<p>Is it all right to apply to colleges using the common app but have teachers mail in recommendations without having invited them with the common app? The reason I ask is because the common app really confused me by having you assign teachers before they can write recommendations and not letting you assign recommenders that aren't teachers. So I ended up giving envelopes to all my teachers before I found I first had to assign them. The counselors for my school also send in recommendations and transcripts using a program separate from the common app, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't digging myself into a deeper hole. Thanks</p>
<p>I think most colleges allow you to send in recommendations in the mail. However, a lot of colleges have questions for the teachers to fill out and you have to download the questions online and give it to the teachers to mail it along with the recommendation letter. My suggestion is to look at each college’s website or email them because each one will be different.</p>
<p>Hm. What should I do if I already gave them the envelopes to mail their letters? Would it hurt to have them do both the online recommendation after they mailed one in?</p>
<p>You could contact the schools and tell them the situation- that you had teachers send through mail and online. That way they can just view it one way or the other.
I’m not entirely sure about this, but I think teachers have to submit on common app since most schools require recommendation letters. If you don’t have that section completed, it might not allow you to send your applications out.</p>
<p>If your school does not use Naviance, you will be required to invite the minimum number of recommenders by using the common app’s online system before you can submit the common app. The recommenders who want to mail in their recs then have to go through the “opt out” process by clicking in the appropriate place when their emailed invitation from the common app arrives.</p>
<p>Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I’m still having some issues. My teacher seems to be unable to send in a recommendation online and I plan to submit my common app without him having sent one online. He did send a recommendation that he wrote without any information from the common app though. That is he wrote it free-hand without any guidelines pertaining to content. Is that a valid substitute? Or do I need to submit another recommendation through the common app?</p>
<p>@iplo472,
I have the EXACT same problem that you are having. I have been told that the colleges have very efficient systems for this application stuff. Thus, if you send some letters by mail, some by commonapp, or even send two of each, the colleges have you covered as long as it is clear that the letters are the same. CommonApp is having lots of problems with recommendation submissions. Some of my teachers have reported randomly deleted accounts, lack of submission buttons, and even random crashes on the website. One of my teachers was unable to submit the recommendation until today, 10-28-13, when the submit button just randomly appeared when it wasn’t there before. Commonapp is the bane of my existence.
Also, I would also like to know if you must have a commonapp form filled out. My teachers also simply sent their written recommendation without any official commonapp recommendation form. My guidance counselor said that was fine.</p>