<p>This seems unfair. DS is in a selective program in his school district. They’ve had 2 1/2 weeks of school. He has had the same math teacher for the first 3 years, because of the program he is in. He is applying EA with a Nov. 1st deadline. That is 6 weeks away, giving teachers ample time to write their letters for whoever requests them. This same teacher wrote letters of rec for his summer program 2 years in a row - which happens to be his first choice school and the school with the EA Nov. 1st deadline!! (although last year she was late with the letter and they actually went by the letter she wrote the previous year - not sure if they actually ever received the 2nd letter!) So, DS asks her yesterday to write him a letter, and she says “not now - I’m booked.” He needs the math teacher’s letter since he’s applying to engineering programs. She knows him very well. His new math teacher only knows him for 2 1/2 weeks. I told him to write her a very nice e-mail, detailing how important her recommendation is. I could understand if she wouldn’t be able to write him a favorable letter, but I don’t think that is the case here. Isn’t 6 weeks enough time? If not, why don’t they tell juniors to start asking for letters before summer break? Do schools accept the application with missing letters at deadline, assuming they are given the names of the teachers sending letters? Now I am concerned that the other teacher who knows him well from this program will also have a limit. It doesn’t seem fair that only the first wave of requests get letters for their EA. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>all i can do is offer sympathy,…my D asked her teachers in mid-august and she was among the last they agreed to to…it really is nuts…but its too many students vs. too few good teachers vs. a wave of applications…</p>
<p>Writing a letter is a courtesy. Your DS is not entitled to one. Tough luck, he should’ve asked earlier. Try the new teacher.</p>
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This isn’t necesarily true. It depends. At my daughters former school, students were required to ask teachers the spring before summer vacation and they all knew who was writing what. One teacher was only writing for the first 10 students who requested him through Naviance. He could’ve very well chose to by write for anyone. </p>
<p>Students need to be smarter and take the initiative regarding their education. You can’t expect a teacher to do their job, raise their kids, have a life, and then write 30 LOR. Find someone else. He waited way too late. 6 weeks isn’t ample time for someone to write a letter when they have school work and lives outside of school.</p>
<p>It’s a shame, but perhaps they will consider waiting for her letter at least a short time.</p>
<p>And yes, at my son’s school, they were told to ask end of junior year, or even email in the summer. My son has not asked yet, and is probably applying ED to one place. He is nervous about asking, but I’ve told him, just ask and find out what the answer is.</p>
<p>As someone who does recommendations, I have to say that if you gave me four weeks to do a recommendation, I’d consider that on the edge of enough warning. And if I had others to do, I might say no.</p>
<p>However, there is usually a school rule about recommendations, if he didn’t ask in time she does not have to write one.</p>
<p>PS - the other suggestion is, that she may know him very well, but she <em>would</em> fit him in if she wanted to. DO NOT push your child to get a recommendation from a certain teacher if the response is lukewarm, it could torpedo your child’s chances. One of my friends in HS pushed our math teacher to give him a recommendation, and she basically said “I don’t think I could give you a good recommendation”. And he insisted. And maybe it is coincidence, but he did not get in to any of his top choices. If someone pushed me to recommend, and I told them I’m not sure I could write a good one, but they insisted, I would write a mediocre recommendation.</p>
<p>My son has a list of five teachers possible now. I am trying to push him to contact them ASAP. There is only so much parents can do.</p>
<p>Almost all junior year teachers at my school had caps on how many recs they’d write. In addition, we were told to ask before school ended- in spring even. I remember my APUSH and English teachers had deadlines in march (or was it may- it don’t remember) and each had a cap of less than 30 students. My english teacher wrote the recs over the summer before our senior year even started. There were a couple teachers at the school who would only write 10 recs. This isn’t anything new- he asked too late. I used senior year teachers( senior tech lab director who also was my math teacher soph year and geosystems teacher), since I had a bad junior year and my APUSH teacher declined to write my rec and there was no way I’d ask my english teacher from that year. And I agree, 6 weeks is not enough time. I had my lab director write one for Nov 1 (In addition to a dec 1 and jan 1), which I asked him for the first week of school in september, so he had almost 2 months- which was really on the short side. My geosystems teacher only did a rec for dec and jan, and I asked him mid september, so he had over two months.</p>
