Can you change the recommender after submitting the application?

I already submitted an application and assigned one of my teachers from last year for a recommendation. She agreed, but I asked her about it again yesterday and she said she might not be able to finish it. Am I able to choose a different teacher to be the recommender (only one teacher is allowed in the recommender section) after I have already submitted it? In Common App, I am able to remove the recommender , but I am not sure if I will be able to add a different teacher in.

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1 answer

Hey there @bearic If you've already submitted your application, I'm afraid that the changes you make on Common App won't be reflected in your application. The best way to proceed will be to email the college directly and explain your situation to them. They'll provide you with the exact answer. Another thing that MAY work is that you can ask your other teacher (who'll be submitting your rec.) to email the Recommendation Letter to the college, stating that it is for (Your Name) with Common App ID (Your Common App ID) and explaining how there's been a mix-up and the teacher whose email is in the application is no longer willing to submit the recommendation for (Your name). You can also ask the teacher to cc you in this email. Hope this issue gets resolved at the earliest Have a great day!

Hi @Udayan Thanks so much for your answer. If my teacher does finish the recommendation late, would I just email the college's admissions department and ask for them to download it again from the Common App?

You're most welcome @bearic!! In my opinion, the best thing you can do in this situation is email the admissions department of that college, explicitly mentioning your Name and Common App ID. You can explain that due to an unforeseen happening, the teacher who is supposed to be your recommender as per Common App details is unable to submit a rec. letter for you. Then, you can request them to allow a window of 2-3 days after the deadline for receiving a rec. letter from another teacher.

They'll mostly agree to your request and in fact, this can also be an excellent way to request clarification for next steps i.e. submission of the alternate LOR