Should I ask somebody else?

[jlloyd87]

So one of my recommenders has been taking his sweet time with my letters of rec. Two schools deadlines were Jan 1 and they are still missing his letter. One of the schools even emailed him to tell him that they need it yet he still hasn't submitted it. I know he has the letter finished because he submitted for a school that had a deadline on Dec 15. I have one prof that said a while back that he would be willing to help me out if I couldn't find anybody else. Should I ask that prof? I know that most schools don't begin immediately reviewing apps and stuff, but it is really bothering me. Please help!!!

[LaurenA]

Personally, I'd ask someone else--I had a program with a Jan 2 deadline that asked me for a phone interview on the 9th, and it seemed like if my app hadn't been complete (as in *everything*), they would haven't talked to me. That program is also making acceptance decisions next week (!).

It probably depends on the program--I have some that were due Dec 1 that haven't started reviewing yet. Maybe contact the grad admissions coordinator? Sometimes they can be helpful and let you know what's up--I've emailed in the past and asked about something like that, I've found that when I'm really polite they'll give me some insider info (either "don't worry about that missing piece, they actually don't start reviewing until X" or "between you and me, your app can't be reviewed until we get that piece, and they're reviewing next week", etc.)

I had this happen to me a few years ago when applying to MA programs--a fourth person was happy to write them, then the third LOR writer (who was late) ended up finishing them, so some schools had four recs.

[jlloyd87]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I figured the worst that could happen is I would have 4 letters for a few of the schools.