What should a student do, when a professor delays submitting his letter of recommendation?

Question

I'm applying to Stanford, which requires 2 letters of recommendation from teachers, due in 2 days.Both teachers have known about this since mid-September, but one of them hasn't submitted his letter. I've asked him, and he tells me that he has one prepared, but he hasn't submitted it yet.I can't add a third letter that would qualify because of the way that the common application works.Should I wait for the deadline to pass, hoping that he turns his letter in at the last minute?Or should I ask someone else to write a letter in his place?I'm mainly considering the first option, because I have no reason not to trust him, but I'm not sure what will happen if he doesn't pull through.Turns out that they *do* accept letters of recommendation after the deadline, so long as the application is in on time.

Answer 1

It is frustrating to get a professor to write a recommendation and then they do not follow through. Best, here, to find other professors at the last minute as backup. Step one, really, is to email the professor and ask what the hold up is..kindly, nicely. If you have continued to prod multiple times and he is not the absent-minded professor type, then time to talk with another professor. A question to yourself would be that if he is not writing it, then he is trying to tell you he cannot but is not able to answer you directly....a social cue that is not always apparent.