<p>So I invited my teachers/counselors to my Common App yesterday. I asked them beforehand if they could write the letters for me, and told them I'd bring in a brag sheet and other information sometime this week, then invited them so they could have a look at the school forms. HOWEVER, I just checked my account today, and it says one teacher's school forms were started today and already submitted, even though I haven't brought him any materials yet, nor formally sat down and talked with him. What do I do??? If it's a mistake/misunderstanding, will I be able to contact colleges and ask for a resubmission? HELP. I'm not getting any sleep tonight. I can feel my chances going down the drain.</p>
<p>Think it through. You wouldn't (shouldn't) have asked the teacher if he or she did not like you or know you well. Thus, assume the rec was good -- most are. Some teachers also have this independent streak where they don't like students telling them what to write. Giving someone a resume isn't telling them what to write, but it's all a matter of perception. Go to sleep; I'm sure it's okay.</p>
<p>Yeah, I asked him because I felt he was responsible. He's the head of the math department and adviser of NHS, for which I'm treasurer. I think he would write a positive letter, but my problem with it is that he started and submitted it the same day, and I feel like maybe he didn't put in as much time or attention as he could have. I gave my other teacher the exact same information, but she's waiting until we can sit down and talk to her so she can have a fuller understanding of us. I know some teachers don't need the brag sheet, but I specifically told him about it and he agreed. Yet now, without me having seen him again, he jumped the gun and just finished it without looking at other material or talking to me. Essentially, all I've said was "Can you write my letter?" and "I'll bring the brag sheet."</p>
<p>If there was a mistake though, what should I do? If I contacted the admissions offices, would they let me resubmit or change the letter?</p>
<p>How could one define "mistake?" Only the teacher could determine if what he wrote was a "mistake." I'm assuming you waived your right to read it, correct? That being the case, it's game, set, and match. </p>
<p>As a neutral observer, I think you're on perilous ground inferring to the teacher that he made a mistake. Calling the college to say he made a mistake is a bad idea, too. Only the teacher can call the college and say he made a mistake; having you call makes no sense at all. </p>
<p>Understand, it really only takes about an hour to write a rec. The only reason most teachers ask for more time is because they need to FIND that hour in which to do it. I suppose this teacher had that hour today. </p>
<p>You can politely say to the teacher tomorrow, "So, it looks like you already did my rec. How'd that go? I thought you might have needed a resume from me." Then let the chips fall as they may. If you get any pushier than that, remember that the teacher can just as easily call the college and say, "Look, I did a rec for this kid, but she's a neurotic spaz who keeps bugging me like I don't know how to write a rec even though I've been doing this for years. Here name is __________. Please note on her app that she's a headache."</p>
<p>Lol, true. Yeah, I'm gonna go tomorrow morning and just say how I noticed he submitted all the forms, even though I just got the brag sheet done. I really hope this turns out well.</p>
<p>But let's just say it's not a very good letter. How much will one mediocre rec letter hurt me overall?</p>
<p>My two cents...... I don't think you have any reason to think it's a bad letter. My son gave a resume of sorts to his teachers to support anything they wrote about him. You know, they wrote fabulous letters and not a single thing in them referred to anything on his resume. So don't worry. If you have any lingering concerns, just let that letter be and get one more person to write a third letter. Lots of kids send in just one extra, it's not a big deal. The admissions folks will read it or they won't, but it won't hurt you. Or don't send an extra and just trust your teacher.</p>
<p>That would be so great if that was the case. If so, then I just hope he didn't think I was lazy about the process by not coming to him before he wrote it, since he did it so early XP</p>
<p>A question about the 3rd letter though. That teacher sent it online, and I think my other teacher will two. Since we can't give 3 slots to the schools, a 3rd rec would be sent by mail right?</p>
<p>Yes. You can print out a paper copy of the Common App teacher evaluation form and give that to your 3rd teacher (along with your resume if you wish), and stamped envelopes addressed to the colleges you'd like to receive the letter.</p>
<p>Some schools require letters of rec to go through their counseling office, not sure if that's an issue in your case... but probably not if your first teacher already submitted a letter electronically.</p>
<p>Application materials arrive in a variety of ways. A mix of things submitted electronically and things that arrive through the regular mail is totally normal.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I asked them beforehand if they could write the letters for me
[/quote]
It's quite possible that your teacher wrote the letter after you asked him, but before you invited him. In that case, it would take about 15 seconds to cut and paste the letter into the Common App and send it out.</p>
<p>Just because he started it yesterday on the Common App doesn't mean that he started writing the letter itself yesterday.</p>
<p>What you need to do is give the teacher a handwritten thank-you for writing the recc. You do not need to obsess about whether the letter he wrote was a good one. You have no control over what teachers write. Just because he immediately wrote the letter doesn't mean it was a bad one. There's no evidence that he would have used your resume, etc. to write a better one.</p>
<p>Just thank him and be grateful that his letter is one you don't have to worry about making sure it's in on time.</p>
<p>My take would be that the reason he wrote the letter so quickly is that he feels he knows and likes you--people tend to procrastinate writing something difficult. He is probably being asked to write a number of these and, being a math guy, takes a logical approach to to cranking these out. Don't worry: even if you give a resume, you have no ultimate control over what teachers write. I'd just be happy its done at this point--one more box to check off!</p>
<p>I teach college and write lots of letters of recommendation for my students. Some students I know well enough that I can write a letter without sitting down and talking with them. For others I need more information.</p>
<p>Letters of recommendation are not exhaustive rehashes of information available elsewhere. In my letters I write about some positive aspect of the student that set them apart from their peers. The letters are short and focused, and are not comprehensive views of the entire student. I would think that the NHS advisor knows you well enough in your role as NHS treasurer to write a succinct letter describing your dependability and attention to detail, and how you've been an asset to NHS this year. The fact that he wrote it so quickly means he pretty much knew what he was going to write, and that's a good thing. The easiest letters are the ones for the best students, and those get written first. The letters for students I have doubts about require more careful wording and take longer.</p>
<p>Sleep easy tonight. You've got one in the bag.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I went in to see him today, and he said he just filled up the provided area, so I'm hoping this is the GOOD type of short one, haha. He said he still wanted to see my brag sheet though, and if he had anything he wanted to fix he's still able to change it, even though his letter is already "submitted" on my account 0___o Does anyone know if that's possible?</p>
<p>With those online recommendation systems, the recommender usually has a window of time during which they can revise what they've written. Once that window closes (IIRC it's only a day or two) they can still make changes by contacting the service. The revision window closes as a precaution against somebody else getting access and making unauthorized changes to the recommendation.</p>