<p>So let's say your teacher/counselor sends in your letter of rec, but afterwards, you change your mind about that school and not apply at all? Not a big deal right? They just toss your letter in the can?</p>
<p>No big deal at all. Colleges can’t access your recs unless you have submitted the common application to them.</p>
<p>Students change their minds allthe time. If a school has an incomplete applicatin on file, they might email you and encourage you to complete your application (this happened for my younger s at one school that he chose not to complete the aplication) or they might just chuck all incomplete applications after the deadline has passed. No worries.</p>