Which teachers should I ask for a recommendation from? How should I ask?

mangoeslover
Wed, 17 May 2017 02:45:50 +0000

Hi! I am a junior and I am planning to ask my teachers soon (finals are at the end of next week so I’m trying to be quick!) to see if they can write my letter of recommendations for me. I am not sure how to go about this process. Which teachers are best? Also, how do I… ask them? Is it weird to just randomly go up to them? Also, should I consider senior year teachers too? Here is some other information:

Intended Major (most likely to least likely): Neuroscience, mathematics, or economics
Pre-med route!

Just a note, I’m not a very talkative/open person so I can’t say that I’m really close with any of my teachers. I will greet them and have light conversation, smile at them in the hallways, etc., but I don’t really ~know~ any of them. I’ll just give my thoughts on them in case something I say reveals more about the teacher!

Junior year classes (all AP except French)

Calc: One of the classes I struggled with and worked extra hard in. I’m extra proud of my grade and the effort I’ve put into this class. I think this is my favorite teacher. They’re amazing at teaching, quirky, sweet, really tries to get to know their kids to some extent. I think math is my strongest/favorite subject, even if this course was incredibly stressful for me.

APUSH: Easy, I maintained at least a 95% all year round. It’s not exactly a super interactive class and the teacher mostly lectured at us. There was only about three kids in my period who actually participated–I was not one of them. They’re a super sweet and bubbly person, and I like that they tried her best to engage us in APUSH even though it was a very dry class.

Lang: The teacher is definitely passionate about what they do and is generally kind (at the least, respectful) to their students. I feel like they’re pretty observant. Known as the harsher (fairer?) grader among the English teachers, and I maintain around a 93% or so average on papers. Again, I don’t talk to them, and I know for sure that they’re closer to other students in my period since they talk more regularly.

Physics: This class also kicked my butt, but the curve and weight of the tests are structured in a way that you can still manage an A- in the class with a B- test average in the class. Thus, I don’t feel as proud of this grade as in Calc, but I still worked hard. I rarely participated. I feel like there are other people in the class who talked more and really showed their intellect in doing so.

French: Super easy, I maintained at least a 97% all year. The teacher is very quirky and sometimes (all the time) goes on tangents completely unrelated to French. However, it’s usually very informative and very ~real world~. They are understanding of students and the stress they go through, and will accommodate if necessary. I am a part of the French Honor Society that they run and will have them for senior year too.

Government: Super easy, 97%+ in the class. It’s only a one-semester class, but I’ve known this teacher since sophomore year since I am an officer for a club that they run. (If it matters, I’m currently VP for that club and likely will be prez next year.) They are very talkative and tell a lot of stories, and generally easy to talk to if I feel like it. I think they also do a lot to get to know their students and to be a personal, approachable teacher.

Senior year classes
Of course, I don’t know any of my teachers yet, but I know for sure that my math teacher will be the same as my sophomore year math teacher. Thus, he will have known me for longer. Again, I didn’t really talk to him, but I was a good student. I will also have my French teacher again senior year.

My current choices are my Calc, Gov, and Lang teacher, but I am not sure.