<p>ambiance:</p>
<p>I would say over two weeks is completely unacceptable. In your case, the deadline came right before Christmas break so most schools will not be reviewing until after anyway. However, I would email the recommenders in a couple of days to just make sure they are aware of the deadline. This depends on how often you have been emailing them, because if you have already contacted them, further inquiry might just annoy them. If this is the first time, I think it is appropriate just to mention something. I always phrased it so it sounded like a reminder/update instead of an accusation, so don’t say that the school hasn’t received anything and the deadline has passed. Instead, just present the email in an informal tone. </p>
<p>I have a feeling the person is on break and won’t answer the email anyway, but it is NOT OK to be this late. How early did you/your graduate schools send him/her the recommendation information? I gave all of my recommenders a heads up months in advance, and the actual links to submit the recommendation 3 weeks before the deadline. The thing is, I got three interviews within 2 weeks of my submission date, so it is important to get it in before they start reviewing. You have no idea when the committee is actually meeting, and I do not know what a Dec. 15 deadline means. It could be that they wait until after break to start reviewing or that they try to get some applications reviewed beforehand.</p>