Hi all. I was talking with a BTDT mom friend the other day and she passed along these tips re. letters of recommendation (Keep in mind Elizabeth is a junior)
1) Most importantly, ask in person.
2) Ask teachers now what timing they prefer for a formal request.
3) AP teachers would be the top choice to ask with other core subject teachers being a close 2nd.
4) Teachers of an elective that your chid is passionate about (possibly studying in college) would be 3rd choice.
5) Have a resume/highlight sheet ready to provide.
I agree with a lot of these. I think it is also important that the student and the teacher have some kind of relationship. I've had kids before who never talk to a teacher and then ask for a LOR and the teacher has no idea what to write. You want someone who will be able to speak both factually and anecdotally in their letter.
I would also check with the school counseling office about their system for teacher recs. Many have them submit through Naviance or another platform and have an internal system for deadlines, etc.
Something else to think about, if a student plans to declare their interest in a major as opposed to applying exploratory, undecided at least one of those letters should align with that major. I.e if a student is saying they are interested in their app in pursuing a biology major they should have at least one letter from a science teacher, etc. Sounds common sense but you would be surprised at the amount of crazy letter recs I've seen.
Also worth asking the school how they do their counselor letters and if that needs to be requested. Not all schools will submit one automatically.
We created a resume for Nate, along with a write up on why he wanted to attend the program he was asking for the LOR. He also wrote a letter to the teacher he was requesting from along with the format the LOR needed to be send via. (Many were needed in different formats for the nominations & service academies). He then went in person to ask and then gave them the packet of info.
For the regular colleges on the common app the school uses SCOIR. All students have to fill out a prebuilt survey and request LORs through SCOIR or teachers are not supposed to create the LORs.
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Jordan & Matt ~ 7.24.04 ~ Nathan Dominic ~ 3.7.06 ~ Jack Sidney ~ 8.19.09
Thanks, Kaara and Jordan, this is also great info! I have NO idea how guidance works at E's school - she rarely sees/talks to her counselor. Maybe they start doing more in the 2nd half of junior year? Elizabeth already has a CV put together (for NHS application) and has a great relationship with her APES teacher (also had her for Chemistry last year).
