I was recently deferred from Harvard; however, I still want to be proactive about my situation with admissions. My uncle (a current dean at a Little Ivy) has offered to write me a letter of recommendation to admissions, as he knows me very well both in and outside of the classroom. He attended graduate school at Harvard, spent four years living and tutoring students as a residential advisor in Winthrop house, and is a regular donor to the school. His wife (my aunt) was also a visiting professor at Harvard for a bit too.
However, my father has expressed concern that his recommendation on my candidacy could in fact hurt my chances since he is in fact my uncle, so one would assume he would say great things about me no matter what. What do you think? And if you think it could help, to whom should he address the letter of recommendation?
The letter should be addressed to “Dear Officers of Admissions” or “Dear Harvard Admissions” and can be FAXED or snail-mailed to Admissions. (Admissions does not open email attachments, so if he just writes an email with text he can send it to fileroom@fas.harvard.edu).
If your uncle has taught you in a classroom setting and can comment directly about your classroom participation, how you dynamically lead classroom discussions with thoughtful and insightful comments, how your writing is far superior to anything written by your peers – well, that kind of letter might be helpful.
If your uncle can only comment about you in a classroom setting because of secondhand knowledge (because of something you, your mom, dad or teacher told him about), then it’s not really useful – as he is your uncle and is expected to say something nice about you. I disagree with your father; I don’t think that kind of letter will hurt you, it just won’t help you.
Agree with @gibby. If your uncle can add to an understanding, perhaps which a few anecdotes, of your critical thinking skills, your capacity tto process and share at a higher level, your contribution to sophisticated conversations and problem-solving, etc, and perhaps happens tto know someone in admissions, then a carefully worded letter might ge yoru application a second look. He and/or your aunt can write from the perspective that they understand wha it takes to be a successful Harvard student, as they both taught them, and perhaps can speak to how/why you fit the bill, but like @gibby said, while it probably won’t hurt, it may or may not help. The amount your relatives donate probably won’t change whether or not you are admitted, and by Harvard’s definition, you aren’t considered a legacy. You have been deferred, not denied, so nothing “went wrong”. Would suggest not approaching from that angle.
If you were deferred, and don’t have some sort of national or international new award or something like that, I think you need to just move on to applications to other schools and Harvard will give you the final word in a few months.
I know it’s hard not doing anything to increase your chances at Harvard, but that is probably the best thing to do, along with adjusting your hopes and finding great things to appreciate in other schools.