<p>Basically, my numbers are pretty good (~2300 SAT I, high SAT IIs, high rank, 4.0, etc) and my extracurriculars are ok (200 hours volunteering with disabled people, tons of research, a few awards), but what’s freaking me out is the fact all of my teachers either have no clue I exist, or hate me and I keep hearing how important their recs are.</p>
<p>I tend to not participate much in class, and just zone out most of the time (except when I fall asleep, which surely doesn’t engender me much love), which results in teachers who don’t really know or care about me. There are a few classes I do participate in, but I’m fairly confident each of their teachers despise me. My assurance arises from both direct confirmation of this fact (though couched in somewhat tactful language) as well as more oblique indications. The end result is I really don’t have anyone to give me a good or even passable teacher rec.</p>
<p>What I feel is my only saving grace is the fact that my research mentor will write me a very glowing reccomendation, but I’m not sure this’ll make up for the lackluster ones from my teachers.</p>
<p>So, will it? Should I just give up dreams of Stanford or MIT? Or should I maybe make a desperate attempt at creating a good rapport with a select few teachers in this last semester (I’m a junior)? (Note: most of my classes are lecture style with ~60-200 kids, making this last option more difficult than it seems)</p>
<p>I don’t know about your school, but at mine, when schools require a counselor recommendation, our counselors (atleast mine) have pre-made letters they write. they replace the name and some information about the student that the students provide them and call it a letter. i know i rarely ever go to my counselor (mainly because he doesnt help at all or know anything) and when i needed a letter, he asks me to fill out a form about myself and writes a letter according to that.</p>
<p>with my teachers, they pretty much do the same. i usually ask my teacher that i am closest with to write me a letter. but other teachers i talk to, they have pre-made letters too that they just edit. </p>
<p>so, even if your teachers dont know you that well, tell them ‘hey, i need a letter of rec please. if you need any information about me, just ask’ and usually teachers will praise you in their letters if they don’t know you that well. i mean, your grades and scores are outstanding, and i’m pretty sure a teacher will write great things about you, even if they don’t know you that well. i remember i had my math teacher write me a rec for an internship and i was doing horrible in her class. but she still wrote good thins about me. teachers want to see you succeed, so they will write good things about you. is the stuff true? well, not all of it, but how would they ever know? </p>
<p>p.s. since you’re a junior, use the rest of this year and the beginning of next to get to know a teacher.</p>
<p>you should definitely try to get to know at least two teachers really well. if your teachers write generalized rec letters, they’re not going to help you stand out among the thousands of other stellar applicants. the reason why colleges ask for so many rec letters is to further confirm your character, work ethics, personality etc in addition to an interview. If the rec letter from your research prof is absolutely glowing, but the rec letters from your teachers show the opposite, it shows that you’re not very good at working/getting along with other people and perhaps raise suspicions that you got connected to your prof by a relative or something (worst case). i think it’s best to show consistency. </p>
<p>not all teachers will lie and praise you if you don’t deserve it. of course some may but that’s their perogative. if you don’t know them they might not say anything bad, but it’ll just be like “good student, smart, works hard, etc”…boring. colleges want someone special. </p>
<p>even with 60-200 size classes, it’s definitely possible to get to know teachers. how do college students get recs from their professors? ask questions, participate, and have a good attitude. try not to sleep in class :P</p>
<p>that’s just my opinion. take it or leave it. good luck!</p>
