My son has submitted to 3 schools so far. He has done everything he can to get his counselor to finish his rec letter to no avail. One of the colleges our son has applied to has even emailed his counselor twice. His first deadline is next week and we’re all starting to get annoyed… what if anything can we do?!
Have your son stop in his GC’s office ASAP and tell them he is there to express his concerns. He can even tell the GC that his mom is getting upset about the delays. That way it won’t a surprise when you, in the meantime, escalate things by talking to his supervisor or to the school principal.
Send the counselor an email…and copy the principal. Just ask that the letter for the one with the deadline be submitted.
I would go one step further and copy the superintendent.
@Groundwork2022 he has. Still nothing. I think our only recourse is to get involved, which is not the outcome we all hoped for. What makes it worse is 3 months ago he couldn’t have picked our kid out of a lineup w/ 10 guesses… yet is the only remaining obstacle in the whole process!!
This is precisely the right time you should be advocating for your son. The principal would be doing exactly the same if his own kids were having a similar experience in their school. Do not feel bad about this. This is what the GC gets paid to do.
Thank you! Not looking forward to this, but I feel like he brought it upon himself.
Would you also consider calling admissions to let them know about the hold up?
Deadline for your son to send in his application is different than for other supporting documents, which includes the GC’s LOR and transcript. Those other documents can be sent in later. I can’t believe this is the GC’s first rodeo, so he/she must have certain system in getting necessary documents in on time for all students. Nevertheless, I would still contact the GC via email or call to find out when he/she plans on getting the supporting docs in. I would not CC his/her boss yet.
@oldfort The school w/ the closest deadline has emailed both my son & the GC stating the lack of LOR has made my son’s applicant status “incomplete” & will not look at his application until they receive the LOR. Son is w/ the GC as I type. If we don’t hear something positive from this meeting, my husband is getting involved.
Correct, without the LOR his application is incomplete, but he is not missing the deadline. If it is rolling then he will not get the decision early. If there is scholarship deadline then your son should let the GC know.
At my kid’s school, they used to get packets out at the same time (ED then RD), unless there is a specific reason why the packet had to get out early, like rolling or special scholarship application.
Agree with @oldfort. The application isn’t yet complete…but that doesn’t mean the LOR is LATE. Is this an ED application? Or SCEA? If so, let the GC know that.
It’s a rolling EA w/ priority where he’s asking for at least 1/2 tuition scholarship, which he informed the GC about 3 months ago. The Nov 1 deadline is a NLT, not necessarily a due date if that makes sense.
Despite the number of parents who say a 17 year old should handle everything related to college apps, this has gone beyond your son’s expertise and you do need to get involved. Why not?
NLT?? What do you mean?
No later than
So how did the meeting go today? Is your husband now involved in this?
I guess this is when I’m happy our GC was not very helpful but didn’t need to be. It was very old school. For instate publics, they sent everything electronically in groups. For everyone else (including my two kids) you ordered a transcript and paid $2, then picked it up in a sealed mailing envelop at the guidance office, put the college’s address on it and mailed it. No fun little comments about your child being a delight to have in class, no recommendations, no nothing. Included with the transcripts were grades, attendance, rank, etc., and even a copy of the vaccination records (which I learned later at college orientation).
Our son met w/ the GC & he was working on all the Nov 1 deadlines for the senior class. So basically, he hadn’t started even though he promised my son he would be done by the end of last week. My husband then called & was surprisingly calm. He reiterated to the GC that this is the last thing standing in the way of our son’s application being looked at… to not much progress, although he promised it would be done by the deadline. GC has the personality of a gnat. Anyway, next step is hoping the GC meets the deadline. If not, all hell is breaking loose. In the meantime I, or my son, will call the college on monday to let them know there’s a hold up & we’re doing our best to prod the GC along.
We’re not concerned about our son getting into this school. He’s a legacy w/ a 95% chance of getting in. He just wants his scholarship submission in front of the committee as quickly as possible. He thinks he has a decent shot at winning & it would give him a full ride.
We all hate to do it but sometimes you just have to step in. Our son had a similar issue at his school where he applied EA and his GC didn’t get any of the paperwork done in time despite son doing everything “right,” sent several emails and went in person twice. I sent an angry email and it was done the next day.
Parents take a lot of crap for being too involved but then when their kids try to do it on their own they are totally disregarded by the people who are supposed to be helping them be independent.