Letter of rec from alumni?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

I have a close family friend who is very close with a Harvard alum in my area. She says that she can put in a good word with him, and he also conducts the interviews for applicants in my area. I was at Starbucks studying for my own midterms and I overheard him interviewing several students. I approached him and introduced myself as a junior in hs and a hopeful Harvard applicant. I assumed it was her friend because he was of the age of her friend and I’m pretty sure he is one of the only Harvard alums from my town. We chatted for a while about the school and my chances, which he said were good. He gave me his card and home number. He seemed very willing to talk about the school and did not hesitate to help me out.

If she were able to really get a good word in for me with him and get me a letter of rec, would that make any sort of difference in my chances of admission? I have a high GPA, 33 ACT, athletics, volunteering, all of it. Would a big connection make a difference?

Thanks.

2

Harvard – and all selective colleges really – want letters from teachers who have taught you in a classroom situation, who can attest to your academic potential, to whether you constantly raise your hand and offer intelligent and well thoughtful opinions, whether your writing exceeds the strictures of the assignment, if you lead classroom discussions, whether you are one of the best and brightest students they have had in their career. Additional letters of recommendation from Harvard Alumni cannot comment on these areas. What is the Alumni writer supposed to say: “I’ve know jekusch and their family for many years and can attest that they’d be a wonderful asset to your college.” That kind of letter is not helpful to Admissions and just demonstrates that you know someone.

3

No. You want letters from people who know you well. My friend got a Pulitzer Prize winning author to write him a recomendation and he was rejected from Columbia. It is the quality of the letter, and what things that person can say about you SPECIFICALLY, not who writes it for you.

4

Thanks for the input. I have some teachers who’ve already offered to write my letters and I know that they know me very well and will have great personal letters. As an outsider to the Ivies, I didn’t know if the “it’s not what you know but who you know” philosophy would at all aid my application.

5

That’s the assumption many applicants make, but that’s not the case at all. It’s what you, the applicant, can bring to the table. What can you offer Harvard that another applicant cannot? That’s the deciding factor of most applications.

6

Not sure I completely agree with @gibby‌ on this one. I was admitted in December, and while I think I had the GPA, scores and ECs to get a serious look, I’m not sure I’d have made the cut without a letter from a prestigious alum (who hardly knew me). I took the “no stone unturned” philosophy to Harvard admissions. Without a hook, the odds are so absurd, why not (if available) get such a letter?

7

Because those kind of letters reek of privilege and entitlement – and from everything I’ve read, Harvard Admissions considers those letters written by alumni, congressman, senators and even presidents of countries on behalf of applicants as gratuitous. I’m happy it worked out for you, but I don’t think letters from alumni matter at all. For example: every student at Harvard who has a sibling COULD write a letter on their behalf. Would it help their sibling if they did? Would it matter all that much in the end? I think not, as siblings need to be admitted on their merits, not just because they are related to someone who happens to attend the college. Ditto for alumni who write letters on behalf of their children. (FWIW: 70% of legacy’s are rejected. I don’t know if it’s the same percentage for siblings.) IMHO, it’s the same with these kind of letters from alumni who don’t know that applicant in the context of their scholastic ability. I’m sure those letters get an eye roll in Admissions, with the AO’s saying “Oh, look who this kid knows.”

8

There are ways to leverage Harvard contacts, but I don’t think the poster is describing one of those ways.

9

my take on the admissions process is that each candidate needs a narrative. Besides the requisite stats, the candidate’s “raison d’être,” or what makes the candidate compelling or unusual or excellent, must be echoed in the interview, essays and letters of recs. If a letter from some random alum doesn’t support the narrative, if it sounds like a rote favor or somehow gratuitous, I agree it would be useless, or even detrimental. However, if a letter from a noteworthy alum adds more evidence to the candidate’s narrative, it can make a huge difference.

10

Sure – but tell us how a family friend’s obviously biased note can assist here? The first year student teacher, writing a compelling anecdote about witnessed student interaction or character is better than some stuffed shirt rec letter from a “name” who has had almost nil interaction with the applicant.

And what does the “noteworhiness” of the alum matter at all? It doesn’t. I fully disagree @Regurge01‌

11

It worked for me, @T26E4‌. Also, as I mentioned in my post, I believe you necessarily need the superb teacher rec, the “compelling anecdote about witnessed student interaction.” But why do you assume the teacher rec and alumni rec are mutually exclusive? Seems to me you are giving adcoms too much credit. Like so many people on CC, you seem to believe they’re somehow omniscient and impervious to name dropping and the “noteworthiness” of a letter writer. The other admitted students I know ALL got letters from noteworthy people or alums. Hate to say it, but you sound slightly naive.

12

@Regurge01,

“It worked for me, @T26E4‌.”

Actually, it would be more accurate to say, “I was accepted, so my use of an alumni recommendation letter didn’t keep me out.”

I doubt that you have direct knowledge about the effect of the letter.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was little more than a distraction in your application, not a valuable addition.

Let’s not confuse issues, though. If one is applying to Harvard, and one is fortunate enough to have a significant academic- or work-based connection with a Harvard alumnus who might credibly write about the applicant, then the existing Harvard association probably isn’t going to hurt, and could possibly provide a small assist to the applicant. If an applicant has a teacher who is an alumnus, or a boss, or a research director who is an alumnus, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

But that’s not what’s described by the original poster. The original poster is talking about getting a letter from someone who is not really connected to her life academically or by work. This was someone who is best described as a friend of a friend. The clear intention of the letter, if written, is to invoke the Harvard association without regard to the quality of the relationship between the letter writer and the applicant. I don’t think that’s going to go anywhere. Such a letter is not going to have the desired effect.

Lots of folks get into Harvard without recommendation letters of alumni or other notable persons (at least, not notable as you seem to use the word). Both my sons, white, upper middle class males without sports or significant musical ability, entirely unhooked non-legacies, managed to get admitted to Harvard without such letters.

Their recommendation letters came from their teachers and their school’s principal. Their guidance counselor, of course, filled out their secondary school report. Not a Harvard alum in the group. And not any particularly well-known public figures, either.

13

I’m sure there are things I’m naive about – of that I have no doubt. But I also have common sense, can read, and have been around the block a few times regurge01.

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look

The name dropping elitism that made the Ivies the home of the WASP scions is an age past for the most part. If you happen to be Emma Watson-type celebrity, it also helps for sure. Congrats on your H accept regurge. One day, hopefully you’ll assist H with its admissions and recruitment of great applicants as well.

14

@t26e4 absolutely no disrespect intended. I have read your posts and have found them highly insightful. The only point I’m trying to make is that I think these letters (from the “right” people saying the right things) can be more helpful than one thinks. We would all like to see Harvard admissions as more meritocratic than it really is. The adcoms are as big name droppers as the rest of us.

15

@notjoe, you are completely correct about being clueless about the weight given to my extra recommendation letter. If I were so inclined, I could probably find out (see article about “the Fountain Hopper” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/us/students-gain-access-to-files-on-admission-to-stanford.html?_r=0). I don’t think I’d really want to find out how truly instrumental the letter really was. It might make me feel even more cynical than I already am (at such a young age)! I also agree with both you and @t26e4 that the potential letter described by the OP wouldn’t likely get the job done. I guess I’m speaking more in general terms.