<p>Yes, you are in trouble. While many colleges don’t care about recommendations, the very top colleges do. They want students who’ll take full advantage of their learning opportunities, not sleep in class or not bother engaging with teachers. Since the top colleges have an overabundance of high stat applicants, they aren’t going to be so impressed by your high grades and scores that they admit you despite your appearing to not value what goes on in classrooms.</p>
<p>Consequently, either change your behavior or aspire to some different types of colleges.</p>
<p>Also, are you sure you want to go to college? My older S’s is a very smart guy whose view of teachers is similar to yours. He dropped out of college after one one year and continues to pursue his education totally independently, doing much more reading and research than most college students do. He seems to think that formal education is a waste of time, but he loves learning for its own sake.</p>
<p>Lots of participation + bad scores = teachers like you
No participation and sleeping + great scores = teachers hate you
No participation and sleeping + bad scores = teachers dont care about you
Lots of participation + great scores = teachers LOVE you</p>
<p>I had that kind of situation (no participation and good scores) in calc class. In tests, I kept getting the highest in the class but I hardly ever listened to the teacher, did other class work and slept through most of the classes. Basically, the class didn’t challenge me at all - I asked no questions, I didn’t make an effort to engage in though-provoking math discussions with the teacher and yeah… I’m pretty sure my calc teacher despised me. But I didn’t really mind because I had a great relationship with my other teachers, especially bio (very discussion-y).</p>
<p>If your classes have 60-200 students in them, you should really go to your teachers AFTER class (if they’re not in a hurry) and ask some interesting questions or just ask basic questions like, “when’s our next test?” if they seem to be on a hurry. But dont ask DUMB questions like, “what is an atom?” because they’ll get frustrated…</p>
<p>A lot of kids have your attitude, and it’s not pretty. You’ve described someone who is very intelligent, but not smart enough to figure out that other people are important. Put yourself in your teachers’ shoes for one minute. What kind of rec would you write for a kid who sleeps through lectures instead of taking his place as an intellectual leader?</p>
<p>The variable in your recommendation equation is your behavior. It can start to change now, or you can continue the way you are and keep getting negative consequences until you finally wake up.</p>
<p>If you do want to change, start by offering to tutor or assist with a teacher’s class in some way. BE HUMBLE, even if it kills you. Do a good job - doing a lousy job is worse than doing nothing. By the end of the year, you should be able to ask, “Would you be able to write a strong letter of recommendation for me to College X?” and get the reply you want.</p>
<p>Do you have a subject that you truly like? Some people, though uninterested in most subjects, are very excited and knowledgeable in others. Teachers can see that even if you think they hate you. Also some teachers, though they know that you are a very inattentive student, may give you a good recommendation just because they feel sorry that you can’t get one from anyone else.</p>
<p>Listen up on that BE HUMBLE advice. Being humble and personable with some social skills will take you a lot farther in life than sheer intellect. Along the line, you are going to have bosses who are dumber than you, deal with government officials who are dumber than you and on and on. If you can’t develop some skill in dealing with people you are not going to enjoy life no matter who smart you are.</p>
<p>if you don’t like your teachers this year, try to build solid relationships w/ your senior year teachers. stanford requires recommendations from your counselor and two academic teachers… your research mentor isn’t your teacher… </p>
<p>recommendations can make a big difference. i mean, a lot of kids have good SAT scores and gpa at elite institutions… recommendations are one of few tools to differentiate you from those black-and-white scores/statistics</p>
<p>thats odd.
hasnt anyone heard of sucking up to a teacher??
seriously.
or at least engaging in a nice conversation with your coach?
