So will they just throw them away?!

Applying to College
1

<p>I tried looking for the answer to this in old threads but I couldn't find it.</p>

<p>So I know that if your SAT scores arrive before your application, the college can just start a file for you and that will be OK. What about letters of rec, though? </p>

<p>I have a couple deadlines around December 15, and then the rest of mine are postmark deadlines of around January 1. I'm giving my recommenders all the stuff this coming Monday, but I can't exactly say "Well, send this one as soon as possible, and wait and send this one until the end of December because I won't have turned in my application yet." Will a school throw away a letter of rec if they don't already have a file started for me? If that is the case, how can I explain to my recommenders which ones need to be sent at which time? I don't think it's fair to ask them to hold onto letters until my convenience, but I really need the time after our final exams are over (which is like December 17 or 18) to keep on perfecting my applications before I send them.</p>

2

<p>No, they make a file for you the second they get something from you (whether it is SAT, rec, transcript, app, etc) and keep everything. I would assume they trash everything over the summer to save space, but maybe they keep everything they have ever received.</p>

3

<p>Some schools save recs, scores etc in a miscellaneous file if your application is not turned in earlier. They regularly check and transfer to individual files. Nothing is lost, don't worry.</p>

4

<p>I sent my SAT scores my junior year and the colleges I'm currently applying to have put those in my folder.</p>