Should I ask a different teacher for my rec?

Applying to College
1

<p>I've already submitted my common app with the teacher recs for a couple EA schools. One of them was written by my comp sci teacher, who is well-known around school for never doing any work himself and allowing his students to do nothing in class. I still decided that he would be the best option for my math/science rec because I'm going into comp sci, I've had him for two years, and I've started a comp sci club under his sponsorship, so he knows me well outside of class. However, I was terrified to find out that he didn't even start my rec letter until October 29, although I asked him to do it back in September. Of course, I'm not allowed to see what he wrote, but I'm seriously questioning the content now. Is it possible to ask a different teacher to write another letter and then submit that to all my regular decision schools? And if it is, should I do it just to be safe, or stick with the letter he wrote?</p>

2

<p>Btw, I’m applying to some very selective schools, which, as I’ve heard, place a lot of emphasis on rec letters. So that’s why I’m so worried about it.</p>

3

<p>Your only concern is that he waited a few weeks to write the rec, right? That isn’t a problem and should not concern you. Teachers aren’t paid to write recs and they aren’t given extra time during the school day to do that work. They know the deadlines aren’t until November at the soonest. There was no rush for him to do the rec right away in September when you asked. It is not unreasonable nor a concern for him to have waited until late October to get it written and submitted. In fact, many great recs come from teachers who submit them shortly before deadlines.</p>

4

<p>Well, my biggest concern isn’t that he waited, but that he rushed the letter last-minute and didn’t put that much thought into it. But if it’s common for teachers to write letters shortly before the deadline, I guess I won’t worry about it too much.</p>

5

<p>What did you end up doing, Ivan? It seems that you had a genuine reason for being concerned, I hope everything worked out!</p>

6

<p>I actually have not decided yet, but I guess I’ll just stick with the letter from my comp sci teacher. Even though he wrote the letter last-minute, he still did put some effort into it, and I wouldn’t want that to go to waste. Plus, I’m not even sure if my physics teacher’s letter would be any better.</p>

7

<p>As you’ve already submitted your EA apps, you are NOT allowed to change recommenders. See: <a href=“https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1613/Remove-a-Recommender[/url]”>https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1613/Remove-a-Recommender&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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8

<p>Wow, thanks. I didn’t even know about that. Well, I guess that solves the issue completely.</p>