<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I have heard some stories about this and I was wondering if the fact that you know someone from the faculty improves your chances of getting accepted into a certain college. I'm not applying to NYU because of my bad grades, but I've been taught by three or four teachers who are members of the undergraduate program faculty. If I'd gotten their recommendation letters would that improve my chances of getting accepted hypothetically?</p>
<p>I am also asking this because (although it's not the same situation) I am applying to the "Collaborative and Devised Theater" program at Central School of Speech & Drama and some of the teachers are part of the British company Complicite, and I was taught by two members of the company for two weeks in London.</p>
<p>I'm just curious.</p>
<p>It seems to me that a letter of recommendation actually written by a faculty member of the school you are applying to would be quite impressive. I think it would improve your chances, but I wouldn’t say it would give you an automatic admittance.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>I think the value of recommendations from these teachers depends on how closely and recently they have worked with you. If your third grade teacher later returned to graduate school and is now a part-time instructor at NYU, then that probably wouldn’t help at all. Colleges want teachers from your junior or senior year, and additional recommendations should be from people who know your “work” well. As I recall, NYU/Tisch only wanted recommendations from academic teachers. I think that Emerson had the same policy. That was difficult for my son, because his strongest relationship was with the Theater Arts teacher, whom he had studied with for four years. You should mention the connection to “Complicite” in your theatrical resume (required by almost all programs), when you list your training. If you are under serious consideration, they can ask their colleagues about you.</p>
<p>I think connections and contacts do help, yes. Perhaps not in every situation, but off the record I could give you dozens of examples in which connections helped. Stagemum points out that on the front page of the application, NYU asks only for recommendations from academic teachers. One thing I’ve learned (and it took a while!) is that what is published on the application and what actually happens can be two different things. I am not saying that this is true for NYU in particular. I do know that having a relationship with a faculty member at a school who can vouch for is a useful item in your application. If there is no spot of the official application for this connection to appear (some colleges ask you outright if you have connections; others don’t) it cannot hurt to have your connection send a letter under separate cover on your behalf. Most college admissions departments file every piece of information you send them, and they also log every email, call, and other communication they receive. (I can’t say whether this is true at NYU, but it is true at other colleges.) Worst-case scenario: letters sent on your behalf by colleagues of those making admissions decisions will be tossed unread in the garbage by the office staff. I don’t think this will happen. It is also possible for your contacts to email the admissions office. The emails will go through. The only other possible way that such a recommendation could go wrong would be that your recommender is somehow reviled by those making the admissions decision, in which case you would be a pawn in some kind of departmental political struggle-- and I think the changes of this are slim. </p>
<p>It’s really hard to make it in this world. If you have a connection, use it. If you have any doubts about whether you should do this, imagine the scenario in which someone else in your situation had similar contacts. Would they use them?</p>