<p>I'm having major issues with my teacher and I need advice on how to deal with it. Could you please share your opinion? </p>
<p>Last year I opened up to my teacher and told him a lot about my personal life (even things that my parents don't know). This was one of my main reason my grades were bad. I've known him my whole high school career and he agreed to help me. Long story short, he made me write several narratives about what happened and agreed to write me a recommendation letter (touching on the subject) and to read my personal statement. </p>
<p>Well I gave him the LOR stuff about more than a month ago and my essay and I have still heard nothing from it. I have him in class every day, and still absolutely nothing. I asked him about it last week and he said that he got the essay and will finish the LOR soon. </p>
<p>I told all my LOR teachers to please have it in by November 15 and he is literally the only one left. I don't know what to do. Please help! I can't afford to miss his LOR, but at the same time I don't want to beg him.</p>
<p>Last week he said he’d have it done and he still has 3 days left. He’s obviously going to take it to the end, but he still has time left before your deadline. Isn’t this for RD admission? If so, your deadline is plenty early.</p>
<p>Entomom, you’re always on top of things, and your advice is always great, I just want to say thanks while I’m here.</p>
<p>Zombie, no need to worry about it. Just because it takes them awhile doesn’t mean they haven’t worked on it. My teacher probably had at least 30 recs to do and my class is only 350 or so people. I can’t imagine how many your teacher could have if you go to a big school. If it comes down to November 15th and he still doesn’t have it, then maybe it’s an issue (even though if, like entomom said, this is for RD, you’re plenty early. The 15th is more of an ED deadline anyway.</p>
<p>Even if it is for ED, don’t fret. My daughter applied EA to several schools and one of her recs, from her favorite teacher whom she worked for last summer, was uploaded mid-afternoon on Nov. 1. To the schools, as long as you make the deadline, it doesn’t matter if it was a day, a week, or a month early.</p>
<p>I had the exact same problem a few days ago! My teacher waited until the LAST minute (11:30 on the day it was due, to be precise). If you’re getting a case of the jitters, do what I did: speak to your counselor, maybe have them talk to the teacher, and if you’re seriously concerned, call the college admissions office. Tell the admissions office your predicament, and ask if a late teacher recommendation impacts their consideration of your application. Usually, though, as long as all of your materials are in, they process your application as the additional components (in this case, recommendations) come in. Plus, if it is not for Early Decision, don’t give yourself grey hairs over nothing. The teacher most likely has other recommendations that absolutely need to be completed by November 15th.</p>
<p>November 26th and he still hasn’t even started! Well he says he has, but the common app says different. I am kinda getting angry. What should I do?</p>
<p>Well, the application deadline is often different than the teacher recommendation deadline. Having said that, though, you may want to either resend the email or just straight up march into his room and present a deadline (i.e., “it’s due Thursday” often works better than “it was due two Thursdays ago,” even though that may not be the case). Also, it may help to start with something like “I’m really worried about the application process and I was just wondering if you are aware that…” That’s a terrible example of eloquence, but the point is you shouldn’t hint at being accusatory or you may not get what you want. More importantly, though, if he doesn’t cooperate after a few days or you’re just fed up with the teacher entirely, you can call admissions for advice (again, don’t come across as being angry) and ask about the absolute deadline for materials. When I applied to UNC, the application deadline was October 15, but the materials deadline was November 1. However, I got an email on November 15 saying my application was incomplete and I had until November 27 to get all materials in or else my application could be reviewed as incomplete. </p>
<p>Who knows? Maybe the Common App has just been glitchy recently and the teacher has already uploaded the form.</p>
<p>IMHO - I’d have to know what you said/wrote, but I am guessing that he doesn’t know what to do with it. In all likelihood, he feels for you - you have a long-standing relationship and you’ve shared something personal, but I’m guessing that whatever that is has made it hard for him to write this rec. </p>
<p>I would strongly consider thinking about a back-up rec, and I would ask him straight up if he is having difficulty determining what to say.</p>
<p>I have been there, and I will tell you that, many times, I felt really conflicted about the rec. It became hard to write. I’ve never not done one, but there have been many that I’ve wished I could get out of.</p>
<p>On the other hand, he could just be overwhelmed. Be calm, but give him the opportunity to bail. It might be for the best.</p>
<p>See the thing is I would be perfectly fine if he bailed, I just hate waiting. I want to talk to someone else if he won’t. However, waiting for him time is running out.</p>
<p>Zombie, why dont you just ask another? If this teacher gets around to it, you will have more than you need, but perhaps he is not on board anymore and is struggling with what to do. I wouldnt confront him and it may just be he hasnt gotten to it yet, but take the pressure off you by moving on to another.</p>