this is not a really pressing issue, but i was thinking about this whole process…
i’m a senior this year, but one of my very best friends is a junior. she is, quite frankly, one of the most amazing people i know. she’s really really smart, very creative, is really interested in interesting stuff, and…well, i could go on for a long time. basically, she should honestly be accepted to every college she applies to.
so my question is this: is there anything i can do next year to help at all? williams, for example, has an optional peer evaluation. would it be bad if i wrote a very good letter (with specific details) and just sent it to the schools she ends up applying to (i probably wouldn’t even tell her)? i think i could give a point of view that the colleges won’t be seeing in whatever other recs she gives them…
<p>Before you do this, I think you should make sure that your friend isn't sending other supplementary recommendations. If you are her only extra rec, your letter will most likely be read + considered. However, if she's sending three from her teachers, one from her GC, one from her employer, etc. your letter might actually hurt her file by adding to an already large pile of recs.
How much will this rec help? If you send this to schools that don't ask for a peer recommendation, I don't think there's any way to know for sure what effect it will have. Some schools might not pay much attention to it. I'm sure others will be impressed simply by the fact that she's wonderful enough to make you want to do this for her. It definitely won't hurt unless she plans to send in many extra recommendations, so I would do it.</p>