Yale Recommendation Letter Advice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

Okay, guys, I’m very conflicted about which letters of rec I should submit for Yale, so please help me out (thank you in advance)! By the way, I’m looking to major in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (combined degree) and/or International Relations.

So here are my 5 options:

CORE TEACHERS:

  1. AP English Language Teacher

Pros: Doctorate, Renowned teacher of the year (many awards), Standford PhD
-junior year core teacher
-know me well and likes me as a student
-thinks I am a very hardworking student, talented writer, and orator

  • I always received top grades in her class- top grade of final portfolios
  • known for writing very good rec letters

Cons/concerns:
-didn’t know me too well in as a person, extracurricular wise
-don’t think she saw me as a leader too much
-everyone applying to Yale will be a good student- too general?

  1. HELA 10, AP English Lit Teacher

Pros: Very into international relations, diversity- what I’m into, have bonded a lot over that
-thinks of me highly as a student- (although haven’t had a chance to show as strong academics to #2 as I did to #1)
-knows me very personally- knows my life story haha
-likes me a lot- known as one of her “favorites” (she is known for her extreme favoritism:( )
-vice president of NEHS with her, in a few of her clubs

Cons/concerns:

  • I not really sure if there are any significant ones, but maybe she doesn’t think of me as strong of a student as teacher #1 thought of me to be?
  1. AP Human Geography:

Pros: a social sciences rec for my social sciences heavy major
-thinks I’m a good student
-began and currently, sec-gen of MUN club with him worked heavily together on that

Cons/ concerns:

  • Only known since end of junior year, beginning of senior year- not enough time
  • don’t know if he thinks of me as an incredibly strong student yet- not sure
  • doesn’t know me too well bc of the short time of knowing each other- knows me a bit but not completely

MORE SUPPLEMENTAL LETTER TYPES:

  1. Gifted Teacher/ Academic Advisor

Pros:
-loves me- knows all about me personally, academically
-advised me so really knows about my aspirations and such
-began academic club with her- founder and captain

Cons/ concerns:
-not officially part of the school’s gifted program- impact at all?

  • not core teacher- hasn’t had me in a classroom setting
    -retired last year- idk if that even should be a concern?
  1. Intern coordinator

Pros:

  • love me- knows about my personality, aspirations
  • the executive director of a non-profit I interned at
  • began a program for high schoolers with her- leadership, giving back to comm
  • great rec- I’ve seen it

Cons/ concerns: none

So my main conflictions are
-do I just send all 5 as rec

  • do I send four and choose between #1, #2, #3?
  • who do I choose between the three teachers
  • should I even submit #4?

Please let me know what your advise is, I really appreciate anything you say that could help me!

2

Asking if you send all 5 just shows you haven’t read Yale’s info well enough. That’s a big problem, as tippy top colleges like kids who can take the reins and become informed, find the basics.

Google Yale letters of recommendation.

3

I have read Yale’s info thoroughly and am aware that they say on numerous occasions that most successful applicants don’t submit anything supplemental, so I was asking for advice on which ones to submit. Me asking if I should submit all 5 was me basically asking if all 5 were different enough for me to forgo Yale’s preferences and submit all of them.

Thank you for your response regardless!

4

They tell flat out what they want. No reason not to google for it.

5

I am aware, I have told you I am aware, I have googled it before, I want people’s opinions regardless, stop commenting the same things when I have already told you my reasoning, thank you.

6

They don’t encourage supplemental letters. They want classroom teachers. You read that? So you can drop #4 and 5 right there.

One of the things about tippy tops is how one processes what they do learn. You “forego Yale’s preferences” at great risk. You never want an adcom questioning your judgment.

7

Do NOT send all five. Send what is being asked for and nothing more. Remember that the adcoms are literally reading thousands and thousands of application. If you dilute your application by sending extra recommendations, it takes attention away from the rest of your application which is more important.

In terms of teacher recommendations, I would ask your AP language teacher. If you need a second teacher rec, #3 since that teacher knows you outside of class as well as in the class. I don’t love using teachers from 9th or 10th grade because so much growing happens over even one yer in HS.

8

Their website is pretty clear about what they want: 2 teachers, from core subjects, from 11th or 12th grade plus your school counselor. Personally, I would NOT ask two teachers from the same subject area because you need to show breadth. Expanding on that, our school says one from a humanities discipline and one from STEM.

One other thing: you asked a question and people answered. Tippy top schools expect you to research and use your judgement. If you are unsure, you can ask someone you know or on in an anonymous forum but don’t get snippy if you don’t like the answers you get. There are really smart people here who give good advice and inspire discussion.

9

I read that as well, and I asked an admissions officer for her opinions and she said that if a letter is strong and shows a different side of an applicant, to go ahead and send a supplemental in.

My main question is choosing between the core teachers, thanks.

10

You are missing the point. They want recommendations from two HS academic subject teachers of courses preferably taken during junior year, different subjects and full year classes.

It doesn’t matter whether the teacher has a Phd, or what awards the teacher has won, what matters is how well the teacher knows you, and how enthusiastic they are about recommending you to Yale.

A useful - defined as increasing your chance of acceptance - supplemental recommendation is one that provides substantial insight into something remarkable that you’ve done.

That isn’t something like “Sam was a really nice intern, exceptionally polite and got along with everyone…”

Examples of useful supplementary letters:

A recommendation from a well known college professor who’s grad level course you excelled in. - Nothing is better at demonstrating you can excel at a top level college.

A recommendation from your research mentor (and an abstract of your preferably award winning and/or published research).

A recommendation from an internship or work supervisor describing how you performed at a level far beyond that expected of any HS student.

A recommendation from a top level summer program (RSI, TASP, etc.)