<p>One of my daughter's teacher does not want to use CommonApp, who just handed her recommendation to my daughter. I understand there is a form that the teacher is supposed to fill if using CommonApp.</p>
<p>1) Do we need to ask the teacher to fill the form offline too? Does the form add more weight to the application?
2) Can we just mail the letter to colleges without the form?
3) Must the teacher sign on the envelope?</p>
<p>Your comments and inputs are appreciated.</p>
<p>You have to add the teacher in Common App, but don’t include an email. ONce you add that teacher to a school, you can print out a form + the letter stuff straight from common app. I believe you need all of this to send to common app schools.</p>
<p>Really, this is a question that you should be asking the individual college(s) to which you are submitting the LOR. Since you are having problems printing out the blank CA LOR form, why don’t you send an email to the college(s) and ask whether that form must be attached to the LOR, or if you can send the LOR in without it. Or maybe the particular college has its own form that it can email you for you to use. It may be that the colleges won’t care and/or they may suggest that you just put some kind of cover letter in your envelope that identifies your child’s name, address, etc. so that the LOR can be matched up with her file.</p>
<p>And no, I do not think it is necessary per se, for the teacher to sign the seal of the envelopes.</p>
<p>I have no idea what weight, if any, each college gives to the generic CA LOR forms but before I took advice from a bunch of people who probably do not work for the admissions offices of the colleges to which your child is applying, I would go directly to the source and ask each college. This way you will know for certain what their policies are.</p>
<p>As I mentioned in the other thread, all of the columns show up on DD’s print-outs of this form. Not sure why you guys are having so much trouble with it. In any event, I am sure that it is very frustrating for you and I hope that you are able to get this resolved. I would still send an email to the help desk at CA to see what they recommend you do as far as downloading this form properly. Perhaps this has happened before to others and they may have a solution.</p>
<p>i mailed my teachers recs without using the official form and had no problem with colleges receiving then…they will still take the recs even though teachers did not use the form on common app</p>