<p>I gave my English teacher one copy of the common app form and 20 stamped addressed envelopes to do a rec for me. I also gave her 20 post cards addressed to me that said: "Dear Amber, just dropped your X school rec in the mail!" I asked her to mail them to me when she was finished, and I asked her to get it all done by December 27th. I gave all of this to her in the begining of November. She really liked me and would write a strong rec.
Now, I still haven't recieved a single post card and the Jan. 1 deadline is fast approaching. Schools starts on the 3rd. Would an email be rude and obnoxious? I'd be EXTREMELY polite...it just seems a little out of line especially around the holidays...but I want to make sure everything is in on time!</p>
<p>well, what do you have to lose?? email away. it's not out of line at all, although you should have done this a little earlier. or if possible, call or see her in person. you could also find out from your prospective colleges if your recs have arrived....but sadly for some/happily for many, this is holiday time. but email.</p>
<p>Call her and ask. Her # probably is listed. If you can't reach her, e-mail her.</p>
<p>If she hasn't sent them yet, remind her gently and politely. Keep in mind that schools are far more forgiving of recommendations and transcripts arriving late than of the applications themselves arriving late. Even wit that, most colleges have been closed from at least Dec. 23, and won't reopen until at least Jan. 3. Mail has been piling up in mail rooms and in the post office. Even app info sent on time may not get opened by admissions offices for a couple of more weeks because of the thousands of applications that arrive at the last second.</p>
<p>You are applying to 20 colleges? What a ton of extra work for your GC and teahcers to do. Even though they can make copies of their recommendation, that still is a big pain particularly for teachers, who probably are doing this at home where they may not even have a copier.</p>
<p>Remember to give all handwritten thank-you notes when you get back. </p>
<p>Why are you applying to so many colleges? I read some research indicating that students get more acceptances when they apply to no more than 8 colleges because apparently then they have more time to individualize the applications and to select colleges where they are a good fit. That apparently works better than a shotgun approach.</p>