<ol>
<li><p>Have your English teacher write the rec. It will only help you. I think it can strengthen your app a lot.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not tell Grinnell that you would wait a year for an admission. That does sound obsessive and a bit stalker-ish to me. You want them to view you as someone who is determined to move forward in her life wherever she winds up, not someone who is pining for one particular solution and who can’t move forward unless that one solution comes through.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As several people have mentioned, this year is different than other years. Schools are obviously using the waitlist a lot, so don’t take it terribly personally that you’re on a bunch of 'em. So are a lot of great kids. Your objective now should be to tell Grinnell you want to be there, and to do the most you can to make that happen.</p>
<p>It’s too bad things aren’t yet settled for you and that this will take another month. But considering your whole life, what’s one more month?</p>