<p>I was recently offered a letter of recommendation from the former President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera. Besides being influential and powerful, he is an alumni of Harvard where he got his MA and PhD in Economics. He is a close family friend who is willing to write a meaningful letter about why I would be a great student at Harvard.</p>
<p>Do you think a letter of recommendation from him would help my admission chances to Harvard? I know they don't like recommendations filled with "fluff" that add nothing to an applicant's story; however, would this letter be an exception?</p>
<p>Of course this would be an exception! If you can get a president who is also a Harvard alumni to give you a meaningful recommendation then that’s fantastic!</p>
<p>“Teachers who know you well and who have taught you in academic subjects (preferably in the final two years of secondary school) typically will provide us *with the most valuable testimony. *Whenever possible, teachers should tell us about your non-academic interests and personal qualities as well as academic potential. (emphasis mine)”</p>
<p>The fact is your family is well connected. That may account for something. If you were his actual child, it be significant. But it’s not as if he has any first hand knowledge of your writing or scholarship or ability to do work or research. Ultimately, it’s about WHAT is written about you and not WHO writes it for you. In reality, his attestations of your fit for Harvard College are 1) based on very thin knowledge 2) obviously written as a part of his friendship with your family and 3) is a naked attempt to utilize his influence in an area where he has almost zero expertise. This may backfire.</p>
<p>Your humble headmaster’s careful thoughts and anecdotes about how you are as a student is MUCH more valuable than Mr Pinera’s note, in my opinion.</p>
<p>@T26E4 Yeah, that was my primary concern. At the same time, I am considered a URM, which means that most students in my category would not be “well-connected.” Do you think being a URM and submitting this letter would hurt the “boost” I already get by being hispanic?</p>
<p>I would say why not? This shows Harvard that you have influential connections, and if you were an alumni, you would be a valuable asset to Harvard not only because you were a strong student at their school BUT you are also very connected. </p>
<p>… or it might just tick them off that you’re nakedly name-dropping and trying to use the old-boys club style of getting an advantage @ssswims </p>
<p>I stand by my first advice. Mr Pinera would do this as a favor to his friends. He knows practically nothing about OP’s actual suitability as a H student besides the simple generalities. And it’s very possible that the note would just be written by a staffer. Lots of politicians do this.</p>
<p>How well do you know him? If he is someone you have met dozens of times, it would be acceptable. If you are a child of a past friend, that is different.</p>
<p>I have close family friends that by the time I graduated HS, I had seen perhaps four times per year for hours at a time. I do not think that would be enough to get a recommendation. However, I have a few other family friends we saw on a weekly basis and went on vacation with. I would be comfortably getting a recommendation from them.</p>
<p>Then again, at worst they would ignore the letter. I do not think they would hold it against you (unless he is writing letters for 5,000 of his closest friends’ children?).</p>
<p>I’m with T26E4. This is high stakes admissions and you need to be on your game. That includes distinguishing which LoR writers are appropriate. Part of the process is noting your judgment. Get the best LoRs you can from teachers who have experience with you in the classroom, who can comment on you as their student. </p>
<p>This is BS. If Obama offered you a letter, you would all take it in a heartbeat. Yes you should try to get people that know you well but a president is an obvious exception.</p>
<p>If Obama offered, you’d take it and frame it- but it won’t tip admissions. Let’s recognize what admissions is about and how many super qualified kids apply to Harvard. Go off track with them and they’re going to smell it. </p>
<p>@lookingforward there’s a reason Bill gate’s kid is at Stanford and Obama’s kid will get in anywhere she wants in a couple years. No matter how much you try to deny it, connections get you in.</p>
<p>My relationship with the President is somewhat limited–we have only met on a few casual occasions. The letter would definitely be written by a staffer; however, it will have his letterhead and signature. Additionally, I know that Mr. Pinera will be lecturing at Harvard, and he might even start teaching there. </p>
<p>My family seems to love this opportunity, and I am tentative about sending the letter. In terms of this letter providing access to a “connection,” I am not sure if the admissions office will see it like that. This is especially true if I am stressing my background as a URM and first-generation. </p>
<p>If the letter supports your application in a unique way, of course it will help. If the president, from his leadership vantage point, can discuss how he witnessed a family without a college education doing XX in Chile, and that their young child heroically endured hardship and did YY that impacted policy/peoples’ lives, etc., that is one thing. If he says that his chauffeur emigrated to America and has a child that is applying to college, and, yeah, I once knew him and he seems like a good kid, so cut him a break; well, that may not go over so well.</p>
<p>My relationship with the President is somewhat limited–we have only met on a few casual occasions. There is your answer.</p>
<p>No, there is no “of course it will help.” Nor that connections get you in. Perhaps some misunderstand some development admits, where the Dean can exert some pull for children of long time major (and we mean big time major) donors. This is an incredibly small number of kids annually (ime, less than 1%) and they must be qualified. Somehow this thread is drifting into some cloud of assertions. Some here underestimate adcoms at elites and overestimate their third hand thrill of seeing letterhead. OP didn’t work for this guy, didn’t win some award from him, has only met him on a few occasions. </p>
<p>The letter that should be sent, OP, is a kind, polite thank you for the offer. Perhaps in the future he will connect you for a job or other opportunity. If he will be lecturing between now and early March, perhaps he will stop in at admissions and put in a kind word. But he can’t attest to your merit for H based on a few meetings and his position in his own country.</p>
<p>Put me down with the people who suggest it’s a bad idea.</p>
<p>It sounds like he has nothing meaningful to say about the applicant / original poster. All the letter indicates is that his parents are reasonably well connected. Politicians (or former politicians) do small favors all the time for people. Writing a letter of recommendation is a small favor. If this kind of letter were really helpful, Harvard would be inundated with letters from senators and governors. Even if it includes information about the applicant - unless it’s based on an actual relationship between the former President and the applicant - all that would suggest is that the kid or his parents wrote a draft and a staffer put it on letterhead.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t submit a letter from Obama either, unless he actually had something to say.</p>
<p>@jmundurraga Like I said earlier, politicians do this ALL THE TIME and average people soak it up. They think it’s some kind of golden ticket. It’s not. Especially at Harvard.</p>
There’s a bit of a difference between being the child of Gates or POTUS and getting a letter from someone who used to be the president of Chile. This letter will not advance the OPs application. </p>