Anyone had a teacher not submit recs by the deadline?

[Anonymous]

Recs due today and one teacher still hasn't submitted them. DC's anxiety is rising, considering there's no way to contact him right now.
I'm optimistic they'll get to it but I do worry too, especially if there's an issue (poor internet connection wherever the teacher is, personal conflict, etc.)

Has anyone been in a situation where the teacher didn't submit in a timely fashion? Is that an automatic rejection for highly competitive programs?

[Anonymous]

That’s terrible. Does your DC have at least one teacher recommendation already in for that school? If the minimum requirement is one, then your DC could have the second one sent as soon as it’s available. I would think the school would be open to accepting that, particularly given the holidays and the fact this was out of your DC’s control.

[Anonymous]

Does your child hand in papers early? Does the teacher expect that items due on a Friday be handed in on a Thursday? Relax. My wife is sitting next to me working on her last few recommendations for students. These happen to be kids that asked late. But the deadline is midnight. Plenty of time. If your child feels compelled, they should contact the teacher and ask “is there anything more you need from me before the deadline this evening? Thank you again for taking the time to write my rec.”

[Anonymous]

Also the student won’t be penalized for a late rec, happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

To the PP above whose spouse is a teacher, what has been typical in terms of gestures of appreciation once May rolls around? A card? An email? A gift (what might that be)?

[Anonymous]

Just to add to my post right above (I had meant to answer original question but got sidetracked): colleges typically give a week’s leeway for recs outside the student’s control. Just make sure the student submits their portion before the deadline.

Teachers know this too.

Jan 4 all teachers will back at school and then you can send a reminder if it’s not in yet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child hand in papers early? Does the teacher expect that items due on a Friday be handed in on a Thursday? Relax. My wife is sitting next to me working on her last few recommendations for students. These happen to be kids that asked late. But the deadline is midnight. Plenty of time. If your child feels compelled, they should contact the teacher and ask “is there anything more you need from me before the deadline this evening? Thank you again for taking the time to write my rec.”

And please note that it’s NYD, which is a religious holiday for some people. The teacher may be observing with family and then planning to submit recommendations tonight.

[Anonymous]

My kid had a teacher not submit a rec for ED. College contacted my kid, who then contacted his HS teacher. Her response “oops, I forgot.” He still got into the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also the student won’t be penalized for a late rec, happens all the time.

+1. My kid went to TJ which knows competitive college admissions. They say, the kid is held responsible for their portion of the application being in on time. But, if outside the kids control (transcripts and recommendations) are late, the kid is held harmless and there is a little wiggle room on the deadline. (They went on to add that, of course, your kids recommendation and transcript will be in on time).

If it isn’t in, email the teacher tomorrow, cc: guidance counselors, a nice, “it appears you forgot”.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thank you for the replies.

We don't mean to be unappreciative and I realize that deadlines that fall on holidays are particularly unfortunate, especially with teachers having so much to deal with this year.

It makes perfect sense from my perspective that the colleges would allow wiggle room for all these reasons. I just didn't know if they did or not. That will help relieve DC's anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also the student won’t be penalized for a late rec, happens all the time.

+1. My kid went to TJ which knows competitive college admissions. They say, the kid is held responsible for their portion of the application being in on time. But, if outside the kids control (transcripts and recommendations) are late, the kid is held harmless and there is a little wiggle room on the deadline. (They went on to add that, of course, your kids recommendation and transcript will be in on time).

If it isn’t in, email the teacher tomorrow, cc: guidance counselors, a nice, “it appears you forgot”.

PP whose kid had a teacher not turn in a rec. He was at TJ as well. Counselor was useless and left my kid (and us) to deal. And yes, we helped with the wording on the email bc its a touchy situation.

[Anonymous]

At the last minute, my DD’s teacher decided to snail mail rec. She called the college to let them know it would be late. They were very reassuring that it would be ok and she was accepted. I think they give a week or two leeway, esp knowing how hard this year has been for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP above whose spouse is a teacher, what has been typical in terms of gestures of appreciation once May rolls around? A card? An email? A gift (what might that be)?

I’ve been writing college recommendation letters for 15 years, usually 20 or so a year. I’ve been thanked only 2-3 times. A thank-you email would mean so much to the teachers who took the time to write these personalized letters!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also the student won’t be penalized for a late rec, happens all the time.

+1. My kid went to TJ which knows competitive college admissions. They say, the kid is held responsible for their portion of the application being in on time. But, if outside the kids control (transcripts and recommendations) are late, the kid is held harmless and there is a little wiggle room on the deadline. (They went on to add that, of course, your kids recommendation and transcript will be in on time).

If it isn’t in, email the teacher tomorrow, cc: guidance counselors, a nice, “it appears you forgot”.

I would be politer than this. This is accusatory, not the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also the student won’t be penalized for a late rec, happens all the time.

+1. My kid went to TJ which knows competitive college admissions. They say, the kid is held responsible for their portion of the application being in on time. But, if outside the kids control (transcripts and recommendations) are late, the kid is held harmless and there is a little wiggle room on the deadline. (They went on to add that, of course, your kids recommendation and transcript will be in on time).

If it isn’t in, email the teacher tomorrow, cc: guidance counselors, a nice, “it appears you forgot”.

I would be politer than this. This is accusatory, not the way to go.

+1. I would go with the PP's suggested route of "is there anything else you need from me" as a much more polite nudge.