Letters of Recommendation Answered
I was hoping to submit my common applications sooner than later and was wondering if it negatively affects admissions if you send in letters of recommendation after submitting your application.
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1 answer
There is no advantage to submitting your application without your recommendations. I do not believe any admissions officer will begin evaluating your application for admission if there are parts missing like transcripts, test scores, or recommendations. The systems that are in place are equitable. They give everyone the same rules and timelines to organize and submit the requisite material in order to streamline things on their end as well. If AOs were to read incomplete applications as a process, they would be creating a lot of waste because a certain percentage is always deemed incomplete.
From the articles I've read, the incomplete rate at top colleges can be in the 2 - 3% range. It doesn't sound a lot but if a school gets 60,000 applications that means 1500 apps are missing transcripts, recommendations or failing to pay the fees, or didn't supply the waiver form from the HS counselor. At less competitive schools the rate of incomplete applications can approach 10% so it doesn't make sense for the AOs to start working on incomplete ones.
I don't know if that answer satisfies what you question.
Good Luck.
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Thank you so much! This is very helpful and good information.