I’m homeschooled for junior year. I go back to public school for senior year but to a school I don’t know the teachers in. So how am I supposed to get college recommendation letters from teachers that don’t know me well. The only teacher in the world who knows me at best was my 10th grade dance teacher. Keep in mind my school was pretty big, had 3,000 kid with about 35 in each class except the electives due to not everyone liking the same thing. So I mainly only got to know my elective teachers. I honestly have no idea what to do.
It honestly depends on the school you are applying to and what they want. I would call or email the schools you are applying to and explain your situation and see what they say. I never changed schools or anything but I got a letter of recommendation from a teacher who I worked with in clubs but never even had as a teacher and got into schools that required it. I would get a feel for each of your teachers in your new ( senior) school to get at least one that would probably write you a letter. Also, I would go to your counselor or college and career person and ask for advice there
I agree. Contact the school’s ad officer for your area and ask how to best approach this. There is also a forum on CC for homeschooled students, so you may want to ask this question on that forum. Homeschooled kids get into amazing schools too, so it can’t be impossible.
Did you do any outside courses when you homeschooled? My homeschooled teens got letters from various academic instructors at local coops. Some homeschoolers dual enroll in cc and get letters from their professors. If you haven’t done either, you may want to think about taking a college course or two this summer and dual enroll in the fall. If you can get the same professor for a couple courses, you may be able to get to know them well enough to get a letter.
Who would serve as a rec if you stayed home schooled? Did you have some oversight? You can take a hybrid approach, also using a teacher who quickly gets to know you senior year. You’ll also need a letter from your GC. It will be good for him/her to note how quickly you adapted and thrived, made some mark. Take a look at the colleges’ requirements and their home school supplement.
I agree with the suggestion of contacting the schools admission officer and the colleges you are considering applying to and asking the question. Before you call see if you can research what would count as a teacher recommendation if you remained home-schooled for 12th grade. In any event the dance teacher is not an academic teacher – if she can add a lot you can ask her to be a supplemental recommendation at most.