Core Academic Subject - accepted definition?

Interesting. What would you all think of a journalism teacher if my D wants to get into a journalism or communications department? She was thinking one science and one journalism? She was originally thinking of English plus one other, but I think English and journalism might be too close? Is that academic enough?

@ninakatarina - that is SO interesting - the section you found listed the subjects…

However this is the secion I found on the Yale site:

Solicit recommendations from teachers who have taught you in core academic subjects, who know you well, and who have seen you at your best. It is also preferable, but not required, that letters come from teachers who have taught you during your junior or senior year of high school. Through experience, admissions officers have found that letters from junior or senior year teachers are the most illuminating. Yale does not encourage supplemental letters of recommendation.

Thanks!

I don’t think asking your Spanish 2 teacher would help much, but level 4 and AP classes tend to be small, so the teacher really knows you as one among 18 kids, v. one among 26 or 34 x four sections - and has likely more time to write something really personal.
As for Drama, and OPs question, the only way to know is to say that she’s taking Drama at HL level and the teacher knows her better than in the other HL class she could ask, would that count as a core recommendation due to the HL or would that count as supplementary only?

I think the point is if the kid is applying for anything BUT theater, the drama teacher’s reference is pointless. IB kids have 6 subjects.

^no, a recommendation by a teacher who knows a kid very well and can write a personal letter is much more useful to adcoms than a letter from a teacher who can’t write more than a few sentences, even if that teacher is in a core class.
However the other recommendation letter (s) should be from at least one other HL and should include at least one of the core subjects (English, Math, Foreign Language, Science, Social Science). It may be a case where submitting three letters will be necessary. If the student is applying ED/REA/SCEA anywhere it should be cleared ASAP and all three teachers “invited” to commonapp to prevent any issue.

Colleges have specific rules. Read and follow them. Yale’s policy is actually in the liberal camp because you can submit LORs from any 2 teachers in core subjects. Some colleges specifically require one LOR from a science or math teacher and another LOR from an English or social studies teacher. Some specifically say it must be a junior year teacher. Others say preferred.

So, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and follow them for the colleges to which you submit applications.

@jonri - I am quite capable of READING THE INSTRUCTIONS. However, the main page for Yale simply said “core academic subjects” without a definition. It was a different FAQ page that included the definition (thanks to the poster who located that info.)