<p>We just finished a whirlwind tour of 5 LAC in the northwest - and with this post in mind, I asked each of the admissions people we met with what would happen if the teacher's recommendation were late. All were understanding that the student did not control that aspect and indicated that the student would not be penalized unless it went on for a VERY long time - e.g. multiple months. They also indicated that phone calls to the student would be made and that the student would be able to switch to a different, perhaps more responsive teacher if required. </p>
<p>One also said that they would probably review the package with the other two recommendations (GC and other teacher) anyway and if the decision was anything other than borderline would either admit or deny the student without waiting for the last form.</p>
<p>We have 2 children in college now and we NEVER had a teacher take that long for recs. And there are definitely teachers that are much more popular than others! I wouldn't beat yourself up over having waited so long. That timetable seems way too long for that teacher!</p>
<p>M-pie, I think you have received many great suggestions in this thread. </p>
<p>My first thought is that you're still way ahead of the majority of the students in obtaining the LOR. My second thought is that you will not be screwed by the "late" receipt of the LOR. </p>
<p>As far as getting the letter done earlier, I do not think that the gift BEFORE obtaining the letter is necessary, I would try to offer some assistance to the teacher in expediting the letter. </p>
<p>I would prepare a folder (if you have not done it) with background information on your child and present the information in as EASILY retrievable format. The folder should contain a resume (read listing of activities, achievements and grades) in a Word format and pdf files of awards and achievements. Put the information on a disk or offer to email it all to the teacher.</p>
<p>What you want is to present pertinent data that the teacher could easily use to prepare her LOR and only need to add a couple of salient facts. In other words, while not writing the LOR yourself, you offer a shortcut and cut down the effort of the teacher to a minimum. </p>
<p>When presenting the folder to the teacher, make sure to add the list of the schools and the deadlines. You might also ask the teacher to express her opinion about your choices. You'd be amazed how flattered teachers are when asked for THEIR opinions. </p>
<p>xiggi, that is a good reminder. I would hope everyone who asks a teacher or anyone for a rec would give them a resume as a standard courtesy to help them. But maybe not?</p>
<p>I think I'll email her a copy of the resume. They were required to turn one in the counseling office, but I guess I shouldn't assume the GC will share.</p>
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<p>I think I'll email her a copy of the resume>></p>
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<p>In my humble opinion, this should be given to the teacher by the STUDENT, not the parent.</p>
<p>Great reminder Xiggi. Each teacher should get a list of student accomplishments that will help them customize their letter of recommendation for that student.</p>
<p>I kept a list on my computer starting in ninth grade for both of my kids...just started a word document and added their activities and such to it each year. It would have been impossible to remember the dates, etc if that hadn't been done. When the time came, I sent it on over to the kidlets and they formatted it themselves either in a list or resume format. i didn't do that part. But in each family someone has to keep track of things...and the kids certainly don't!!</p>
<p>At our kids' school the teachers just wrote up their recs, signed them and stuck them into the envelopes provided by the students and mailed them. They did not fill out any forms, did not do anything on line. The GC told me that for some of the top schools actually answering those questions can hurt a kid if you cannot give him a top rating in everything. I believe I have seen that in some books on college apps too. So the counselors and teachers here circumvent the questions by writing a blanket ref. I guess they are becoming politicians.</p>
<p>I like that approach, because reading the forms, it didn't seem like Son was stellar in *all *categories. But I'm such a rule follower, it never occured to me that you could not use the form.</p>
<p>If a college would not take a rec letter written on the Common App form, or a written letter that was stapled to their own form, I wouldn't have my child apply there. I'm not interested in dealing with any college that cares more about forms than content. And as Chedva found out, I don't think there are many (if any) colleges that are all that strict about what form a recommendation comes in.</p>
<p>If I were a teacher (I work in a HS, but I'm an administrator), I'd be more than happy to write ONE letter of rec for any student who asked, as long as they were a reasonably good student. But one letter, addressed "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear College Admissions Officer" would be it. That's why God invented Xerox. At our hs, the recommendation letters are turned in to Guidance, who copies them and sends them out with transcripts. I doubt Guidance expects teachers to write multiple letters for the same kid!</p>
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<p>Thumper1, I did the exact same resume thing for DS, and I'm keeping one now for DD. It will be up to her to word it and format it the way she sees fit, but at least she won't be wracking her brain to remember what she did way back in freshman year!</p>
