How bad is it to not have any letters of reccomedation?

Applying to College
1

<p>I think the title is pretty obvious, but I haven't been able to get letters of recommendations from anyone and I was wondering how much it would affect a college's decision?</p>

<p>I thought I would be able to get them in on time but all my teachers have been extremely busy. I've asked them multiple times and they just shrug it off so now I have none...</p>

<p>Well the deadline is February 1st and I know I'm probably not going to be getting anything from my teachers. How bad does this look on my application?</p>

2

<p>Lol, extremely bad. Your apps might not even be considered legit. Most schools require at least 2.</p>

3

<p>@menacing; most colleges require ZERO. Very few colleges require any. Check your facts.</p>

<p>@viviann: you need to speak w/your guid counselor ASAP – that is, assuming that the schools you applied to required them, correct?</p>

4

<p>@T26E4 Most GOOD schools require at least 2. (read: every Ivy)</p>

<p>Better?</p>

5

<p>@T26E4 Many of the colleges I applied to are under this big system (CUNY’s) and they don’t require you to send recommendations. They just say “If you are a General Freshman applicant and you would like to submit letters of recommendation and/or a personal statement in support of your application, you may do so by mailing the documents”, so I’m not sure how necessary they are…</p>

6

<p>I applied to CUNY. Basically, if they don’t make you email them or submit them online then it’s just not necessary. I applied to Macaulay, where recs are required, and my recommending teachers had to submit via email. If they really want it then they make it an important part of the application.
If it’s in the same place as supplementary materials (like art, extra essays, etc) that you have to mail in, it means it’s not 100% necessary. While I have no idea if I’m theoretically in at Macaulay (I’m going somewhere else) I personally didn’t submit any supplements because I just didn’t have to- apparently in your case rec letters are the same thing. If you think that your grades need explanation or you need a character reference to support or contradict :slight_smile: your GPA then it’s definitely a good idea, but if you’re a run-of-the-mill student with your grades and record within the average for the college you’re applying to then it shouldn’t be make-it-or-break-it necessary at all.
Good luck!</p>

7

<p>it’s good to have one recommendation, especially for SB, Bing, Geneseo, Albany. However your teachers have a couple weeks to upload them after you uploaded your application. Go see your guidance counselor to see if s/he can speed things up.</p>