My DS might be the biggest procastinator I have ever met. He has 9 schools that he is applying toEA. Of course he has zero essays done. Our school does not use Naviance. My guess is the essays will not be complete until the November 1 date. Does the common application let you designate recommenders prior to completion/submission of the application? Obviously if I does not EA will not work for my S since the teachers will not have sufficient time to write letters after app is submitted. If it is possible, how is it done? Also if the same teachers are writing recommendations for each school, do they just submit it electronically once and the common app sends it to all schools? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I can’t find the answer online. Thanks in advance!
Each teacher writes one general letter for your student. They do not target it to a specific school. The letters are submitted electronically through the school. I don’t really understand this question:
Everything has to be in by the deadline, including recommendations, if that’s what you are asking. If your son has not asked teachers for letters yet, he has to do that on MONDAY. It’s late already.
He has spoken to teachers about recommendations. However looking at the common app it seems that you designate teachers and an email is sent to them regarding submitting the letter. What I am asking is, can you designate a teacher and will the teacher be notified to submit the letter prior to him completing and submitting the app? He can’t submit until he is done with his essays which might be another few weeks.
Our school does nothing electronically. They mail transcripts…
I have to disagree with ‘brantly’ - EVERYTHING does NOT have to be in by the ‘deadline’. You do, however, need to make sure you understand how YOUR school handles transcripts/recommendations.
It is not uncommon for these school-related items to be sent after the deadline. As long as they are on the way in a timely fashion, it is fine. (same with SAT/ACT scores…never pay for the ‘faster’ reporting…it’s all done electronically, and the schools receives files with countless students records.)
I don’t recommend waiting until the last minute to submit, but many students will submit ON the deadline day, and the school may not forward transcripts/recs until that has been done, so they might arrive a few days later. As long as the students’ CommonApp is submitted on time, the other material can follow over the next few days, and that is FINE.
If you are helping your S with his deadlines, particularly the EA ones, you really should check each school’s website. Some schools have “submission” deadlines, which means everything has to be in or the application does not qualify and it’s put in the RD group. Some schools allow SAT and other test scores to come in after the 11/1 deadline if the test date qualifies, for example, the October test date. Confirm with each school’s policy.
As for LORs, it is in your student’s best interest not to wait until the last minute. Teachers are swamped with requests and all teachers will appreciate being asked early. IIRC when my D used the Comm App last fall, there was a Q&A section where you can double check to see whether the Comm App requires the app to be complete and ready for submission before a request for a LOR is sent out. As I recall, your student can check online to confirm that a teacher has uploaded an LOR and later when it has been downloaded by a school. IIRC, schools did not download the LORs until the entire application is complete, including any supplemental essays.
If you are REALLY worried, because the EA deadline is essential for merit scholarships or the like, then you should sit down with your student and make him understand its significance.
Here’s the link to the Comm App Q&A for recommendations:
https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/ArticleFolder/26/Recommenders
The answer to your specific question is yes, recommenders can submit their recommendations before your son submits his application. It all just sits there and waits for the submission of the application to the schools. My son was also a procrastinator and his recommendations were done before his part of the application was.
But as others have mentioned, since your school doesn’t have Naviance, your S should make sure all of his teachers know that he is applying EA and that the recommendations need to be in on or about November 1. Naviance manages this for them, but I’m not sure if the Common App says when the applications are being submitted.
Your high school should really have a policy for this and the teachers will likely know it. My kids’ HS had a very specific way of doing it, a paper form filled out for guidance and for each teacher (both with 3 weeks lead time), the teachers then sent the recs and they were submitted via Naviance, not the actual CA. But schools ALL do it differently.
Thank you guys for your help. Unfortunately our school gives us no guidance. College night is scheduled in mid -October. Most kids go to state schools which do not require recommendations, and you self report grades.so basically it is up to the parents to figure out what to do. We are required to get the physical transcripts and mail them to the schools( they give them to us in a sealed envelope with seal.). The teachers have agreed to write the letters. I will make sure he puts them on the common app tonight so they will get notification. It is so unfortunate that the school gives us no help. I envy my friends who have had meetings with counsellors to go over college choices, and requirements. My S is taking SAT. 2 tests in October and November because he was unaware he should have taken them immediately after his AP classes. CC has been an awesome tool for me and I appreciate all the help… Oh and many of my S friends are not eligible for most schools because Foreign Language here is an elective, and many kids have taken no Foreign Language at all. Crazy!
Oh, now I understand. You want to know if it’s okay if the letters are submitted prior to the rest of the application. Yes, that’s okay.
If you are still in Brooklyn and kids are applying to SUNY, they still require recommendations, which can be uploaded either via the GC through Counselor Connect, through the common app or snail mail. If he is applying to SUNY, it is in his best interest to get an unofficial copy of his transcript in order to start the SOAR, ASAP.
If your son knows that everything is handled via snail mail it is in his best interest to be organized and ask for the transcripts ASAP. When he gets them back, I recommend that you go to the post office, get some post cards that you will address to your home on one side and from the school on the other side, so that it can be mailed back to you (in the event that they are missing a document,you have proof that it was received by the school.
Again, if you are in NYS, students in 1 -year (2 credits/1 unit if annualized) of foreign language to meet graduation requirements, and 3 years for an advanced regents diploma. All though spanish above the first 2 credits fall into the elective column, that is still no reason not to have spanish. Applying to college is a 4 year process; why is it that students/parent request that they want to continue with foreign language. If the school does not give 3 years of language due to budgetary constraints, is this noted on the school profile?
No longer in Brooklyn. Have been in the WEST for years. State has NO foreign language requirement. Always a BKLYNGAL in my heart… Thanks for all the help