My uncle has been a professor at Carnegie Mellon University for 25 years. He and I have always been very close and I feel he could provide some useful insight into my goals and motivation. I know that it is generally looked down upon for any relatives, friends, family friends, etc. to write rec letters for someone, but I was wondering if this would be okay? I genuinely think he could write a very well put together and quality letter for me.
Could this potentially help me in the admissions office? (I know this sounds weird, but is it impressive or more noticeable when they see rec letters from university professors?)
If not,
Is there any reason that this could be detrimental to my application?
The normal answer maybe no, but I think this is a special case. I’m not sure, but technically having a relative is a bad idea. You should ask someone else to avoid uncertainty.
I think you should not use him as one of your two primary letters of recommendation, but rather, some schools allow an additional letter so why not use him for this?
I personally feel this would be nepotism and unethical unless you researched with him, worked in his lab for a summer, or something along those lines. However I do think that this could make a great essay topic about “Why CMU”.
I don’t think that you should use him as a letter of recommendation. While it is pretty neat that he has taught at Carnegie Mellon for 25 years, I don’t think it’s fair to use him. He’s your relative, not your professor. You don’t want the risk of college admissions questioning why your uncle wasn’t able to provide specific details about your achievements and experiences in his class (because that didn’t happen). I agree with what everyone else has said. If you can send in more than two letters of recommendation, then I would possibly send it in as an “extra” letter.
I don’t think a recommendation from a relative would carry any weight with college admission officers. My sister is a college professor who knows my kids very well and could have written wonderful letters but to tell you the truth it didn’t even cross my mind to ask her because I saw no value in it. I would not ask your uncle for a recommendation. But if you decide to go that path make sure he is not replacing one of your two teacher recommendations but that it is an additional letter in your application.
Did you discuss this with him? I don’t think that the college will think it is impressive that you have someone in your family who teaches there because that’s not really about ‘your’ accomplishments. But sure university professors can be impressive supplemental letters when you took classes and did research with them. Can he speak to that? And I think that the person who has to show your motivation and goals in your resume is you. This is one step away from having your Dad writing one for you. For CMU itself it might be something he wants them to know. Please discuss with him.
@Princetonian2020@TiggyB62@mademoiselle2308@LionKing2398@happy1@BrownParent Thank you all SO much for the info and advice. I definitely agree after reading these that it would not be wise to use him as a main letter. I have actually been wanting to do some research with him so I think i’ll go that route instead. Again, thank you all for the help!
Is this for an application to CM? If so, since he has been there for 25 years he has established relationships with others. There is nothing unethical about his stopping by the admissions department and mentioning that a beloved family member will be applying.
What they do with that information is up to them. Certainly they are not expected to accept you if you are not qualified.