<p>Seems like colleges using letters of recommendation are putting additional hurdles in front of first generation college students who may not be “in the loop” enough to be among the first in line to get some of the limited numbers of recommendations that teachers will write, or even realize that they are needed for some schools with enough lead time to give the teachers adequate time to write them.</p>
<p>Wow. I’m completely floored. My DD didn’t have any problem asking in September her senior year. DS was NOT told to ask during junior year. He has worked so hard to maintain his grades and everything else required. I honestly think that writing LsOR have to part of a teacher’s job if the colleges require them. How could it not? And kids aren’t just needing 1 letter, I’m sure they are asking for at least 2 and on the CA it allows up to 4. That is not fair if the STEM teachers area all being asked early for letters from kids in this school, which has selective programs for Med-Sci and Comp Sci (which DS is in), which take the brightest kids from the district. So if say 50 STEM kids ask before mine, and they are all asking multiple math and science teachers, they will cut off the number so no one else gets any letters? Otherwise, I would ask his math tutor, who is not in his district, but thinks very highly of him and thinks he’s brilliant, knows how his mind works, etc. But then the schools would be privy to his need for extra help. In fact, I had a meeting with guidance last year 3 around MP, and asked about this, since a 504 plan was being put into place due to DS’s ADHD. I was concerned that this would reflect negatively in the teacher-in-question’s letter. I was told, the teachers will write a favorable LOR and can’t discriminate about the ADHD and his 504 plan. If requests needed to be made end of junior year, Guidance should have told me then. After all, procrastination is one of the hallmarks of ADHD. </p>
<p>Find out if the teacher said no to all letters, or no for the Nov 1 deadline only.</p>
<p>I write rec letters and I don’t cap the number. I have done as many as 25 some years. Most ask in the spring of junior year and I write them over the summer. Some colleagues do cap their number but I know that they will take on an additional one if it is a student that they feel very positive about. So, I agree with the above - don’t push it with a particular teacher. If they are in any way reluctant then they probably will not be writing the kind of letter that will actually help a student in selective admissions. </p>
<p>I firmly support a teacher’s right to limit the number of rec letters he/she will write. A well-written letter takes significant time. It is not “part of a teacher’s job,” as defined by public schools at least, and teachers certainly shouldn’t have to provide as many letters as there are students who might request one.</p>
<p>OP, I think your problem is more with your child’s school than with the individual teacher. A good high school will have a timeline in place for the college search process, which should spell out for students when they ought to request letters. We weren’t especially in the loop when our first went through the admissions process, but the guidance department made clear when teachers should be approached, and issued several reminders. Mid-September IS on the late side to ask for a rec for a November 1st deadline, when one realizes that many students today apply via early decision. The teacher will have things going on in his/her life for the next 6 weeks other than writing letters for as many students as want one.</p>
<p>Finally, if the college already has on file several letters from this teacher for your child’s admission to summer programs, I don’t see why one of those letters couldn’t serve, unless it’s particularly limited. Does your high school have a copy of one of those letters that could be sent? Perhaps, if asked very nicely, the teacher might be willing simply to adapt one of the previous letters.</p>
<p>@Spender its not part of a teacher’s job. They aren’t paid for the many hours upon hours it takes to write them. They do so in their “free time” when they have other things to do, such as grade papers and write lesson plans.</p>
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<p>Spender, are you concerned about how your son will handle the engineering workload in college? Are you/he choosing a school that will provide the accommodations and learning environment he needs? I don’t see why a positive letter from a tutor would have a negative impact on the decision to admit. But there are many tales on CC each year about brilliant kids (often male) with ADHD who don’t perform well in college.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that the guidance department assured you of a positive LOR. If they mean that the 504 plan won’t be mentioned, I can understand it; but I don’t know how they can guarantee a positive rec.</p>
