<p>What happens if d has sent all applications on time---that is, way before deadline but it so happens that the teachers are taking mighty long with their recommendations? The forms were given to them in early December and the dates it had to be in were politely mentioned as well....just found out they're doing it NOW when Peddie and MPS deadline is next week! Does this affect the decision in any way? HELP!</p>
<p>As far as I know, no, not at all. The BSs you're applying to know you don't have control over when they get them in. As long as the schools eventually receive them, they won't count it against you.</p>
<p>That's such a relief to know! Thanks boo x! It just so happens that the current Math and English teachers aren't d's favorite...especially the English teacher! I even had an earlier "disagreement" regarding the grades with the teacher way before d started applying for BS....regrettting it now just in case it might work against her! Really, we can't control these things,can we?</p>
<p>Haha, sadly no. What's done is done. All your D can really do is make sure she doesn't light the school on fire, or spit in her teacher's face or something.</p>
<p>I think that her file will not go into Admissions review without all the required forms. As a result, you should follow-up with the teachers to be certain that they complete the forms. Once you know they have been mailed, you should also follow-up with Admissions to be certain it has been received. They have to sort through a flood of mail, and sometimes things get lost.</p>
<p>We were told by a couple of schools that they don't start reading until 1/18 at one with a 1/15 deadline and by a school with a 2/1 deadline they said something like "a few days after the deadline."<br>
If Burb is right and your file doesn't go into review until it is complete (which sounds logical to me), there is a few days "grace period" when outside items can arrive.<br>
I would call the schools and ask if it were me.</p>
<p>Well, right now the schools are packing paper student. If you miss some thing, they would mail you letter to remind you the due date and what is missing.</p>
<p>My advice would be that if you have not already written the thank you notes to those writing your recommendation letters, you could always subtlely mention the date in the note in some way, like: "I know that the January 15th deadline undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on you during such a busy time of year, so I really appreciate that you were able to help me out this way." That didn't come out too smoothly but perhaps you could tweak it. One thing to remember, you will probably be surprised to get emails or notes in the mail from a school or two that they are missing something you know was sent in...it happens all the time. Just accept ahead of time that there are going to be things that they need, but don't worry about it and don't freak. There is a lot of paperwork for every applicant and things get lost or don't arrive. Also, don't call the school you are applying to and complain about something you know got sent in. Just resend it or ask the teacher or counselor to resend it and all will be well.</p>
<p>When you give your teachers the rec forms include a filled out and paid for fed-ex envelope. Ask them to put the sealed rec in the envelope and drop in any fed-ex box. Keep the carbon with the tracking info, you can follow its' where about on fed-ex's website. This does 3 important things - 1) It makes the process easier for the teacher. 2) It sublty emphasises that this is important and that time is of the essence. 3) You can track without having to bother the admissions office. It proved to work well for us.</p>
<p>Another tack...perhaps in conjunction with sanyadee's suggestion...is for the parents to identify a person in the school office to be the central repository for recommendations and the transcript. A secretary can be one of the most effective possible shepherds of paperwork and deadline compliance in any environment. Parents would know how to work this out and who to go through.</p>
<p>Some schools (St. Paul's for one) expressly request that applicants have the school information be sent back in a single envelope. This makes sense. The secretary will generate the transcript and then ride herd on the other recommenders so that this mailing gets off of her desk. You don't have to pester teachers. And everything gets sent in on time.</p>
<p>Give the FedEx package per sanyadee's suggestion to the school secretary and you cut down on the expense, can track the mailing, and it's way less expensive than giving out separate FedEx packages to each recommender.</p>
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is for the parents to identify a person in the school office to be the central repository for recommendations and the transcript. A secretary can be one of the most effective possible shepherds of paperwork and deadline compliance in any environment.
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<p>That might work if your child attends a small school. At the public schools my daughters attend, there isn't a chance in heck that anyone in the office would take on that job for a parent, especially for a parent who's child is leaving the public school system to go to a private school. The secretaries would never consider "riding herd" the other teachers for their recommendations. They would tell me that was my job. </p>
<p>And, considering they have over 1000 kids at the the middle school, and 1400 at the high school, I can see why they wouldn't be able to assist parents with this type of request.</p>
<p>Well, I was thinking that the guidance counselor or school recommendation person would collect the Math and English recommendations and mail them out together. And that person would, of course, delegate the task. In which case you'd get to a secretary. </p>
<p>Secretaries are feared. I worked for a former Secretary of the Army and we shared a secretary. Other than his wife, she literally was the only person in the free world who struck fear in this man. You're right. I wouldn't ask a secretary directly...I'm saying that, if at all possible, you should posture this so that a secretary has an envelope on her desk that needs to get filled and mailed. That's why a parent needs to manage this. </p>
<p>Look up "focus" in the dictionary and you'll see her picture and that envelope.</p>
<p>D'yer, couldn't disagree with you more. By combining all the recs into one "waiting" envelope you take the risk that that envelope will sit on some godforsaken secretary's desk buried next to those adorable pictures of their children in various sports outfits. What, until all the recs are in? You have lost control. The point is is that if you give the teacher the envelope, they see it and kabam! it speaks! It says this is important! And hence they act accordingly. It is worth the extra money. Disclaimer - no, I do not work for Fed-Ex!</p>
<p>Well, actually, now you have one point of contact instead of 3 or 4. It's with someone who can't zing you with backhanded compliments in a recommendation if you check up on them.</p>
<p>Teachers are less equipped than a school secretary to send out these packages. And having them get returned to the boarding schools all scattershot isn't ideal either. Each package has less, but the the number of chances for papers getting mislaid or lost increases. </p>
<p>I only first realized that this was an option because St. Paul's asks applicants to have the school materials returned by the school like this in one envelope...a large envelope that they provide for the school to use.</p>
<p>You've got a point, to be sure, but what I'm proposing is just another way of tackling the problem. Some people don't have the stomach for it. Others may be in such gargantuan schools that it would be institutionally impractical. But for many, it's a good solution that removes the student from becoming a cattleprod to his or her teachers and even increases the impetus for the teachers to tackle them.</p>
<p>Oh, and another benefit to this that we encountered is that the head of school read the teachers' recommendations and actually sent the form back to one teacher to tell her to do it again. We learned this when the teacher asked for another form from us. Seems that the head of school wanted to make sure that there was some "quality control" and wanted teachers to give more insightful responses and not just check boxes and make cursory comments to merely get the form off the desk. If it's possible, I recommend pursuing this option. If the school says "no dice," then go back to the multi-pronged mailing option. But if the school is receptive to this, then why not centralize and aggregate the paperwork?</p>
<p>Okay D'yer, I see your points. As Edith Wharton once said, "There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."</p>