So I’m a Asian-American female applying to UPenn as my first choice and I’m pretty jaded about my chances-especially with the “holistic” college admissions that’s becoming pretty transparent across many universities. Here’s my problem. I don’t have a lot of direct connections to UPenn that is going to make me stand out but I asked around and my godparents know “this guy” that is an alumni of Wharton(undergrad that I want to apply to). I’ve never met him before. Now, is it going to be rude and is it even viable to ask him to write a letter to the school and recommend me? I promise that I can write him a great and respectful letter with my resume attached, but seriously, would it be possible?
How is this guy going to write a meaningful letter about you if he has never met or heard of you before?
I think it’s very weird to ask him for a letter of recommendation, but more importantly I don’t think it will help. Admissions officers stress time and time again to choose people who know you very well to write your letters of recommendations, because they can include specific and detailed insights into your ability and character rather than just generic positivity, which is what this guy will be able to do at best. Ask yourself, what is he going to add to your application? The resume with your academic record and honors won will all presumably be on the application. He’ll just rehash it. Admissions officers are far more interested in the content of these letters of recommendations than the author. Hope this helps! 
An important element of any effective LOR is:
how do u know the applicant ?
Thank you for the quick responses! Yeah I didn’t really think that it would be appropriate but I had to ask. My godparents thought that maybe it would help but since it won’t I don’t need to waste any more time on it.
If you haven’t worked with that guy closely, it not only won’t help, it will almost certainly hurt. They specifically don’t want some random alum or a famous guy who is a friend of a friend – and disregarding that advice is likely to backfire. It could look as if you had no one to enthuse about you, and so you had to rely on a person with a vague connection to you who happened to have gone to the school. Which makes you look desperate and a bit manipulative.
See, your godparents (and you) have probably heard that “alumni connections matter” and “sometimes people can pull strings.” True, if your uncle is Bill Gates or Johnny Depp and he makes a discrete call on your behalf, lucky you. And true, if your mom or grandpa is a big donor, that’ll give you a bump. But not this kind of connection. It’s not real. And even if it WAS Bill Gates or Johnny Depp, the letter of recommendation isn’t the place for it (unless you were his intern and he really, really knows you.)
How will this guy say he knows you? “She is the goddaughter of some acquaintances of mine”? Ouch. Don’t go there. Your godparents mean well, but they’re clueless.
Direct connections to UPenn do not make you stand out. What you do makes you stand out.
It would be a useless LOR anyway. Try someone else.
Yup, MomOnALaptop gets it. No one cares if Johnny Depp or Bill Gates calls unless it’s accompanied by a check.
Save your letters of rec for someone who knows you well and can comment on your suitability for what you are applying for.
LOR is stupid.
Meeting him at a Starbucks with your parents (maybe) to discuss Wharton, his experiences there, your interests, etc. - I think that would be worthwhile, if it is possible. He may be able to help you add some interesting ideas to your “Why Penn” essay, maybe able to help you start thinking about what you want out of your undergrad education. I think even Skype or a simple phone call would be worth 30 minutes of your time, if he is willing to spend that.
And yes, apply to other schools. The entire top 20 just has wildly too many applicants and too few spaces. The only big school is UCB, which is not anti-asian, and has an excellent business program, but that is highly competitive too.
Wharton is difficult to get into, regardless of the strength of your application or your background. That’s not being “jaded” that’s admitting that with a <10% acceptance chances and likely a fantastic pool of applicants, most qualified and many highly qualified applicants and some stellar applicants just won’t get in. Penn is also wildly popular, record number of applications.
You really have to find a way to stand out of the crowd …
Also remember the bigger prize is Wharton MBA … so there is another round here.
It would be inappropriate to seek him out directly and he would not be able to write anything meaningful. In addition, unless the alum has built a building on campus or something else huge a letter from an alum won’t mean much of anything. A letter from an alum who donates $100/year won’t do anything for your application. IF the alum is a significantly large donator, you could possibility ask your godparents to see if he would be willing to meet with you to discuss Wharton and take it from there. Your best bet is to forget the letter, apply to a wide range of schools, and see what happens.
It’s not rude, but as other posters have said, it’s a waste of a LoR.
hahaha Can a horse be MORE dead?
It’s not rude persay, but it is extremely out of the ordinary and inappropriate.
Letters of recommendation should be from mentors throughout your high school career who genuinely know you as an individual, and should be able to compose a meaningful piece of writing about what they have observed within your scholarly achievements.
I strongly advise against it. Do you have a club advisor or outside-of-school mentor that would be a much better use of your recommendation letter?
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I believe we have a consensus. As a result, I am closing this thread.