Nacksen

OK, I think this question has been asked a few times before but I haven't found anything that satisfies me yet.

I'll be honest and say that MIT isn't my first choice school, so I haven't looked at the application closely yet. I applied ED to another good engineering school and I have all of that done, so I'm starting to work on my other colleges now. I've already asked my biology teacher/science olympiad coach and my programming teacher for recommendation letters and they've finished those and mailed them in to my ED school and are currently waiting for me to tell them where else they should send a copy of their recommendations.

So this weekend I was looking at the MIT application and it says that I need a recommendation from a math/science teacher and an English/history teacher. I already have two excellent recommendations from two math/science teachers, and I'm afraid none of my English/history teachers know me NEARLY as well as my science/math teachers do. In fact, I'd be surprised if they could write anything more than "He is smart and he does his homework, but he is quiet."

I have three options:
1) Ignore Eval B and submit two Eval A's, one from my bio teacher and one from my programming teacher
2) Give Eval A to one of my math/sci teachers, give Eval B to the other math/sci teacher
3) Find an English/history and ask them to fill out Eval B (which I am really reluctant to do since most of them already have 100+ recommendations for students who asked them for one last year...)

I've read posts where any of the three options have been suggested depending on the person's situation. So my question is, what should I do? If there is anything I can do that doesn't require approaching an English/history teacher, I'll be very grateful.

Thanks,
Nacksen

abhim89

I dont think there's anyway out of the humanity teacher recommendation requirement.... sorry. I give you a fourth option:

4. 1 eval B from an humanities teacher and 2 eval A's from the bio/programming teachers. Only do this if you really really think that the bio and programming teachers' recommendations will turn out much better than your english/history eval B, because your sending 3 in total.

Olo

Ignoring a part of the application is generally NEVER a smart thing to do. Sure, MIT is a math/science course, but the heaviest general institute requirements center around humanities, arts, and social sciences. To leave out something indicative of your activities in these areas will not bode well for your application.

I would go with abhim89's advice and submit both A and B with a supplementary third evaluation. Only do so, however, if you feel that your biology and programming teachers will provide unique perspectives...

But definitely, definitely, do not simply ignore a part of the application.

mathmom

Remember though that it doesn't have to just be English or History, maybe you took something else that falls under the humanities/social science rubric. Economics? Government? Art? Language?

Absolutely don't ignore the request. I'm sure you aren't the only one who feels that you wish you could just have two science teachers. My son asked his Latin teacher to do his. While she can't talk alot about his insightful papers - he's had her 3 out of 4 years and had excellent grades with her - and with only five seniors taking AP Latin - how many letters is she going to have to write?

texas137

I agree with everyone else - you can submit 2 math/science recs, but one will be an extra. You still have to have a humanities/social science one. It is exactly the same as schools that specify what kinds of SAT II tests they require. You are not the only applicant to MIT with stronger math/science recs than humanities ones. And you are not the only applicant submitting recs from teachers who may not know the student very well. The ad coms can work with that. But blowing off the instructions entirely is a bad idea. Where else are you applying? It is unlikely that MIT is the only school on your list that wants a humanities/SS rec.

benjones

Yeah, you definitely don't want to ignore Eval B. :-)

Mombot

Why do you want to apply at all then? If it isn't your first choice and if you are lukewarm about even the application then maybe that's a couple of clues that you would be happier elsewhere. There are a lot of really good engineering schools who don't care as much about humanities and social science as a place like MIT. It's not like there's a huge surplus of programmer/engineers out there; likely your degree will be just as marketable from a school that's a better fit.