@firstsax yes it definitely would. it is a double edged sword. just like an interview is. a bad reco can hurt you
@firstsax thats why i believe this must be a pilot study, they would not ask only a fraction of the applicants for LORs if it can help/hurt applicants by a lot
My recs were good, but it seems unfair to me.
@berkeleybetch - How did they waste your time? Is this the only University that you applied to that requested LORs? In any case, it would be your teachers complaining for “wasting their time.” You are speculating and you say they are clear lies? Wow! Did you even get accepted?
@firstsax How is it unfair? If your LORs were very good, it will help you in the application process. There is no inherent advantage or disadvantage to LORs - there are pros and cons. They didn’t specifically select who got requests (it was randomized, other than those who needed it for Regents and Chancellors), because it needs to be statistically significant.
Almost all of the people who submit LORs would have received the same decision even if they hadn’t submitted them. Yes, there will be some borderline people who might receive a different decision because of their LORs, but that is why they are running this pilot - to see how large of a group that is and to see how much they affect a student’s acceptance chances. An LOR just gives the admissions officers more information about you.
If the teachers you asked wrote LORs for you for other colleges, then it was really not much extra effort for anyone.
I’m not saying it will be unfair to me personally. I’m saying it may be unfair to people who just got OK recs being compared to those who didn’t have to submit any at all. None of us knows, really, how they will use them though. I feel like there are so many “experts” on this site who talk about topics as if they are in the inner circle of admissions.
To add onto the random request of LORs theory, I believe this to be the situation.
Remember back in December when some applicants were able to tweak the portal to allow them to submit LORs (despite the fact that they were mailed a separate notification indicating that they were not selected to submit them), Berkeley simply allowed those who got into the portal to submit too, they just get more specimen if this is a pilot study.
I agree that it wasn’t an additional burden on teachers as many students already needed them for the Common App. Your response to my post addressed that, but I never mentioned it being a burden.
Good luck all…I’m gonna take my own advice and quit CC until decisions!!!
@I’m thinking the same thing @firstsax I guess time will see how far away I can stay from C and for how log xD
@yalebound2020 did you get into Yale yet? Lol
@berkeleybetch - Yep and Berkeley, too! LOL :)>- Maybe is my good predisposition?
@yalebound2020 With all due respect, what are you still doing here? LOL
@CalDude2020 - enjoying myself. I believe -subjectively- that I earned it 
Damn, congrats @yalebound2020 that’s awesome. I’m pretty jealous rn.
@yalebound2020 did you do early admission to Yale? I’m still sweating for March 31st.
@yalebound2020 that reminds me - did that dropdown thing vanish from your portal or is it still there?
@khanam - This is what i have…
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@SD2020 - Yes. With the Ivys (Yale in this case) you can go EA and still apply to a PUBLIC SCHOOL (but not another Ivy). Berkeley doesn’t care where you apply. Still waiting -like everyone else- on the others. It will go down to the wire.
Well, this wouldn’t be the first time someone on CC has lied, and it certainly won’t be the last! In addition, as people have already asked, is there still any reason for you to be here if you in fact did get into these schools? I don’t see how you “earned” spending more time on CC. If browsing CC even after you get into such great schools is how you spend your time, then I don’t believe there’s much for me to say!!! <33
@yalebound2020 maybe because of feb 12 acceptance?