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Okay, so my D is getting closer to the final list. She actually has a school she feels very sure she wants to apply to ED. We have and continue to have such bad experience with the administration in her large public school that I would prefer she be able to send her sealed rec letters and transcript directly with her application. The college she is considering has a rolling ED and we want the materials in asap. We already had a big problem getting the counselor to send a rec letter in a timely way for a previous summer program and would rather not chance it.

How is this usually done? Does the school send it directly? Or is there a choice- provided materials are in signed, sealed envelopes?

Also, if a school does not say it PREFERS to have the application submitted online, is a paper version just as good?

Regarding legacies: My D wants to apply to a school at which both my husband and I obtained post-doctoral training- but did not actually attend as "students". Would adcoms be peeved if this info is included in the legacy part of the app.? The fact is that DD probably would not have looked at the school were it not for our having suggested it based on our experience there.

By Rhonda63 (Rhonda63) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 02:28 pm: Edit

On the legacy issue, I guess it depends what the app says. If it asks whether any parent attended the university, and what degree they got (that's the kind of question I remember seeing), then wouldn't your post-doc work not qualify? OTOH, I don't think it's going to do much harm if you mention it, probably won't make much diff either way.

I think a paper version is fine, but frankly if a school recommends doing something, and you want to get in, I'd follow their recommendation if at all possible.

Not sure what to tell you on the recs -- others may have advice here.

By Over30 (Over30) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 02:37 pm: Edit

On the recs, it depends. One of my son's schools said they absolutely had to be sent separately, so he supplied addressed, stamped envelopes. In that case you can only hope they got mailed on time.

AT other schools it didn't say specifically, so some of them the school mailed and some he included in his envelope with his app. If he mailed it he had the teacher seal the rec in an envelope and initial the flap.

Call the college and find out, as you'd hate to do it wrong.

If I was worried about the school following through, I might consider giving them a timeline with dates for them and your child when everything needed to be mailed. Or if you can mail the recs, have you child tell her teachers/GC's that she'll come pick the rec up on Thursday after school and take it to the post office (or whatever works). I would definitely stay on top of it, as our school has been known to miss deadlines. Good luck

By Garland (Garland) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 02:43 pm: Edit

The legacy thing really does change with the school. One school, from which my H and I have three degrees between the two of us, just asked for dates of attendance, not degrees.

Another, from which my father graduated, did not want to know of any legacy connections except undergraduate degrees for parents. So my S didn't mention his grandfather.

Another, wanted to know if any relative got any degree from the school. For that one, he would've listed his grandfather's grad degree.

So, you really have to know what matters for each school.

By Momof2inca (Momof2inca) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 05:37 pm: Edit

If the counselors or teachers miss a deadline, is that it for the application? Or does the school let the applicant know that something is missing and give him/her an opportunity to get it in?

-- Momof2 in CA

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 06:46 pm: Edit

I can tell you that my son's private school that sends all of counselor recs via snail mail. They do not recommend anyone to send an application online unless that is the only option. They will not use online recs for themselves and the teachers follow the same guidelines.

Most colleges send an e-mail or postcard with a checklist of what items they have received and what is still missing. If you do not get any such thing from a school, you should send an e-mail or call and ask if everything is in. In general, the due date is for the application and the recs and stuff can follow, but it is wise to get everything done as soon as possible since foul-ups do occur.

By Over30 (Over30) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 06:48 pm: Edit

What Jamimom said. Some schools also have a way to check online to see what's been received. They'll usually send you a password once they get part 1 of your application. But it still never hurts to call.

By Thisoldlady (Thisoldlady) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 07:52 pm: Edit

Thanks, all.
We actually plan on sending hard a copy app. I don't think we will list the post doc thing under legacies. That really wasn't a degree-just time spent at the university. I am going to ask D to see if she can get the sealed, signed rec letter to mail ourselves. Otherwise, I will never sleep at night. We want this submitted asap.

By Ellemenope (Ellemenope) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 08:50 pm: Edit

We sent apps by regular mail, but bought the service whereby you can check to see where you mail is. Cheaper than express mail, but I had more peace of mind than if we had just sent the apps by regular mail..

Some schools practically beg applicants to send in Part I online. This allows the college to set up a file on you and set up alumni interviews, if required.

All colleges that my D applied to last year gave notice when a piece of the application hadn't been received. The best schools (for app purposes) had an online area where you could check to see which pieces the college had in its possession.

Our counselors require the school reports to be sent directly by them to the schools.

By Momof2inca (Momof2inca) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 12:22 am: Edit

We gave our son's teachers stamped, addressed envelopes to mail in the rec forms that needed to be mailed directly. This is pretty standard procedure. My question is should we provide envelopes for the counselor as well? I was thinking that the counselor might want to mail the transcript and letter together in a bigger, official school envelope. Did anyone give counselors envelopes?

Momof2 in CA

By Bookworm (Bookworm) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 12:42 am: Edit

No, just teachers

By Rhonda63 (Rhonda63) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 05:16 pm: Edit

I'm pretty sure my D gave the counselor a stamped envelope (a large manila one).

Also, one of her recs wasn't received by the college for her ED app -- she was able to check status of her app online (I think they gave her some sort of pin number after they got her Part 1 (and the fee, of course!)) and asked the teacher to resend it, which was no problem. I think he actually sent it TOO soon, and the school managed to lose it. Happens all the time, btw.

By Momsdream (Momsdream) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 10:56 pm: Edit

We had to give 8 envelopes per college (pre-addressed) and two books of stamps for every 5 colleges applied to. Rolling admit schools required that we give the 8X14 sized envelopes because it all has to go in one package.

The paperwork is starting to spread out. I think son might need to take over the breakfast room until he's done with this...

I feel the need to go to Walmart to buy bins