am i wierd or something because i thought being sociable was a big part of being successful
not just being book smart</p>
<p>I think alot of the people covered it here…If u have absolutely no teachers u like, then u might have 2 push it for senior year (altho i wouldnt recommend that). There’s still time 2 turn things around</p>
<p>Aren’t teachers…the ones being paid… supposed to be guiding the class? Class - as in a group of students? Isn’t the teacher supposed to be helping each student out, academically and also developing each one’s character?</p>
<p>We are students, as in kids/teens. They are the adults, they are getting paid. And it seems like many don’t do their job. A student should be encouraged to learn, and many teachers are really boring or to put it bluntly…should be teaching gym (ala annie hall.) If you the student isn’t interested in the subject - the teacher can just ignore you? If you the student isn’t learning anything from this teacher - the teacher can just ignore you?</p>
<p>This is not about being more sociable - the teacher is the anti-social here. Maybe I should say anti-helping. Teachers who don’t involve all students or don’t try to be friendly with all just shouldn’t be teaching, let alone be around teens. All they are doing is simply showing up and writing things on the board.</p>
<p>Teachers who rely on students who are talkative and ask questions, and penalize others who don’t participate as much should teach gym. There is some sort of masochistic-mind set if a person who does that calls himself a teacher.</p>
<p>And about ‘creating the appearance of caring’…what a great way to teach kids to subjugate themselves…to be fake and not be who they really are. GJ.</p>
<p>I’ve run into too many teachers who are like this…it truly boggles me as to how these people can go on with their daily lives while basically ignoring their job, their morals. </p>
<p>But to the OP…you’re in trouble. You may have to submit yourself to being a phony for a while to get a rec. You could also try to ask a teacher who you know is friendly and a good person…or ask a teacher with a lazy reputation, and find out how this teacher does their recommendations, such as by using the same letter for every student but substituting the names.</p>
<p>SpecialAgentPunk; in an ideal world it would be as you describe but unfortunately the reality of life is that there are people in all walks of life who should not be doing the job they are doing. Just as there are true professionals, there are many who are unqualified, clueless or inefficient. Not everyone can teach but it seems that everyone is. The trick is to work with it or move on…not so easy to do when you are a student…at least the moving on part. Being sociable and participating in class is not really asking someone to be fake…you should be sociable and participate in life, whatever you are doing.</p>
<p>If a teacher is being honest in that they don’t know you well enough to write your recommendation, get another teacher to do it for you. If you can’t find anyone to write it for you, I seriously feel sorry for you, especially since you’re such a bright student. I would think that if you’re a bright student that you would participate more in classes. I don’t mean ‘fake-participating’ in asking questions when you don’t need to… but find something interesting in the class and make it your own. I hated Chemistry until we reached a unit that I really liked and participated a lot. If you can’t find anything you like, maybe you’re not the kind of student those top universities want.</p>
<p>Sorry if this offends you. I don’t mean to be mean, I’m surrounded with a lot of lazy, boring students that never participate, and it bothers me to no end. I’m not saying that you are like them, but if your teachers don’t know you or hate you … ? That’s questionable.</p>
<p>I read this string since my kid was invisible in school, despite being a varsity athlete, volunteering 300+ hours in a hospital, clubs (apparently always in the back of the room), and usually being in the top five in classwork. There are teachers who don’t know this kid’s name after an entire year in their classes. Never got in trouble, and also never got any recognition of any kind. The guidance counselor spent this kid’s college planning appointment talking about a sibling. When it was time to do college apps, this kid couldn’t think of a single teacher to ask.</p>
<p>My kid ended up asking a new math teacher, who actually was new/green enough to be pleased to be asked. My kid then gave the teacher a resume of activities through high school and some personal information, since the teacher didn’t really know my kid. The teacher was nice enough to build all of the info into a pretty good rec. The second rec was done by a friend’s parent instead of a second teacher. This parent had known my kid for 10+ years (and happened to be a well-known child psychologist, who wrote such a good rec that one of the schools wrote him back to thank him for the assessment!). Thank heavens, my kid got in everywhere …but we’re not talking MIT either. It was a real wake-up call for my kid to realize that 3 years in h.s. had only resulted in invisibility. </p>
<p>I think you got really good advice about working on interpersonal skills and getting to know your teachers, even at this date. Even if it’s too late for H.S., you’ll face the same issue in college and then possibly in grad school. You don’t want to be posting the same question here when you’re applying for internships, research opps or grad schools! Develop relationships with teachers/supervisors and figure out how to leave people with a positive impression. This should be as important to you as your grades – it’s just as necessary. (When interviewing, I’d rather hire someone who has a positive personality and will be a team player than someone who is brilliant but in his/her own world.) I suggest working on it every day – give yourself homework to say hi to your teachers, stay awake in class, share some personal info with them as appropriate, ask a teacher which school they think might be better for you, etc. You’re learning a new life skill, and it may feel artificial or be a pain at times. Eventually this will have a payoff, whether socially, in a career or when you need your next references.</p>