<p>Is it possible that adcoms at elite schools would look unfavorably at a borderline applicant because of an absolutely horrendously written letter of recommendation? I am talking about a rec that is very positive (“one of the best students in my career” checked on nearly every line of the common app rec) but just absolutely terribly written. In other words, does not follow any standard format for a letter, contains numerous mispellings (including one in the salutation), extremely short, and purely simple sentences. It is apparent that the recommending teacher is trying to convey an extremely positive opinion, but the rec itself is quite a turnoff and due to its poor writing does not provide nearly as much detail as a typical rec.</p>
<p>I am just interested in this as someone looking back on the admissions process who only saw one of the rec letters after it was sent to colleges.</p>