<ul>
<li>gpa: upward trend, will be described with extreme positivity by my counselor</li>
<li>sat: 2200</li>
<li>ecs: strong, very unique (probably my app's strength)</li>
</ul>
<p>my question concerns recommendations.
in addition to one from the counselor + 2 from subject teachers, i was wondering how greatly a letter of recommendation from a member of parliament would be? i did an internship at his office a few months ago. i asked him and he's ready to give me a great letter. how good does this really look and to what extent would it make my app more competitive? i basically want to know if it'll increase my chances considerably. </p>
<p>thanks a ton :)</p>
<p>oh and i forgot to mention, i’m aiming for highly selective colleges. some ivies, some top lacs. (eg, brown, darthmouth, cornell, williams, vassar etc)</p>
<p>your description: upward trend plus 2200, being an intnl, makes all but Vassar a major reach. In all honesty, letters of rec from politicians are of very limited help.</p>
<p>I think it’d look pretty impressive. Depends how personal it is, I guess…</p>
<p>Honestly, that letter means nothing. Politicians are liars by occupation…</p>
<p>Sorry to crush your dreams. But in all honesty, the higher ranked schools you mentioned are much harder at an intl.</p>
<p>thanks guys! i hear ya. would it then look sketchy to include it altogether? </p>
<p>any other perspectives on this? ^__^</p>
<p>It won’t hurt you, but it isn’t like it is a ticket in, nor will it give your chances a big bump. But depending on how personal it is, it certainly cannot hurt you. By all means, include it but don’t expect too much.</p>
<p>If you’re applying for financial aid at Vassar, it’s going to be difficult for you.</p>
<p>Not good. Assuming the GPA is bad if you’re not revealing it, even with upward trend. </p>
<p>SAT is fine but not stellar for those schools. </p>
<p>Colleges pretty much throw that stuff (recs from famous/important people) away, they dont really even read it because it’s pretty much always not personal.</p>