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<p>Missypie, you have been around here long enough to know that you should NEVER trust your GC about anything!! Always have your s double and triple check that transcripts, recs, etc. have gone out!! NEVER assume! We had S go in 2 weeks before the deadline to double check. If still not out, he went in again two days later to triple check. I have to admit, our GC was really on top of things, but I have heard the horror stories about misplaced items, forgotten items or careless negligence from GCs at our school over the past 8 years!</p>
<p>cptofthehouse--I looked into that (not using the rating system) too because I thought son would far much, much better w/a holistic letter than a categorization sheet (e.g. on the Common App). A few college admis depts told me they did require the 'ratings sheet' so we complied. I really angsted over that though, because I thought son's HS experience (he did many ECs outside of school, started out disengaged academically, then improved a lot) wouldn't produce a super-flattering rating. </p>
<p>Maybe we still should have disregarded the ratings sheets, even after the college admins advised us differently. What were they going to do, throw out the non-ratings-based rec?</p>
<p>"...But one letter, addressed "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear College Admissions Officer" would be it. That's why God invented Xerox. At our hs, the recommendation letters are turned in to Guidance, who copies them and sends them out with transcripts. I doubt Guidance expects teachers to write multiple letters for the same kid!""</p>
<p>That's what D's school does too. It's a very smooth process and the recs are kept on file just in case she wants to run down to guidance and send an application to "just one more school".</p>
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"...But one letter, addressed "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear College Admissions Officer" would be it. That's why God invented Xerox. At our hs, the recommendation letters are turned in to Guidance, who copies them and sends them out with transcripts. I doubt Guidance expects teachers to write multiple letters for the same kid!"</p>
<p>That's what D's school does too. It's a very smooth process and the recs are kept on file just in case she wants to run down to guidance and send an application to "just one more school".
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<p>Same process here. If a particular school really wants their own form completed after receiving just a rec letter, they will let you know and then the teacher can fill out the specific form.</p>
<p>I am going to suggest our HS adopt that streamlined, centralized process.</p>
<p>As of last year, students and teachers worked out their letters. The teacher mailed their letters to the colleges directly. It was up to the teacher to save a copy of their letter in case a student made a late addition to their college list. Additionally, the students had to request their GC write a letter which was forwarded to the college counseling office where a school profile/transcript was attached and mailed. So many steps, so much room for error.</p>
<p>While I am not certain what a centralized process involves, it it means leaving ANYTHING in the control of the GC and the school, it is a REALLY BAD IDEA. </p>
<p>For years, I have been writing on CC how everyone should not trust the high school to do anything right. I have advocated from checking the entire curriculum and plan the entire four years of HS before the end of 8th grade, have suggested to check the transcript after EVERY quarter or semester, check rankings before the school thinks it should be made public, and definitely NOT trust the school to send in anything on the behalf of your children. </p>
<p>If the school insists on mailing transcripts directly to the school, do NOT let them do without you being present to add a postcard in the envelope that confirms the receipt by the colleges. Do NOT allow the school to send combined packages that include other students information. Give the school prepaid and addressed envelope for each document. Do not give the teachers the envelope but ask them to let you know when you could pick up the sealed envelope from them. Tell them you send everything via express delivery even if it not true. </p>
<p>While this might sound drastic, there is no reason this has to be done in an antagonistic manner. Simply tell the school that you want to make sure the simple mailing out of YOUR information remains under your control. </p>
<p>And, fwiw, battle them to remove everything from the transcript that was not a grade earned at the school. No matter what they say, they have NO right to add EC reports and especially not PSAT, SAT, or ACT scores. They received such score for informational purposes and not for distribution. If they balk, show them a copy of a letter to the College Board that will require to remove your HS for distribution of your scores. </p>
<p>When it comes to GCs, work with them but do not let them bully you! And do NOT trust them at all! Those people are the absolute weakest link in their entire application process and the last ones who should control the flow of information in any way or shape.</p>
<p>And lastly, do not fear potential retaliation from teachers of GCs. The squeaky wheel does get the grease.</p>
<p>xiggi, you couldn't have said it any clearer!! Everything you have reminded people of in your post is the BEST advice for anyone with a senior! People, please print xiggi's post out and put it where you can see it everyday! This is the truth, no matter WHERE your kids go to school!</p>