<p>I'll be filling out the Common App and submitting all of my application online, but my boss wants to send my rec letter as a physical copy. Will they be able to match the online and physical elements of my application? Is there any way I can be sure they received the letter?</p>
<p>Colleges accept snail mail LORs all the time. I think your generation has NO idea about the reliability of the USPS because you’re so unused to using it. It’s 99% secure and reliable.</p>
<p>If you really want to be content, ask your boss to mail it via USPS Priority mail which includes a tracking number. It’s about $2 per letter. Provide addressed envelopes and provide him the cost of postage.</p>
<p>yes, people do it all the time. Colleges have different ways of making sure they received the letter, you’d have to ask admissions.</p>
<p>Not long ago even CommonApp has a paper form.</p>
<p>Plus, you can always check with the admissions office later to make sure they received the snail mail letter. One of my D’s teachers insisted on sending hers snail mail as well. Several of the colleges she applied to had online checklists where you could see that various components of your application had been received; those that didn’t were happy to check the file manually when we called to check. (Just give it a decent amount of time and don’t bug them continually…)</p>