This only came across my mind recently. I was deferred ED and sent in a LOCI. My senior year English teacher, whom I believe truly enjoys me in his class, said he could write me a letter of rec for Brown after being deferred. Is it worth it? And to whom would he send the letter?
I’ve been stumbling on your threads a lot… But if its a really really good letter, may as well try!
But know that by the time he writes it and it gets into the system, most tippy tops have read files more than once. They’ve formed opinions on individuals and the pools. They’re starting to meet to refine those judgments.
At this point, worrying is worrisome. You need to know you did your best, during hs and on the app package. No Hail Marys. Be strong.
Five more weeks.
It is highly unlikely that another teacher will add anything of more value than your earlier teacher recs, and even if it did, it is unlikely to move your application from one pile to another. At some point, it just becomes more paper and the thicker the file, the thicker the kid adage comes into play.
Unless your English teacher is also a cumulative 7 figure donor to the university, I doubt it will move the needle at all.
Ah ok thanks guys! I’m gonna check in with my GC today to ask her opinion of it to make sure I’m not losing an opportunity to bolster my application.
I think it’s OK to submit another rec, but preferably it’s from someone who can present a different side of you – a coach, an employer, for example.
Well… my friend who also applied ED and got deferred asked the same teacher for the rec and has already sent it in.
I’m not sure why you think that matters.
@skieurope the teacher himself said that the problem with writing me a rec is that he doesn’t know me well outside of the classroom. He does, however, know my friend better since he is in a class of 6 people. My teacher said he could write me an “exceptional” rec about my performance in class and about my creative writing but wouldn’t be able to mention anything about me outside of the classroom unlike he did for my friend. Do you think I should still do it if it adds a new perspective to my app?
Therein lies the issue. Brown does not need another letter describing you in the classroom; the ones you have already sent in will suffice. If the letter added in some perspective of life outside the classroom, it might be OK to send in (although I still don’t even think that would move the needle), but another teacher rec, no.
It’s just late in the game.
@lookingforward yeah, I get that, but that isn’t really a concern. I just think that without sending updates/additional info, adcoms wouldn’t have any reason to accept me after a deferral (if nothing in my app has changed).
Does another teacher letter add a new perspective to your app and change anything?
If that teacher can add some new accomplishment (i.e., he just found out that you received the highest score possible on an assessment administered by someone other than the school – i.e., IB) or that you’d just had something published, it could be helpful. But if it’s just going to echo what’s already there, I don’t think it’d help.
If I had such a letter, I MIGHT take my chances and use it if I ended up on the W as the committee is probably already overwhelmed or has already reviewed your application. Tough call.
This is the other issue. Even if the new LoR demonstrated this amazing new side of the applicant, I have to think that admissions would wonder why the applicant decided to wait 2 months after deferral to send it in.
I have a neighbor friend who is on the admissions committee at our local UC.
She says they get “extra” items that weren’t requested and the staff (annoyed) has nowhere to put them (portfolio’s, publications, videos, etc.) and that it is annoying because the applications are the main focus.
Some people must have seen Legally Blond a little too much and have sent in admissions videos. It’s all for naught because she said the main issues are the GPA and the test scores. They want to see how the person performs in a classroom because that student will have to attend classes on campus.
Sending another letter of recommendation that is late, not from a community member (boss at work, church, Eagle Scout adviser, etc.), and desperate tells the committee that you are not mature enough to either be patient, or move on. Sorry, but, Dog and Pony shows aren’t going to work at this late stage of the game.
Thanks for all the comments everyone! I have decided against the letter of rec since it’ll probably just echo other things mentioned by my other teacher recs. Plus, sending one this late in the game and from a teacher who doesn’t know me outside the class is a whole other issue. I’ll just have to wait until March 30th 
I doubt the teacher would know this while the student didn’t. Students should absolutely be updating the adcom with regard to awards/accomplishments.
With regard to “late in the game,” I disagree on that element. Decisions are not final until they have been posted on-line and from personal experience, a school can change 100 students’ decisions on the evening before decisions are released.
I think @skieurope said it best, “the thicker the file, the thicker the student.” It’s hard to wait but there really is nothing more to do.