Teacher Recommendations

Selecting a teacher to write your college recommendation can be stressful.  In almost all cases, you'll never get to read it, so you want to be certain that the person you ask will said good things about you, and because you will primarily choose from your junior year teachers, you have a limited list to choose from.  So how should you approach your decision?

Begin by considering a class where your most positive attributes are on display, things like your classroom leadership or contributions to class discussions.  You will want teachers to write about your initiative, problem solving ability, creativity, or your ability to work in groups.  You'll want them to address your writing ability, your critical thinking skills.  You might also want to give the teacher some ideas for your recommendation.  Remind them of a project, story, or topic that particularly sparked your interest.  Mention that paper you wrote...the one you poured your heart into writing.  Of course if your teacher is also your advisor or coach, she can write about you in that capacity, but the teacher recommendation is mostly a story about you in the classroom.
Contrary to what you might think, a good teacher recommendation doesn't always come from the class in which you make the highest grades.  Some of the very best letters I've ever read were written by teachers who watched a student struggle mightily, and they were able to address those struggles in their letters.  They wrote about a student's willingness to take a risk, her insistence that she could do it if someone would give her a chance.  They wrote about her willingness to come back again and again for help and her ability to take constructive criticism and use it to her advantage.  They wrote about the look on her face when she had that "aha moment," and it all finally made sense.  Of course, you don't have to choose that teacher, but you also don't have to avoid it for fear he or she will say something negative.

The teacher recommendation is an important part of your college application, so spend some time thinking about who knows you best.  If you're worried that no one does, then this might be a wake-up call for you.  You still have time to display some of those outstanding qualities you possess.