<p>Would it be really inconsiderate for me to email my teacher to ask if he's gotten the chance to send my rec yet? I'd ask in person but I just got my tracking # for my ED school yesterday night (how I know he hasn't sent it), and we don't have school today...I want to give him the day off to write if necessary. Would that be really rude of me?</p>
<p>The deadline is the 15th so I'm running out of time.</p>
<p>doesn't everything go through your GC? My D's GC waits until everything is submitted, including recs, before forwarding the packet to admissions. Can you check with GC? If you are concerned about the teacher's reaction, why not email your GC and cc the teacher? As a parent and a HS teacher I think it is ok to email your teacher, but the problem my be with the GC. However, I wouldn't count on either of them checking their email on their day off.</p>
<p>Teacher recs are sent by the teachers individually here, my ED school has received all of my materials (including everything from the guidance office) except for this one teacher rec.</p>
<p>I think with the deadline this close, it's ok to ask. I like hayze's idea of e-mailing both the GC and teacher asking politely and reminding politely about the deadline.</p>
<p>Be aware that for virtually every school (I'm not aware of any exceptions) it is critical that YOUR application meet the deadline. But it is not critical that ancillary materials (rec, scores, transcript) arrive by the deadline. They often trickle in.</p>
<p>Since you have a tracking number, and can see that the school is not showing receipt of the rec, I think it is fine to contact him in a polite manner. I would email that the ED school has informed you that application materials have all arrived with the exception of the recommendation. You can ask whether, if he has not submitted it yet, it would be helpful for you to re-provide any forms or a stamped addressed envelope.</p>
<p>But don't worry if it is not there yet.</p>
<p>It's not rude, it's good sense to ask the teacher and to politely remind the teacher of the deadline.</p>
<p>So that your query doesn't get overlooked, I suggest that you ask the teacher in person, not by e-mail. Even have another copy of the recc form available in case the teacher has misplaced theirs.</p>
<p>If the teacher has sent the recc, do provide the teacher quickly with a handwritten thank-you note, something that should be done as soon as possible after recommendations are sent.</p>
<p>Not rude, but I agree talking to the teacher in person is best. All you need to say is I got a notice from xyz college that everything is in but the recommendation. The deadline is ___. It's possible the teacher sent it and it got lost, or that the teacher hasn't written it yet. But don't panic, colleges won't penalize you if your teacher's rec. comes in a little late. </p>
<p>Teachers send recommendations individually at our school too. They all got there in time except one which went missing. The college in question just asked the teacher to fax it to them.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that the college could actually have received the reference document and simply not have noted it on their own website in your account yet. We found with my first this happened rather frequently, especially with items close to deadline dates when the colleges have an avalanche of mail to sort through.<br>
Perhaps if you approach the teacher by saying, I am sure you were reliable and have already done this but it is not being shown as posted received, and could the teacher simply confirm what date they had mailed the form so you can track with the school...that way the teacher has no reason to feel defensive. (And if letter wasn't already done, safe to assume it will be done quickly thereafter).</p>
<p>One other note of caution here, keep checking. At one school with my first the SAT results were not showing in March even though they had been ordered sent to the school in Dec. The school kept telling my son they were likely just in a paper backlog but it turned out to have been College Board's error because they had never sent them. Luckily we could prove to college board we had ordered etc and they did rush scores to school at 11th hour. No one is perfect with all of this paper flying around so best to keep track until it is logged as received.</p>
<p>The smartest way to handle this is to send a hand-written thank you note to your recommending teachers 2 weeks before the first due date. This serves both as an appropriate expression of gratitude and a subtle reminder to get those recommendations in. I would still send the thank yous, but since you're this close to the deadline I'd also ask the teacher in a respectful way.</p>
<p>Tell him to get off his butt and write and send the darn letter. BUT be obsequious about it and send him an eamil that says only something like the following: "I am trying to determine whether my application file is complete for (name of college) to which I am applying (early action or early decision) and for which everything needs to be submitted by November 15. Could you please confirm that you have sent the recommedation letter? I really appreciate that you are doing this for me. Thanks again."</p>
<p>For any high school juniors out there who are reading this: when you FIRST ask a teacher for a rec, you may not know where you're applying. However, as soon as you DO know where you're applying, it's best to follow up with the teacher with something like this (either in person or in writing):</p>
<p>"Just to help you with timing, I'm applying to Harvard, Yale, and StateU. Harvard and Yale have a January 1st deadline, and StateU has a February 1st deadline.</p>
<p>And thank you again for agreeing to write my recommendation. I really appreciate it!"</p>