I am in a bit of a pickle Recommendation Letter-wise. I have my humanities recommenders down, but I need a STEM recommender. This is a undoubtedly ironic situation given that I am a STEM student, but hopefully I can explain this well enough. The college referenced here is UM
9th Grade Calculus BC: I was the average smart but lazy student, amplified by pandemic sloth. She does not like me.
9th Grade AP Chem: I mean I was alright. Just Alright. Was the best student in the class though.
10th Grade AP Stats: There was like 50 people in this class. Don’t think he knows me very well.
11th Grade OChem: Lecture hall itself was 200+ people. I sat in the front row and built rapport with the prof but she doesn’t know me super well. I did know the Honors lecturer very well however (unfortunately only a grad student)
As you can see, I don’t have exactly the ideal options here. My research PI knows me extremely well and I have no doubt that he will write an extremely good rec letter but he has not taught me in class before (something MIT explicitly states to be important)
However, I do have the option to take my lab PI for the last two summer’s 300~ level class first semester senior year, therefore making him both a teacher who has taught me in a classroom setting and a PI who knows me extremely well. Will this be accepted by AOs or will it be still viewed to be worse?
Since you took Cal BC in 9th grade, it’s reasonable that you don’t have very close relationship with your high school math teachers. I don’t think this would be held against you.
I wish I was joking but I couldn’t take a science in 10th grade due to scheduling difficulties (and low priority for APs since underclassman) . 11th grade math was at a CC and only for a semester.
OK, then I’d say your OChem prof sounds find. Not everyone has the opportunity to develop close personal relationships with their recommenders, but it sounds like that would be a relevant and favorable recommendation.
Generally speaking our feederish HS recommended two normal classroom teachers, and then if you had a good relationship with a lab supervisor or such, that could be a third optional recommendation.
This makes sense because the college’s faculty are typically important stakeholders in the admissions process, and they want to know if you will be the sort of student they will enjoy having in their undergrad classes. Of course if you might work in their labs, that is ALSO potentially important, but that is not the same question.