<p>I just was wondering about how significant a part letters of recommendation play into the admissions process. I am one of the strongest students in my school, and good extra-curriculars, SAT/ACTs what have you. However...</p>
<p>I am having an alum (also a good family friend and known me forever) who is a prominent member in society (don't want to give away who really) write me a letter of recommendation. He is also on the board of trustees. Do you think that this will play any part in my application, or just fluf? </p>
<p>I do have two recommendations from my teachers of course.</p>
<p>I think that letter could hurt you, like you are trying to pull strings. Unless this person knows you in an academic or extracurricular context, I think the letter could leave a bad taste in the admission committee's mouth. Something like this might have flown 30 years ago, but I don't think it's appropriate for today's sensibilities. Others may disagree.</p>
<p>If you think he would be the best person to write your supplemental recommendation because he knows you best and would be able to write about your personal characteristics in an honest, in-depth way, then do it. If you'd just be doing it for the "name-dropping", then don't. I actually can't see how this would hurt you at all if he really does know you well.</p>
<p>Personal opinions aside (I also think it's tacky!) - from the books I've read, I would strongly second AA and T264E. It actually raises the hackles of admissions, and could likely hurt you, UNLESS there is some strong connection with some concrete activity (academic, EC, volunteer, etc) in which he/she has had reason to see you in action.</p>
<p>Maj--My understanding when I wrote my original message was that this person legitimately knows you well. I maintain that if the connection to you is social, then it's going to look tacky.</p>
<p>AdmissionsAddict: I saw another post where you advised against sending these types of letters of recommendation, based on observing Yale's admissions process over the years. Do you actually know of cases where this has hurt people or do you just personally find it tacky? Because we keep hearing about applicants getting "connected" donors and/or alums to write on their behalf. Maybe they help (and maybe they don't)--but how does anyone really know if they hurt?</p>
<p>I'm not an admissions officer and only they would know if such a letter actually hurt an applicant. I do know that Yale doesn't like the image that some people have of the school, that it's an old money, old boys' club. Yale has actively tried to counter this image for at least three decades. There was a tremendous alumni revolt in the 70s when Yale dramatically reduced the number of legacy admits to broaden the student body. I'm off on a tangent now, but it seems to me that Yale would react negatively to behavior that runs against the meritocratic image it wants to project. </p>
<p>I absolutely think connections help, but not at the level that people on this board and out in the world seems to think that they do. If you are genuinely connected, you don't need letters to be on Yale's radar. I believe that if your family has given tens of millions of dollars to the school you have a definite admissions advantage. I think if one of your parents is a Fortune 500 CEO it helps. What I don't believe is that having someone "important" writing a letter helps. Yale wants letters of rec from people who know you in an academic or extracurricular capacity. A purely social contact is unlikely to have the type of information about an applicant that the admissions committee is looking for. I've seen a number of posts where the applicant has only met the important person a handful of times. This compounds the problem because the person doesn't even really know you socially making it even more a waste of the admissions officers' time. The next problems is that a letter of rec from an important person is so obviously a power play. I can't imagine admissions officers like it when people are trying to leverage/"threaten" with important people rather than get in on their own merits. Finally, such a play doesn't reflect the spirit of the type of student that Yale wants. </p>
<p>I have no definitive knowledge that these letters hurt (although other posters have read in college books that admissions officers frown on them), but working through it logically it's hard to see how most of these letters would help and easy to see how they would be a turn-off.</p>
<p>NJ Mom: When you speak about "connected" donors, you're perhaps speaking about "development admits". This would be a relative (child, grandchild) of a VERY significant donor (seven figures). These are few and far between.</p>
<p>As you can imagine, there are many relatives and children of alums. But that connection is not that tremendous that will significantly boost someone ahead of others.</p>
<p>If you can imagine that a child of an alum doesn't get much of a boost, the "acquaintance" of an otherwise unremarkable (but regular) donor -- won't be noted. This is my opinion only. You should see the donors lists. Dropping a six figure amount is rather commonplace.</p>
<p>I agree with T26E4 and AdmissionsAddict. I was at an information session at Stanford when this was addressed by the admissions rep doing the session. I think admissions people are very savvy and can see through this tactic easily. I am not sure if it will really hurt, but I am doubtful that it will help.</p>
<p>This technique is just yucky. Do you want to get into Yale because somebody pulled strings for you? Really, think about that. I have too much pride to do something like that. Get into Yale on your own merits, that is my advice.</p>
<p>Anecdote: Friend of my D was recently REJECTED by Stanford. Student had an "influential (at Stanford) friend of the family/acquaintance" write a letter. I know this student and was surprised that he wasn't deferred. One has to wonder....</p>
<p>Maybe I'm wrong but I've heard of so many cases of these letters being used over the yrs (at Yale and other Ivies) that I thought they were fairly routine. I think they probably work best when the applicant is exceptionally qualified but, of course, is in the running with thousands of other equally qualified kids. This might be the thing that tips the scale in his/her favor. Maybe admissions officers tell applicants not to use this approach because the administration communicates to admissions to "pay attention" to these letters when they would prefer not to. One case I know of is a Yale alum (no longer alive) who met with and then wrote letters for family friends. I was under the impression that most of these kids were accepted, but that they were also very qualified on their own. I know he donated to Yale but don't know if it was in the 7 figure range. Of course, everyone would prefer not to do this sort of thing, but if lots of others are doing it, it almost seems like you're putting yourself at a disadvantage not to. But maybe Yale has changed over the past 5 yrs or so and this type of thing no longer helps.</p>
<p>I do think the letters are routine and but I think they are routine based on a misreading of Yale's institutional goals and overall philosophy. Yale has certainly become more explicit about not wanting supplemental materials, including recs, in the past 5-10 years. I think the cultural shift of these letters becoming distasteful is probably 10-15 years old. </p>
<p>The administration and admissions are aligned in their goals. The current director of admissions was formerly the head of the Association of Yale Alumni, so no one could be more in tune with alumni concerns. Although it may seem at odds with his former job, I see him as leading an admissions team that wants to broaden and diversify the Yale student body. Since his tenure as director admissions began, Yale has implemented some strategies to back this goal up. My sense is that currying favor/making a power play with an "important" rec would cause eyes to roll in the current admissions crew (while acknowledging that true development cases get a boost).</p>
<p>But none of us will ever know the truth until we're admissions officers.</p>