<p>It is a pretty common thing. That’s why my D approached the teachers by the end of Junior year. Not only the teacher may set a quota on the number of students they would write recommendation, they may set a limit on the number of recommendation per student too. Don’t underestimate the amount of work. Imagine how many students in the senior class at your son’s high school. Six weeks may seems like a lot of time to write 1 letter, but it is not if for >20 letters unless it is a generic letter for everyone.</p>
<p>Frazzled1, of course i’m concerned, but that is his focus and the schools he is applying to have many students with various learning disabilities and do provide support. And I am already looking into an ADHD coach for the ones who don’t have as much on-campus support. They are mostly small to medium STEM focused schools. We have done our homework in choosing schools. But that’s not the focus of this thread. Thank you for your relevant comments and suggestions, especially to have the same teacher tweak 2 previous L’sOR that his #1 school already has on file. </p>
<p>I certainly wouldn’t ask for a letter from the math tutor, that is not a core subject teacher, which is what colleges are generally expecting. Our school has kids ask for one letter in the spring and one in early September.</p>
<p>Now… schools know that recs come in a little late sometimes (as do transcripts). As long as the student gets their portions in on time, a kid is generally not penalized if other components are 1-2 weeks late. BUT, the ED/EA window for evaluating applications is shorter than RD, so I sure wouldn’t want it to arrive more than 2 weeks late. And if the teacher has said they won’t do it… then maybe he needs to look elsewhere. He must have 5-6 teachers in different subjects he has had over the past few years. It doesn’t HAVE to be a math teacher who writes his rec even for a STEM program.</p>
<p>OP, again, your child isn’t entitled to a letter. I know it may seem unfair, but life is unfair. Teachers are under no obligation to write a letter for anyone. They don’t get paid for it and have to take their personal time to write practically an essay. Some teachers even write as many as 50 over the summer. So in between grading work, creating lessons, and raising their family, they ahould be required to do supplemental work that is of absolutely no benefit to them? That’s not right.</p>
<p>In our large urban magnet, kids are told to ask their teachers by May of junior year, and teachers do have limits on the number they will write. An English teacher may have 100 current students, and cannot possibly write for them all. I write recs at the college level, and it takes me about an hour a letter to write a truly reflective letter. </p>
<p>I appreciate your frustration. Your S NEEDS the letters. Maybe going to the senior year teacher with a request to check in with the one who knows him better will work? </p>
<p>However,</p>
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<p>I agree. D asked two teachers early this past summer (by email, it was summer break but only just). One responded immediately and positively. The other never answered the email (which is a shame because she had two classes with him and both in her area of major interest). She didn’t push it but did wonder if he maybe didn’t get the email. So she waited until school started and ran into him…he didn’t acknowledge the request (so maybe got it, maybe didn’t, or maybe just avoided her? IDK) but did express disappointment that she had chosen a different senior course than the one that typically follows one of the ones he’d taught her. </p>
<p>I suggested she look elsewhere after that and she did, and that worked out (even in early September). </p>
<p>PS: Her HS suggests at least 3 weeks before letters are due, so that’s pretty late by most CC accounts I am reading. She only asked earlier because <em>I</em> suggested she do so, to let them use the summer if they chose.</p>
<p>The teacher may be putting a limit of LORs they are writing <em>now</em> as opposed to if they were asked in May or June. Think about it. If 50 students ask for LORs in June, the teacher has at least a couple of months to write the 50 letters. If even 25 students ask NOW in late September, he may just not have the time to write the letters between class plans, assigning and grading homework, quizzes and tests. D was advised to ask in the spring (she didn’t) but she managed to ask on the second day of school, beating the rush. I think her school also says to give about 4 weeks lead time.</p>
<p>Can he get a LOR from a science teacher? </p>