Letters of recommendation are an antiquated and time consuming vestige of a bygone age that should be eliminated from all applications for colleges, fellowships and grants.
Many professors and professionals ignore the requests or procrastinate in completing them, despite efforts institutions have made to simplify the process.
Recommenders can easily sabotage applicants by ignoring one request in favor of another.
Applicants already submit test scores, grades, resumes, biographies and CVs to institutions. Leaving applicants at the mercy of a third party makes no sense in the modern world.
It gives too much control of an applicant's future to a third party.
No one should have that much power to sabotage another American's pursuit of happiness.