him in his class--he taught as if we had the ability to learn, basically. He's a really intelligent, cool guy, basically. </p>
<p>I don't have a definite major set out just yet; I am definitely pursuing a law/politics-related career (Asian in government? Gasp.), and I'm shooting for the best schools possible.</p>
<p>Note: Sorry that my answer to your first question was so long, but any description of the man must be given such length to adequately respect him.</p>
<p>No need to apologize.</p>
<p>After hearing that your first was a science teacher, my gut says to go with the english teacher (not anything against the ss teacher).
Personally, my two letter writers are physics and eng. teachers as well...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm not sure if he would be overloaded and make a generic rec or not.
[/quote]
If you're english teacher trusted/liked you enough to 'put you to work' whenever he left early, I've got the feeling that he wouldn't write a generic letter for you at all.</p>
<p>Note: this is also heavily biased in that you mentioned a hesitation on teacher number 2.</p>
<p>The only problem that I have with the English teacher is that I've seen at least 2 of my classmates ask him for recommendations already. Also, he's a tall athletic smart man, so every girl in his classes falls in love with him and will come up with any excuse possible to talk with him (my friend still can't look him in the eye =/). I just worry that he won't be able to give my rec the attention that it needs because he's REALLY popular.</p>
<p>^who cares if girls hit him or people ask him for recs? How do you know that their recs are goign to be the same as yours?</p>
<p>It's just a concern that he might have so many recommendations to do that he'll have to ration out time for each one. It doesn't help that I want to apply EA to a school as well.</p>
<p>BUMP (I need to make a decision, preferably by the end of this week)</p>