Recommender sent LOR to wrong school....?

[Gvh]

Hey guys - your thoughts would be appreciated on this.

I'm applying to do an M.A/M.S in Counseling Psychology to start in Fall 2012 and basically, by means of a set of circumstances, I am almost certain that one of my LORs customized for School A was submitted to School B.

The thing is that the LOR itself wasn't necessarily aimed at any one program, it was mainly a general praise of my qualities as a student etc etc, however the last paragraph did include the name of one school when in fact it was submitted to another. I was contemplating contacting my recommender to see if it was possible to correct it, but I have a feeling once they click "submit" there is no going back =(

So the question is - how damaging is this to me, the applicant? I haven't quite finished the SOP for this program and it is not one my top choices, probably not even my 2nd or 3rd. So I'm thinking, if it's going to dampen my chances, maybe I should not apply and save myself $80? On the other hand, if they won't punish me for this, I would still like to give it a shot.

Ideas and opinions are welcome.

[fuzzylogician]

First of all, it's entirely possible that the recommender can resubmit a new letter all by themselves if the application deadline hasn't passed yet. Second, they can also contact an administrator (who ever is in charge of the system) and ask to replace the current letter with a new one, if they can't resubmit themselves. Third, although it doesn't look great, I'm sure adcoms will understand that professors are busy and make mistakes. A mistake like this will not singlehandedly get your application tossed. But do make sure that you get the school name right in your SOP for this school..

[runonsentence]

I found graduate administrators/secretaries surprisingly nice about helping out with paperwork issues like this, when I applied. It wouldn't hurt to give the secretary/office admin at your prospective a phone call, if they already have the letter in hand.

[Gvh]

Thanks guys - that helps. I will get in touch with my recommender to see if he is able to change the letter. And yeah, I will probably check twice to get the name right in the SOP for this school..ha!

[butterfingers2010]

I second the thought about getting the name of the school correct in the SOP....that would be a huge mistake! That's like calling your date by the wrong first name : ) : )