<p>If a student asked a teacher during the spring of junior year for a recommendation and the teacher writing the recommendation finished it early that summer, would the student have to ask the teacher to hold onto the letter until fall? Or could the teacher send it off during the early summer (let's say June), even if that year's application forms were not going to be released online until July? Would the forms that the teacher used be the wrong forms or would it generally not matter(i.e using a teacher recommendation form from the 2008 application when you'd really be applying for 2009)?</p>
<p>Ask the teacher at least a month before the deadline… your idea of letting teachers know at the spring of junior year is ideal. My teachers requested me to put the college names and deadlines on the front of a large brown envelope. Inside the envelope were letter envelopes addressed and stamped to each college. Also, the forms for each college, a list of my activities, and a brief statement about what appealed to me about each college.</p>
<p>I suppose what I’m getting at here is to let your teachers know the deadlines and they will send the letters off when they are finished with them. The college will deal with it either way. </p>
<p>And a note… be organized FOR your teacher. Give them all of the materials together and ask about the rec every so often.</p>
<p>I told my recommenders about it spring of last year and they really appreciated that. Ask them exactly what they need from you so they are able to write the best rec possible. Don’t send it in the summer..Just let them hold on to it until you need it.</p>