<p>If someone had an outstanding (and i mean outstanding) letter of rec from a very very respected researcher for whom said person has worked for, do admissions officers see that as significant? i know that for a job your letters of rec. are just as important as anything comp. to your transcript, but do admissions officers look at a supplemental letter of rec with significant weight?</p>
<p>PS, this is focused on a smalle early decision school (<5000)</p>
<p>I think they do, if they are really good. Many recs are just pretty basic, and make little difference, so a good one can stand out.</p>
<p>You can see what each college says about the weight it gives recommendations by searching for the Common Data Set for each college and checking out section C, First-Time, First-Year (Freshman) Admission.</p>
<p>Schokolade, do you think perhaps a standout letter would sway an admission officer’s decision? I understand that these schools publish their “admissions criteria” but if a respected researcher who has had years of experience working with students STRONGLY recommended this student, would that hold any extra weight?</p>
<p>It would depend on whether the reviewer for Admissions was aware of the recommender’s reputation. Academic fame is very field-specific, and the big names in one discipline are unknown in another. So while such a letter would be very important for grad school–where your application would be reviewed by faculty in the department to which you were applying–it might not seem as big a deal to an undergraduate Admission Committee full of generalists.</p>
<p>Most letters of recommendation are pretty favorable, and so they don’t usually play a crucial role because they are not helpful in sorting the candidates. That said, the really over-the-top ones do stand out and might make a difference.</p>