For the teacher recommendation, does it HAVE to be a teacher? or can I get it from a sports coach? My coach is also a faculty member so I'm thinking I can ask her but just to make sure..
Oh and also. I only need one recommendation right?
I applied for ED so I don't know if that makes a difference but your coach can write your letter because they are part of the faculty but make sure they talk about your character and some of your academic achievements. As for if you only need one NYU will only read one teachers letter of recommendation but don't forget you need to get one from your school guidance counselor. I personally think its dumb and that in a big school like mine my counselor really doesn't know me and I would rather have another teacher write about me because it would be more passionate and personal! Last time I checked that was the point of letters of rec!
@lovesylvia - This is what the official NYU Admissions Forum says:
"The committee would prefer to read a recommendation from a teacher of an academic subject and from a class that you've already completed since those letters have the most relevant information concerning your academic performance and qualities as a student.
Unfortunately, we can not read extra letters of recommendation."
1) So they will only read ONE recommendation letter from a teacher and one from the counselor? What if I want to send them like an additional recommendation from my summer job employer?
2) How do I choose which teacher's rec to use? Two teachers have already completed my letters of recommendation for me. Do I need to specifically tell one of them to send it to NYU, or will my counselor sort it all out (ie. send it for them).
3) When is the deadline for them to receive my recommendation letters? Can I submit my application first, and then send them my transcripts and rec letters like a few days after the application deadline? Or do I have to send them before the deadline?
1. if you send additional recommendations, they will be ignored.
2. talk to your counselor & decide which one you want to have sent. maybe whichever teacher you feel knows you better, or you've had longer, or is in a more core subject, etc.
3. EVERYTHING must be sent before the deadline.
honestly if I were you I would get a letter from a teacher I have had, i wouldn't chance it. And the whole sending things in later is a BAD idea. They want things postmarked by the deadline or it will not be excepted!
When I toured NYU, the head of admissions said that they will look at ONE extra rec if you really, really want them to. But you still need to have an academic teacher (preferably from junior year) write a rec.
So if I were you, I'd submit three recs:
1 from an academic teacher
1 from your coach
1 from your counselor
The extra one... and I doubt they'll know which one of mine to consider the "extra" one, I didn't specify... is from my current Holocaust Studies teacher. I've impressed her with my knowledge of World History ( a subject that is only taken Freshman year at my school), recent and current genocide prevention, world affairs, and the like. I constantly answer the questions she poses in class; she gives me her lessons plans to see if they're good and hands me related articles and book excerpts on the subject because she thinks I'd enjoy them (which I do).Thing is... the class is a one-semester, senior year elective. Everyone who bothers ends up with an A or an A+ anyway.
I worry NYU will just think I’m trying to milk everything I can by sending an extra rec from an elective teacher.
I'm not applying to NYU via the CommonApp, but via their website / Embark application which doesn't mention recommendations.
My guidance counselor had all three recs on file and I asked her to send all three. I'm assuming she did just that: sent them all to NYU. What I don't know is how she sent them... 3 in 3 envelops or 3 in 2 envelopes? I'm assuming if it's the former, NYU will just ignore the last one that gets to them. Bit risky on my part.
It seems like you should at least make sure they get what they ask for... one rec from counselor, one from teacher (preferably from junior year).
The deadline is January 1. Do you have the teacher recommendation in electronic form (a pdf file)? If not, this is what I would do if I were you. Go to Staples or Kinko's and have them scan the letter and make it a pdf.
Send an e-mail to the NYU Admissions office with the pdf attached. Explain the situation and ask if they will please consider this letter as your primary teacher recommendation.
Make sure your e-mail has your name, address, date of birth, e-mail address you've supplied with your app - so if they agree to add the letter to your file, they will be able to match it.
