College admissions counselors want to learn more about you through recommendation letters. Typically, you send in two recommendation letters with your application. I’m often asked by students if those letters must be from teachers. Ideally, yes, the first two recommendation letters should be from teachers from 10th or 11th grade from your core courses, with at least one being from 11th grade, if possible.
What If You Can’t Ask Two Teachers from those Grades?
Sometimes it is not possible to obtain two letters from teachers from your sophomore and junior year. Each student’s circumstances are unique. What’s important is that you ask teachers who know you and can write about you as a student. The whole point is for these letters to shed light on how you are as a student and person. College admissions officers want to get a feel as to whether you would be a good fit for their school.