How important are letters of recommendation

[JaMariee]

Hey everyone! I've applied to an accelerated School Counseling Program at John Hopkins University, so the deadline for all application materials to be submitted is February 1, 2012. I'm anxious because 2 of my professors have yet to submit their letters! I've reminded both of them today, and will do so again if they don't send them by next week. Because the teachers are writing the letters so last minute, I am slightly concerned about how great the letters will be. My GPA is 3.75, and I am curious about how much weight is put into letters of recommendation if GPA is decent.

[rising_star]

Honestly, when they write them isn't going to affect the quality of the letter. And don't nag them. They have plenty of time before the deadline to submit their letters.

[edost]

Letters of recommendation are very important. That and your Statement of Purpose are the two best ways for admission committees to evaluate you beyond the dry numbers of the transcript. But like rising_star said, since there are three weeks left, the fact that they haven't written letters yet doesn't mean the letters won't be good.

[ktel]

I will echo the importance of LORs. Many candidates have similar stats in terms of GPA, GRE, awards, etc. so these can really set you apart. I know for many of my scholarship applications LORs are stated as being incredibly important. That being said, most of my profs write their letters the week before, and it doesn't affect the quality at all. It only takes an hour or two to write a good one.

[UnlikelyGrad]

most of my profs write their letters the week before

The week before? I've had quite a few people write LoRs for me (grad apps, fellowship apps, etc.) and probably 90% of them have submitted them the day of the deadline! One of those was from my first research advisor, and it was the letter that got me into at least 2 of the 4 grad schools that accepted me.

[felicidad]

You actually don't know that they haven't written them. You just know that they haven't submitted them. For all you know, they drafted their recommendations on paper and haven't gotten around to typing them up and submitting them yet.

Honestly, I really didn't fret as much as most people on this forum seem to do about recommendation letters. I suppose it helped that my thesis advisor who is on several admissions councils admitted that they wouldn't be looked at for weeks anyway. But seriously, give your professors time.

In my opinion, if you reminded them today, you shouldn't send another reminder until the last weekend of January, and then if necessary, one the night before. Professors are extremely busy and like everyone else, they prioritize things in terms of deadlines. It's a bit naive to expect them to finish a recommendation a month in advance of the deadline when in all probability they have other more imminent deadlines.

Finally, even if they haven't written your recommendation yet, it shouldn't take very long for a seasoned recommender to put together a stellar recommendation. It definitely shouldn't take more than a week of diligence. You should only be concerned if your professors are not responding to your e-mails at all.

[JaMariee]

Thanks everyone! I think I'm just super nervous about having to rely on other people to complete my application. I'll try to relax..and I definitely won't nag!

[MCS_aspirant]

One of my LORs was submitted 14 days after the deadline, but still the checklist of the application says "COMPLETE".

Chill till the deadline (or a week past that). Then start worrying.