Is it tacky to have a family member write your letter of recommendation if they are associated with the university you are applying to?
The question isn’t whether it’s tacky. The question is whether it adds anything to your application.
What can this person say about you that the admissions committee will care about and that won’t come through in the other parts of your application?
What concrete and objective things can this person point to support the glowing recommendation you will presumably get. I.E., why shouldn’t the committee dismiss the letter as fluff on the grounds that of course the applicant’s sister/father/aunt/grandfather/3rd cousin will say wonderful things?
What does “associated with the university” mean? Even if it means the university trustee, president or star professor, that doesn’t mean the committee will give the recommendation particular weight. It will depend on the politics of the particular university.
There’s a saying: The thicker the file, the thicker the applicant.
Be very sure there’s a good reason for this recommendation beyond the fact that your relative likes you and has a connection to the school.
Unless you’ve done some sort of work/activity with this family member such that they can write a great LOR drawing on absolutely nothing from their relationship with you as a family member, it’s a waste.
I disagree. If the letter is from the president of the university, I think it will carry a great deal of weight (but there are probably other ways the president can make admissions happen without writing a letter). If it is from an assistant professor of history who happens to be your cousin? Not so much.
Of course if it’s the university president or trustee, they do not need to write a letter or would want to have a paper trail of this nepotism so they would just call the dean of admissions. I can’t see that this letter would be of any benefit and the admissions officers don’t want to be bogged down reading extra stuff. I would stick with the requested number of LORs from high school teachers that know you well (hopefully from junior year) who can speak about having you in class for a year.
Family is SUPPOSED to love you. The fact that they do doesn’t add anything to your application.