<p>Ok so Yale app is due 12/31.
My teacher recommendation is on vacation right now and won't be back until 12/31 at 9PM. What i'm wondering is if Yale will still accept that teacher recommendation anywhere between 9-10PM even tho in Eastern time it's already at like 12-1 AM.</p>
<p>The deadline is for you (the applicant) to submit the common app and supplement. Your teacher can be slightly late with their recommendations by a week or so and it will be okay.</p>
<p>Really?!
I’ve researched about this not only on the Yale website but also on CC.
CC says EVERYTHING has to be turned in on that time whereas for Yale I can’t really find it.
Is there a specific link where I can find this information? I’ve been searching but nothing came up.</p>
<p>No, there isn’t a specific link I can send you to. It’s just the way the system works, and you’ll have to trust me on this.</p>
<p>Once you submit the Common Application and Supplement (by the deadline), Yale and all colleges, start putting your file together. They have to find your transcript, high school profile, guidance counselor report, test scores, teacher recommendations and essays and put them all together into your file. </p>
<p>If there is an item missing, Yale (and all other colleges) will email you around the third week of January and give you additional time to track down the missing components and allow you additional time (1 to 2 weeks) to track them down and send them in. With thousands of students submitting applications, each having multiple components, some items do get lost or misplaced and each college must allow sufficient time for reconciliation.</p>
<p>Josh, if you need corroborating evidence, then I am vouching that what Gibby says is true in terms of the deadlines for the LORs. However, I did not know that colleges inform students if something is missing and give the students time to get in the info; that’s pretty nice of them!</p>
<p>I third gibby’s advice/expertise.</p>
<p>Logic.</p>
<p>Yale and others spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and valuable man-hours to get a great applicant pool. They don’t turn around and create a chasm at midnight, Jan 01 whereby everything that gets submitted after goes into an auto-delete folder or documents with a 2013 postmark instantly get shredded or dropped into a bonfire upon arrival in New Haven. </p>
<p>And Yale does contact schools and students for missing items. </p>
<p>They actually want to read your file and find a reason to admit you. </p>
<p>Imagine that. Just get your stuff in.</p>
<p>Here’s an exercise for you: do a count of how many “OMG! my docs got sent in 5 seconds after midnight! Am I screwed” type posts that will arise between now and January 1st on the various Ivy fora and the “college admissions” forum. It’s staggering and sadly predictable. </p>
<p>Right now, there’s a huge number of posts wondering about “rush” sending SAT/ACT scores – when clearly, many schools will accept the January sitting of SATs. Common sense leaves the room, often.</p>
<p>That being said: good luck to you and treat yourself after you hit the “submit” button.</p>
<p>oh ok thanks you guys very much! One more thing off my worry list now haha</p>
<p>I was wondering if mediocre teacher recommendations hurt a student’s chance of acceptance. For example, would generic recommendations stating things such as, pleasure to have in class, achieves high grades, etc., be the determining factors in a Yale decision?</p>
<p>Also, would high test (SAT I and II) scores mitigate the negative impact the letters have on the adcoms of selective colleges?</p>
<p>To get the attention of Admissions Officers, a student needs their teacher recommendations to jump off the page, such as those on MIT’s website: [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</p>
<p>If a student’s recs are mediocre, I imagine that a student DOES NOT proceed to the final round, regardless of SAT/ACT scores. See: <a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application[/url]”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/video-transcription/whats-the-most-important-part-of-the-application</a></p>
<p>“Students, when we’re on the road, we often play a little kind of quiz show game with students, asking what they think is the most important part of the application. Many, many students respond, “Well, the testing must be the most important.” It’s actually one of the less important elements in the file. The testing can give you a sense of what schools are within your range, and it gives the school a sense of what students in the applicant pool are within their range. The most important part of your application — bar none, no question, any college — is your high school transcript. Probably the next most important are your teacher recommendations, particularly if you’re applying to any kind of selective college or university.”</p>
<p>@gibby, thank you so much for your quick, thorough answer. As an incredibly recent member of CC trying to absorb as much information as I can from these innumerable posts, your links are by far one of the best pieces of advice I have found.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to veer away from Gibby here (sorry buddy!). Yale knows that some teachers/schools are not used to writing recs that are useful for elite school admissions. Often, they are full of praise but focus on areas that aren’t useful. Generic phrases like “good character, work ethic” and other platitudes. Because the teachers/principals/GCs honestly think this is what Y and others want. What the colleges really want is what’ s contained in that MIT tutorial that Gibby cited.</p>
<p>Since students may not know the rec letter writing ability of teachers, Yale does not hold it against them. They just discount the rec letter and search for other areas of illumination.</p>
<p>Case in point (a real situation): several years ago, two guys from a nearby inner city HS applied. Everything about their file was strong – overcoming many obstacles, good test scores, etc. Our admissions committee leaned towards admitting but there was some hesitation. Both guys’ teacher rec letters were only OK. This isn’t uncommon from inner city schools or schools where the teachers aren’t accustomed to writing profound/anecdote laced rec letters for very competitive colleges. </p>
<p>The rec letters were supportive but simply formulaic. This left the committee on the fence. However, after each kid met with alumni who wrote to confirm the kids’ strengths and real depth, the reports gave the committee confidence to get off the fence and offer admits to both guys. Here was an actual example of interviews that made a difference. But you can see how unique the circumstances were. Yale looked for evidence elsewhere.</p>
<p>Again, this is not the case where there was lukewarm support. The teachers clearly supported the candidacy but failed to provide much useful “meat” to the committee. </p>
<p>If there is clear mediocre or begrudging support, then that’s a stake in the heart, for sure.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>After only a few days on CC, I’ve realized how lucky I am to have found such a supportive, helpful community.</p>
<p>thank you very much T26E4 for your insightful, enlightening answer.</p>