Deadline freakouts!!! Anyone else have tardy recommenders?

[ghijklmn]

Okay, so EVERYTHING is in for all of my applications except my recommendation from one teacher. She has missed three deadlines so far (for the Dec 1 deadline, she submitted it on Dec 4) and 5 apps in total. It is so frustrating, because I feel awful sending so many reminders (the especially awkward ones are the ones AFTER the deadline when I'm like ummmm yes can you submit it?) when she said she'd do it... but I don't want my app to be undermined by a late recommendation.

So, a few questions:

Do you know if there is a time lag for submission notification e-mails? I always assumed it was an automated service that let you know when a rec is submitted regardless of office hours. If there IS a time lag and my recommender actually submitted her stuff, I'll feel a little silly for having sent her an emergency e-mail today about Friday's and yesterday's deadline.

Do schools care if a recommendation is a few days to a week late? Some programs (like Michigan) said that they understand there may be a short lag, but then Stanford seems pretty firm about recommendations needing to be in by the deadline.

Is anyone else in this situation??

[t1racyjacks]

this sounds so shitty for you. I have one recommender who's infamous for doing things at the last min -- but I kept bugging him and he got in all my recs early. Suggest that you bug this recommender now and tell her that your application might be disqualified if she is late. email the schools to ask about the late rec -- explain the situation to them.

[ghijklmn]

Thanks t1! I'm kinda kicking myself for not having given my recommender an earlier date for the deadlines... but yes, e-mailing the schools is what I'm going to do.

[sebastiansteddy]

Some schools have separate deadlines for the app and the recommendations (off the top of my head I know Buffalo and Riverside both do). For most programs, I think it matters if a rec comes in months late, but not if it is a few days late. A few might mind though - If I remember correctly, Michigan places a great deal of importance on everything, letters included, being on time.

[Swagato]

Well, between months and a few days there's a great gulf, ha. I am in a situation where one of my most important writers is well aware of deadlines, etc., but is a couple of weeks late (i.e. he is about a fortnight late for some Dec. 1 deadlines). My other letters are in; it's just this one. On the other hand, -everybody- in my field knows the person, and they are phenomenally well-liked. I am hoping that all this means they'll forgive the delay.

[practical cat]

One of my recommenders is submitting letters in no particular order at sporadic times. (I'm assuming she has brilliant logic behind what looks go me like using a random number generator to pick which letters to submit.) She's had a few several (eta: 10) days late and all that really did was make me twitchy. (I only sent her one reminder email when I hadn't heard from her in about a month but I know her to have an unconventional approach to rules -- she doesn't like them -- and trust that she always comes through anyway. What other people need to do to get those letters in may differ.) Anyway, this became all about me real fast but I hope my anecdote gives you some comfort. And pretty much every school gets that the only person you can control is you and that a late recommendation is not all your control. A lot of professors who have written a million letters know this and let the looser deadlines suit them without realizing to let us know that they have a plan and it's not entirely out of control.

Edited December 16, 2012 by girl who wears glasses

[Swagato]

^ This is helpful, yeah. One of my targets actually specifies that they'll give you two chances to get your letter in--one before/around the deadline, and one all the way in January when the committee reconvenes. I'm not sure if that is kind of an unspoken policy elsewhere, but I do know that it's rare for applications to be completely dismissed for want of rec letters.

Anecdotally, I have heard that the applicant's pedigree (i.e. who's writing the letters) sometimes plays a role in making a decision on whether to wait for missing letters or to skip that file completely. As well, the applicant's general profile matters too. Which makes sense--I wouldn't want to hold on to a file if I'm not even interested in that person's project/writing sample/etc.

[Two Espressos]

I would be so neurotic about late LORs! All of my letters were submitted on time, but some of them came very close to the deadlines, which stressed me out. But yeah, I think that many schools won't mind if LORs are late by a few days or so. Some graduate program websites even state something along the lines of "we only accept supplementary materials up to one month after the deadline," etc.

[asleepawake]

Interfolio is your friend! I received one of my letters the day before the first deadline, but only a few schools don't accept Interfolio, so it works out quite well. I don't have to wait for my recommender to fill out a million websites, and they don't have to fill out a million websites. Once my letter is on Interfolio, I can rest easy that at least *most* schools will be able to get the letter.

[practical cat]

I decided Interfolio wasn't worth the cost for me since more than half of my schools don't accept it or prefer not to use it. I think if there's going to be a next time, I would reconsider just out of kindness to the people who submitted ten times this year but, honestly, it would've caused me more trouble than the slight panic about that one ten days late letter.

