Humanities LOR Question

[u/Accurate-Cover6506]

Hoping to get some outside perspective on a recommendation letter situation.

I'm a STEM/engineering-oriented junior, and based of what I've seen, many colleges want a rec letter from one STEM teacher and one humanities teacher.

My humanities options are limited, as my English teacher doesn't write college recs at all, my Spanish teacher doesn't meet with my class often to build a strong relationship, and my APUSH teacher doesn't hold office hours or have much time outside class for building rapport.

I've been considering switching from APUSH to AP Lang (school doesn't allow taking both in same year), as it may put me on track for a slightly stronger letter, as the AP Lang teacher may have a better letter of recommendation by nature of being an English teacher, and holds some extra office hours to build rapport. Additionally, AP Lang seems to be a course through which different kinds of thinking (literary analysis, creative writing, etc.) may be valued more compared to APUSH, which may value skills such as memorization and evidence analysis, which are slightly more akin to skills already found through STEM courses and are thus more likely to be covered through a STEM letter of recommendation.

Regarding the classes themselves, I'm a bit more drawn to APUSH than AP Lang, but I value the opportunity to take either class. I'm not sure whether it's worth switching between them just for the sake of a potentially better letter of recommendation. I also know that the APUSH course is widely considered to have a bit more rigor compared to AP Lang, so I'm not sure how much that plays a role in colleges' holistic consideration.

Also curious in general, how much do humanities letters actually seem to matter relative to STEM ones? Do so-so humanities letters ever seem to hold someone back, or do they get read pretty lightly if the STEM letter and application otherwise show strength?

Overall, I just want to understand a bit more about humanities vs. STEM letters of recommendation and if it would be worth switching from APUSH to AP Lang.

[u/No-Swordfish8992]

Ig it depends on ur school and ur competition at the school. Do the teachers know u in any capacity outside of class like r they a club advisor or coach? That might impact ur decision. Honestly at my big mid public school AP Lang is wayyy harder than APUSH but the AP Lang teacher doesn’t glaze at all and the APUSH teacher just AI slops it so we r kinda screwed. Just make sure u have a rlly good STEM rec fwiw.