<p>Yeah. My cousin goes to Columbia. I do have decent recs, but will having a cousin attend Columbia help me in any way? I know alumni relation helps quite often but would a cousin be too distant?</p>
<p>yes alumni only helps if it's immediate family
i can relate, my 2nd cousin is at columbia but that does me squat</p>
<p>but I'm sure that if it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt either. Look, even if there's no "direct" advantages of having a cousing there, you can benefit from the tips he can give you, like "don't mention this is an essay", or "make sure to do this before applying", blablabla...</p>