<p>if i have an extra rec from an ex-harvard alumni, who's not a relative or a teacher, just a man who knows me well, could that help boosting my application?</p>
<p>an extra rec from anyone who knows you well and who could provide valuable insight into the person you are, is always useful.. the fact that he is a Harvard alumnus can only be a bonus if anything..</p>
<p>YOu can be an ex-harvard alumnus?</p>
<p>He's not an alum anymore?</p>
<p>haha sorry, bad utilisation of terms.. he studied at harvard, that's the point</p>
<p>i think the very definition of an alumni is someone that studied at a certain school and then graduated.</p>
<p>definition of alumni aside... i think the rec helps only if it tells something about u which the other recommendations have not yet revealed abt u...</p>
<p>sr6622 I'm afraid I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. If you are, you may well be right, but on consulting the vast resources of the web, I attained the following results:
Alumnus: A person who was previously a member of and has graduated from an institution.</p>
<p>Alum: A white crystalline double sulphate of aluminium. </p>
<p>However, other sources confirm 'Alum' to have the same meaning s the former.</p>
<p>alum is used as a convenient term to mean both alumnus and alumna. You cannot say that a woman is an alumnus of a school, because latin is gendered. Likewise, alums is used for alumni/alumnae.
As for the question, if the guy has something to say about you then the recommendation would be good, although probably what and how he says it would make it valuable and not the fact that he graduated from Harvard.</p>