I have two rec letters, one fully completed from my AP Lang teacher and another from my AP Chem teacher. My AP Chem teacher is basically having me write the whole thing myself so she can submit it on her end, but I have no idea where to start.
I’m a decent writer, but I’m better at analytical writing than anything descriptive or personal. I have no clue how to structure a rec letter tbh. Admissions officers will also be getting my activity descriptions, Common App essay, and any supplementals, so I’m worried that alongside the rest of my application, the fact that I have a very distinct writing voice will give away that my teacher didn’t write the letter for me.
I wouldn’t worry about what you’re worried about. Rather I would find a new teacher. This isn’t appropriate.
That said I’ve been through most your list - UVA, Oberlin, UMD, UVA, W&M and Georgetown and you don’t need two teachers. Just one and a counselor at all.
So problem solved. Get one. Be done. No need to overcomplicate.
Agreed. No teacher should ask you to do this. Aside from the ethical problems here, the letter’s voice and tone will not be authentic if you write it, as you have already pointed out – it needs to come from a teacher who knows how to evaluate a student. Most apps will only require a counselor’s letter and one teacher rec, anyway, but if you will need two teacher recs, find another teacher.
If you absolutely must utilize a recommendation from your AP Chem teacher, see if she will accept a brag sheet from you, a completed student questionnaire form, to save her some time. Your teacher should be the original writer of the recommendation. Else, as others have already suggested, seek out an alternate.
This is a good idea and pretty standard practice. It should make things easier for any recommender. If that’s not acceptable to the chem teacher, then you need to find someone else.
Boy, I don’t agree with any of the advice so far (which is a first in my 20ish years on CC).
If a teacher/advisor/employer asks you to draft your own letter - btw obviously she’ll edit it to her own voice before sending - then ask your mom or a close friend or even a tutor to work with you on the letter. The biggest mistake you’re likely to make is to be not generous enough to yourself in the letter.
Start with your brag sheet and introduce it with how you know your teacher and what she means to you in your relationship (but ideally from her perspective). Arrange sensible paragraphs based on your brag sheet, and try to align what’s great about you with what the college says it’s looking for.
I do not at all think you should dump this teacher’s rec. However - I suppose it’s possible that you should save her for the event that you are deferred from your EA/ED school(s) and then you’ll want a lot of say in your continuation letter, matching closely to the school’s needs and stated desires.
This would not be allowed at schools in my district, and certainly would not be allowed at any company I have ever worked for.
The rules in my district are pretty straightforward- students can submit a brag sheet. Students can submit a graded paper (to jog the teacher’s memory). Students can meet with a teacher to describe out-of-school activities, job, etc. that the teacher would not be aware of since they didn’t take place on the HS campus. Students can ask a guidance counselor to handle a sensitive issue around absences, medical/health questions, etc. and may ask a teacher to reference that “if appropriate”.
Teachers may NOT ask a student to write a draft, edit a teacher’s letter, or otherwise interfere with what is expected to be an honest and candid assessment of the student.
It’s not clear what the process is. Will the teacher simply sign the student-drafted letter or will they edit and amend based on their knowledge of the student? There’s a big difference!
While I have never asked anyone to write their own letter of recommendation (as an employer, usually for an MBA program), I have asked what they would like me to emphasize.
It could make sense for the OP to ask the teacher how the student draft will be used before deciding what to do next.
This could be a hint that the teacher doesn’t really want to write a letter for you. Whatever you write will end up sounding very cliche and lack unique/personal observations that only the teacher can write. It may still work out and it’s certainly better than an AI-written letter or no recommendation letter at all.
Except those are not the alternatives. Assuming the other LOR is a good one, submitting something cliched and lackluster could conceivably cancel out the good LOR. (I have heard admissions officers talk about cases like this.) If indeed only one is needed, I agree that the student should stick to the one that is being done properly and drop the chem one. Both my students also applied to schools where only one LOR was required, only submitted one and got into everywhere they wanted to.