<p>@CherryRose: My sense is that schools aren’t interested in ruling out potential applicants by being overly harsh about the deadlines for the materials that are outside your control. So if your teacher was a few days late getting a recommendation in, I doubt any school would hold that against you (if your materials were on time).</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, helloel and seekers. I’ve calmed down a bit- and have two more questions.</p>
<ol>
<li>Do schools take faxed recs? Overnight mail costs $18.3 for a single rec.</li>
<li>Where did you all see the M10 decision deadline thing for materials to be in? I haven’t, for any of the schools I’m applying to.</li>
</ol>
<p>Peace, love, and… chocolate caramel lava cake</p>
<p>Andover sent me an automatic reply message and they listed their application FAQs and that question was on there. I know schools, take recs faxed directly to them, but you can’t fax them to SSAT if you are doing it that way.</p>
<p>Hi guys,
I recently received a letter from an interviewer at a school, after sending a thank-you e-mail. Should I reply to this letter in acknowledgement of it, or should I only reply if I happen to have any questions about the school?
(Sorry if this isn’t the most appropriate thread to be posting on!!)</p>
<p>Hey guys, </p>
<p>applying to deerfield and lawrenceville here for freshmen class of 2012! 34 days till the big m10. what do you guys think? do you think you’ll get in?</p>
<p>fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Hey, question. I applied to boarding school (hotchkiss,st.georges,loomis,and berkshire) and i don’t have the best grades… but i am really good at lacrosse and field hockey. all of the schools really like me and they were interested in having me at their school and i had amazing recommendations. I also do A LOT of community service and i run a program for cancer that raises money for a friend/former teammate of mine. what are the chances of me getting in? I also keep in touch with teachers and coaches at all schools! help!!</p>
<p>XXprepkidxx my school sends half the graduating class to boarding every year, so I will say based on the past several years, admission isn’t just about grades, or test scores. I believe (and have seen) that schools also want to take an athlete (or a photographer or whatever) who gets solidly good, but not perfect, grades; who is likeable and adds to the class.</p>
<p>So, an update… I have finally sorted out this business. After a lot of lollygagging by my teacher and near-breakdown from my mother, my parents went to the schools and refused to leave until they had the rec in their hands. Then they went to FedEx and faxed it to the schools. (Apparently I’d written down the phone instead of the fax for Choate, so the AO was saying “Hello?” and they couldn’t answer on the fax machine. :D)</p>
<p>I had a phenomenal interview- the best yet- with the PEA alumnus today. It was very unexpected (I thought he’d never reply and was in the process of getting a Skype) and got arranged within 13 hours :o. He promised to hand it in today, too, because we had so much trouble finding an interviewer and it was late. Thanks to you all for your help. Just waiting on Choate to receive the rec, and I’m done with all but some FA docus.</p>
<p>Edit: Hey, is it just me, or is the BS app process filled with crises and pitfalls that seem unsolvable at first… and then you get over it?</p>
<p>@sandol1010: I am of the opinion that all applicants should send a handwritten thank-you note as opposed to an email. Sure it may seem old-school/overly formal, but what do you think the majority of boarding schools are? It’s also a good habit to get into for your impending adulthood…which reminds me that I need to write a thank you note to friends who had us over for dinner recently.</p>
<p>To answer your question, I would not follow up a note with a note…unless you have a specific question.</p>
<p>The only time the handwritten thank you note backfired for my daughter was on her first interview. Within a day, she had already received an email from the AO thanking her for coming out and stating there were some things that made her a good fit for the school.</p>
<p>Boy, did we have egg on our face. He had beat us to the punch. She hurriedly sent an email back, then added that she had also dropped a handwritten thank you in the USPS which the AO would be receiving soon.</p>
<p>You can’t beat email for its speed. It was a little embarrassing, looking like she hadn’t cared enough to email a thank you.</p>
<p>Not to overdo, but maybe you need both.</p>
<p>I’ve always emailed within a few hours. Seems environmental and speedy, like redbluegoldgreen said. I suppose that a handwritten note is nicer, but it will probably go in the trash, and anyway it’s the thought that counts, right?</p>
<p>I guess I am just old fashioned…I have always stressed on hand written notes. My child also received several handwritten notes after interviews both from the smaller schools and a larger school. I told her not to read too much into it…especially when she also rec’d holiday cards from the schools as well. </p>
<p>I don’t believe thank you notes go into the trash…all correspondence goes into your file.</p>
<p>@CherryRose: You have already provided all the reason to write handwritten notes and not send emails: “I suppose that a handwritten note is nicer…” Indeed, they are.</p>
<p>[Letters</a> of Note](<a href=“http://www.lettersofnote.com%5DLetters”>http://www.lettersofnote.com)</p>
<p>I’m with muffett on this.</p>
<p>And with a hand-written note, you have an advantage over those whose handwriting is illegible, like my son. The best he can do is to send email, which lacks the personal touch.</p>
<p>Take all the advantages you can, and one way or the other, do the thank you notes. The AO job is thankless, you are always dashing someone’s dreams in the process of doing your job. So they deserve your thanks for doing a tough job.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t disagree with the fact that handwritten letters are better than emails in this sometimes feeling-based admissions game. But when you interview in a coffee shop, you don’t exactly have the interviewer’s address.</p>
<p>Addressing it to the admissions office will get it there…</p>
<p>Does it work for alumni, too? I didn’t know that.</p>
<p>Probably: the admissions office clearly is in touch with alumni who are interviewing…</p>
<p>how many days are left?</p>
<p>too many. :)</p>