Letter of Recommendation Questions?

Question

First off, I intend to apply to MIT and hope to major in computer science and mathematics. It seems like it would be logical for me to get a letter of recommendation from the teacher of those subjects (one guy teaches both).

The problem is the fact that I don't feel like he provided me with the basis for those subjects (I'm pretty much teaching myself computer science at this point). The person who introduced me to both, and was also by far a better teacher, no longer teaches at my school. In fact, she doesn't teach at all.

She works as a programmer for a fairly prominent company now. I was wondering if a college would accept a letter of recommendation from a non-teacher, and, given her situation, if her's would be preferable to my current teacher.

Answer 1

Include the letter from your teacher but put the letter from the woman who works for the major company first.  Her letter may carry more weight and could be used in the future for jobs.  Your teacher's letter may be helpful for the admission process but i don't think it's a requirement that letters of recommendation be from teachers.  I think they can be from anyone who knows you and can give insight into the type of person you are.

Answer 2

Why not both?