how late to submit letters of rec?

[albertlee]

Most CS grad schools have hard deadlines around Dec/Jan.

However, the schools don't state explicitly whether they want letters of rec to be received by the same hard deadline. Is it assumed then that they have to be in by the same deadline? Or they can be received some time later? If so, how late is acceptable?

[TakeruK]

You should aim to have to submitted by the same deadline, but don't sweat it too much if they don't come in at the same time. As for how late you can wait, it depends on the department's protocol for processing admissions. Basically, if they arrive before people start actually looking at the applications, you should be okay.

That said, you should definitely communicate the deadline to your LOR writers (and even send a reminder email a few days before). If the letter does not arrive on time (usually you can check the status), I'd send my LOR writers another reminder email and follow up with them every week or so. Meanwhile I'll probably email the admissions staff at the department you're applying to and let them know that more letters are on the way.

However, if you know ahead of time that an LOR will be late (prof is away perhaps), then you should let the department know ahead of time so that they can expect it late. They might even give you an alternate deadline for that LOR.

[albertlee]

thanks so much for the suggestion!