[Swagato]

Interfolio is actually pretty good. I'm applying to 14 places, I think. I'm having my letter writers submit individually for their own department and one other; everything else will be done via Interfolio. Ergo, they upload thrice, but I can make 14 applications without worries.

Plus Interfolio is pretty good about getting things delivered.

[Datatape]

Yeah, I had to send out that awkward email the other night to one of my recommenders. It surprised me, because she was normally the one of my three who was most on top of things, but I was only missing her letter for a school that had a Dec. 15 deadline. Turns out the notification email was sorted into her spam folder and she didn't see it when it came in. Ah, this time of year.

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

I told my recommenders that everything was due on Dec 1st. Then I started sending daily reminders by resending the email link. Only two schools received late letters. But honestly, as long as you get everything in by the adcom meeting, you should be fine.

[ghijklmn]

Thanks everybody! It's nice to know that other people are in a similar boat. As to recognition/respect for the letter writer in the field... well, there is a porn star by the same name as my recommender, so hopefully that won't hold things up.

I just hope that the schools that I e-mailed about this will be understanding.

[bfat]

Ugh, yes, I have one recommender that has now missed all the Dec. 15 deadlines, which was 4 of the 8 schools I'm applying to. The weird thing is that this is the prof I have near daily contact with, and she had mentioned that she was prepping the letters for the 15th on Friday (the 14th). And yet they are still not in...

[thestage]

I had several late letters last year, no one seemed to care.

Then again, no one accepted me either, so who knows.

[DontHate]

I had several late letters last year, no one seemed to care.

Then again, no one accepted me either, so who knows.

I feel like this is basically what everyone here has been saying, over and over again.

sad face

[bfat]

Michigan's website says this:

"Please make it clear to all recommenders that your application processing will not be complete if we do not receive your letters by the December 15 deadline. Your recommenders will not be able to submit electronic letters after this date."

I am totally boned. My professor totally fucked me over. Awesome. Nice waste of $65 and a good bit of hope.

[damequixote]

That's heartbreaking and totally unfair. It couldn't hurt to call and ask if your letter writer can send her/his letter via email, though. :/

[waparys]

Michigan's website says this:

"Please make it clear to all recommenders that your application processing will not be complete if we do not receive your letters by the December 15 deadline. Your recommenders will not be able to submit electronic letters after this date."

I am totally boned. My professor totally fucked me over. Awesome. Nice waste of $65 and a good bit of hope.

I'm so sorry to hear this. Don't give up hope yet. I'm a little screwed, too. They still don't have my MA transcript (BTW why do some schools INSIST on originals???) and I was first told they could use self-submitted scans (this was way before the deadline). Then the person I was in touch with said: oh you're an international student, we definitely need your originals NOW. Yeah, thanks.

[Datatape]

bfat - don't throw in the towel. Get on the phone with the graduate secretary today and ask him/her about any alternate way to get your letter in. Explain the situation and that you have every other aspect of your application in, including the fee. Be insistent without being pushy. If the answer is still no after you've exhausted all other avenues, then ask who you need to contact to get a refund on your application fee.

Programs have students with last-minute crises all the time; this is what the graduate secretaries get paid to handle. This application season, two of the three programs I thought I'd have to cut because my GRE subject scores weren't going to be sent until after their deadline told me to go ahead and just submit everything because the GRE scores only needed to be in by the graduate school deadline, not the departmental deadline. Don't give up, especially after you've worked this hard.

[bfat]

I just called... they don't accept any thing AT ALL after the deadline. She's also late on UVA and Buffalo... Yeah, I'm just crying right now. A lot. 2 years of my life prepping for these applications and so many hours put into them...

[skybythelight]

I recently received an e-mail from Maryland that two of my letters hadn't been submitted... I contacted both profs, and one submitted it right away: she thought she had, but must have x'ed out of the window before finishing, or something. The other professor is out of state until the 22nd, and he tends to be very sporadic about e-mailing when he's away. I e-mailed the department and asked if it would be too late for him to submit it when he got back, and she responded that he could, but that the committee would begin reviewing applications in a few days. Eek! She also re-sent the link to him at my request.

[damequixote]

bfat, your situation really sucks. You definitely get to mourn this application. Still, you've worked hard and have applied to a bunch of great programs. I bet you get some great offers come Feb. and March.

[waparys]

I just called... they don't accept any thing AT ALL after the deadline. She's also late on UVA and Buffalo... Yeah, I'm just crying right now. A lot. 2 years of my life prepping for these applications and so many hours put into them...

I'm so sorry. This is so not how you want to start out decisions season. I'm not sure who you've been in touch with but try to reach out to the department. Maybe consider having your professor call them herself?

If not, you have some other wonderful programs on your list and you're clearly very well prepared. Try to hang in there.