So guys, here is the issue I am having.
For my other recommender, Dartmouth STRONGLY RECOMMENDS a peer recommendation. I chose a friend who procrastinated and didn’t do a very good letter of rec. Granted, she knows me well and I consider her my close friends but she only wrote me a paragraph. My teachers told me how they wrote a page and a half each and now I’m worried that what she wrote might have not been enough. I asked a friend who had read it for her and she informed me that she had listed a few qualities about me and then explained why I should be accepted to the college in 3 sentences. My teachers informed me that they included several anecdotes of my accomplishments in the classroom. Eh, right? I asked her if she could add more but she told me that she would not be able to since she doesnt have much time and has not started her AP work.
Well, I was thinking that I ask another friend to do it since Dartmouth messaged all the interested applicants that they can submit other things by January 5, Monday. I already submitted, though, with my friend as the recommender.
Would it be too late to add him as the other recommendation on my Common App? Or should I have him send her the app so that she can submit it for me?
If you already submitted, the only way to add an additional rec is by uploading on the Dartmouth applicant site or by emailing your admissions counselor. Don’t worry, the peer recs actually mean little in terms of Dartmouth admissions.
I discovered the answer to my problem: “An applicant may still assign a recommender to schools after the recommendation or application has been submitted. As soon as a teacher submits a recommendation, it is sent to any schools to which the student has assigned the recommender.”
Here’s the proof: https://appsupport.commonapp.org/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=1972#ratingContent
I would just use the recommendation you already have. It has virtually no impact on the admissions process unless something completely unexpected (in a bad way) arises in the rec. I can’t imagine Dartmouth has the same expectation for peer recs as they do for teachers’.
If the rec doesn’t obviously say anything negative about you, Dartmouth might understand that the recommender is lazy or had lots of work or is just a bad writer.
However, if your other friend can do it and you can still send it in, you should do that. When you’re applying to an Ivy, you want to do everything possible to improve your application, even if it’s something that has little to no bearing on the school’s decision.
@Matt846 You would think so, huh? But, in fact, Dartmouth strongly recommends a Peer Recommendation. Definitely required but a famous rule that CC students go by is, “If it’s strongly recommended, then it’s required.”
And Yes, thank you Merlion. I will do just that.