<p>I'm an international student. My high school does not have rules over sending letters of recommendation for students to overseas institutions. Whoever has to sends them on his/her own.
Due to this, I am afraid colleges will doubt the authenticity of the letters. Should I send my application by mail then? Would there be any difference between a hand-written letter and a typed one with signature considering they are both sent by mail?
Mailing the applications may not be the best economical option so I'm counting on my EA/ED. If I need to apply in the regular round with at least 5 schools, Common App looks so much better. But then would there be any inconsistency if I had mailed the letters instead in the EA/ED round?</p>
<p>I don’t think it would make a difference either way, for the application at least. For the letter, I would definitely send the hand written one, if only to better distinguish authenticity.</p>
<p>Call the schools and ask their preference. They may not have any. Don’t send hand-written notes. A signature is all is needed</p>
<p>@T26E4 If the question were 'What should I do to improve credibility?", what would be your exact answer?</p>
<p>The same. The schools will give tell you what level of verification they need. Don’t go off peoples’ guesses. Call the schools. They all admit international students so they already have policies in place. Ask them. Not high school students</p>
<p>The new Common Application will be available in web-only form, although your teachers can certainly send their recommendation letters by mail or fax: <a href="http://www..com/blog/index.php/2013/uncategorized/new-common-application-essays-for-2013-14/%5B/url%5D">http://www..com/blog/index.php/2013/uncategorized/new-common-application-essays-for-2013-14/</a></p>
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<p>EDIT: Sorry, College Confidential is not allowing the link, as it contains advertising from a test prep company. If you want to find the source, Google “Common Application 2013-2014 web-only” and go to the 5th listing.</p>