Hi, I’m doing a political internship this summer and one of the “rewards” for doing this internship is a letter recommendation from a US Senator.
Of course, this letter isn’t personalized and the senator doesn’t personally know me very well…
So should I still send it to colleges?
Most colleges accept a “supplementary” recommendaton, to mean one beyond the “typically” two teacher recommendatons. Since you’re an intern this summer, which is not that common for rising high school seniors, the letter from the senator could serve to emphasize your internship. Ideally it should emphasize some task/activity that you’ve completed as an intern. If it’s brief, generic, and impersonal the letter won’t have much value.
Since it’s not personalized, you’ve correctly seen it for the real value it has: basically zero. It might be a “wow” for unknowing students and their families – but to colleges, it’s worthless. If sent, it might demonstrate naivete, to be frank.