Hi guys!
Long time ago my brother and I co-founded a startup. It provides some kind of services( just trying to keep it private, sorry for all this “conspiracy”) to different businesses. At this time, I’ve already collected a great deal of recommendation letters from our customers.
I was wondering if there is a way to use these recs in the application?
Do you guys think I can invite my brother(technically my colleague) as an “Other recommender” and he could upload THE most valuable recommendation (from a charity to which we offered a FREE service; it was basically a volunteering work and I wrote about it in one of essays).
I think that kind of recommendation might be a very valuable piece of information in the evaluation process.
What do you guys think I should do?
P.S. I’m not from US so sending them by snail mail is not an option for me
I can’t see how “customer” recommendations can be any more useful to the admissions committees than recommendations from your Grandmother, Aunts and Uncles.
@justOneDad Well, it is a recommendation from a charitable foundation. Amount of funds they would raise depended on my work!
Do you really think it means “nothing” as the recs from grandmothers do?
Agree with @JustOneDad. OP. You need to understand you are applying to an “academic research university” of the highest order and not to a marketing or venture capital firm. You have no idea how many “kids” apply each year with great businesses already in “hand” who get rejected…
…You have to prove to the admissions staff what intellectual capacity, curiosity, and vitality you can bring to the Stanford “community” (students and professors alike) and what you can “get” out of a Stanford education if admitted. This is not a business venture you are applying for…
…in sum, try to use legitimate respected individuals (teachers, counselors, mentors,etc) for your recommendations…they carry more weight and significance…because great recommendations can make the world of difference for the majority of those who get the “golden ticket”…
…hope this helps.
@gravitas2 Thanks a lot for your response.
It would be enough for you to state what was raised. There wouldn’t need to be separate documentation unless there were some questions about veracity.
@JustOneDad thanks for your opinion