Submitting letters individually vs letter packet - does it matter? + Missing non-science LOR?

[premedgoat]

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Hello, looking for some clarity and advice regarding a LOR situation.

I asked my English professor for a LOR in advance and he agreed to write it. We tried scheduling meetings to talk about it and review my writing, but every time I sent my availability, I wouldn't hear back. My letter packet deadline is this Friday and I'm not sure he will submit in time.

If he doesn't submit in time, I'd have to send letters individually instead of through my school's letter packet. The packet includes a cover sheet that explains things relevant to my university, like our coop program and our one-semester gen chem course that covers both gen chem 1 and 2 content, etc. Does submitting individual letters when this is an option hurt in any way, or is it a non-issue?

I have no other professors I could reasonably ask instead so if he doesn't end up responding at all, is it a problem to apply with no humanities/non-science letter? My other letters are pretty solid and locked in: 2 science professors, an MD, research PI, and my EMT squad president. Does anyone have a list or know of any specific schools that require a non-science letter - I know JHU does and Harvard *strongly recommends* it - but any others? I expect the letter to be pretty generic given our interactions, so I'm not sure how much value it adds vs just submitting without it.

Thanks for any help!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

First, who is in charge of your packet? What does the office say if you can't get your letters in by deadline despite of all good faith efforts?

Second, you made the mistake of not having back-ups. Your office may have told you not to have backups (in which case, great, but now what).

Third, if you know your non-science letter will likely be "generic" due to your limited interactions, why didn't you choose a better professor who could write a strong letter? Now, I presume your other letters would be stronger, so maybe the one isn't going to ding you that much. But hard to say.