<p>I just received the Dartmouth viewbook and application in the mail. I saw that we have to have a "Peer" write an evaluation for us. Should I just ask a friend who knows me really well? Or someone who is a really good writer? Also, one of the friends that I am considering asking may be applying to Dartmouth as well; would this be a conflict of interests? And how "make or break" is the peer evaluation?</p>
<p>I would honestly hope that it wouldn't be a conflict of interests; that one of your friends would deliberatley write a bad recommendation to increase their chances of getting into Dartmouth. That would be pretty petty.</p>
<p>It would really be great to get a person who both knows you really well and who writes really well :)</p>
<p>The peer recommendation is a required part of the application. If you really want your friend to write your peer evaluation, you need to ask them up front if they feel they can be objective enough to write your recommendation as a friend an not a competitor. </p>
<p>What your & your friend should keep in mind if you decide to write recommendations for one another and if one should decide to burn the other, you could essentially burn themselves in the admissions process. One of you writing about the other in a negative light knowing that the applicant was depending on them to write positively will speak about them and their character. </p>
<p>Cutthroat competiveness is not part of Dartmouth's culture (far from it) and they would not look highly among a person who is willing to stab a friend in the back.</p>
<p>At the Dartmouth info sessions, they always stress that they do not care about the writing ability of the Peer Recommender -- its the story or message that counts, and as long as that message comes thru, you'll be fine. My son's friend is an engineering type, with english as a second language and he's on the non-honors english track (writing definitely not his forte), but whatever he wrote worked for my S.</p>
<p>The person who wrote my recommendation was one of my best friends so she knew me really well, even though she knows she's not a good writer.</p>
<p>She did end up getting (some) help from other friends who are stronger writers, but I knew that she would be the best candidate to write it for me since she knows me academically (I was in classes with her and would come to her house/talk to her on the phone really late at night to give her emergency homework help), extracurricularly (because I married her sister in the school play and she was forced to come to every single one of the shows I was in), and personally (because I spend time with her way too much)</p>
<p>She ended up righting an amazing, heartfelt reccomendation that almost made my mom cry, and even though not everything was gramatically/spelling-ly perfect, it was a very good reccomendation.</p>
<p>So if you have someone who knows you on a very deep level, definitely have that person write the recommendation. (And if you're both applying, that shouldn't be a problem...because I know that I supported my friends even when we were applying to the same schools and am happy for all of them for wherever they're going (even though I'm all alone going to D.))</p>
<p>P.S. I think the peer reccomendation is one of the BEST ways to find out what a person is like, because it's not a teacher saying "He was the best student I had because he worked hard and stayed late to ask questions..blah..blah" It's the most personal you can get because friends see each other in greatest and worst moments and will know each other on a deeper personal level.</p>
<p>And by the way, if you are writing a friend's rec, use specific examples! Because that's the best way to show what a person is like. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks. I'm definitely not worried about my friend writing me a "bad" evaluation, I was just wondering if Dartmouth would think it strange that 2 applicants wrote each other's evals. I still don't know if this friend is going to be applying to Dartmouth. I will probably ask her about writing it in August or September to give her plenty of time.</p>
<p>She knows me really well (we had almost every class together this year), she knows my family, we do some extracurriculars together and we've been going to school together since 1st grade. Plus she's super nice and a good writer, so I'm confident in her.</p>
<p>Holy crap...I wonder if my evaluation for a friend, which covertly stated that my friend is cocky ruined my chances at getting accepted. It's funny because he was accepted and I was waitlisted. Ugh...Im so asinine. I agree with sybbie, dont include negative things in the evaluation, if your applying as well.</p>
<p>My son and his girlfriend wrote peer recommendations for each other, and they both got in! I do know they conferred a bit on the letters;she asked him if he thought that certain adjectives were appropriate to use to describe him, etc. and upon her request, my son highlighted a particular personal quality of hers she felt didn't come through in other parts of the application. So, it can be beneficial if you write for each other since you can exercise a bit more control over what gets emphasized. It's possible you could be less likely to get screwed by a competitive friend if that person is also depending upon you for a good letter. For example, you could even agree to show each other your rough drafts for approval.</p>
<p>It is beneficial to ask someone who knows you well and, above all else, someone you trust. As long as you trust the person writing your recommendation, it should turn out well.</p>
<p>Why not just write an honest, heartfelt, positive rec? And if you can't do that, then you should decline to your friend.</p>
<p>I have wondered about the value of the peer recommendation. Won't they all be equally glowing? I mean who wouldn't write a great recommendation for a friend. </p>
<p>I think that it is simply a personal data point on the applicant that serves to either confirm or disconfirm the sense the adcom gets of the applicant from the rest of his/her application.</p>
<p>if i were you, i wouldnt ask another person who is applying to dartmouth. Even if the person is trying to be objective, it is unlikely that they will write the best recommendation possible. It would be better to pick a safer candidate in my opinion.</p>
<p>However, if you do pick the person and he/she bashes you deliberately, the admissions office will check to see if that person also applied to the school and will perhaps realize that it was a conflict of interests. Also, the peer recomendation really doesnt have much weight and has very very rarely swung the decision one way or another.</p>
<p>How long should it be?</p>
<p>Last year my son and his long-time friend and biggest competitor wrote each other recommendations-they were both about 6 paragraphs -the recommendations really were quite interesting and well written (son and friend each agreed to show each other the recommendations before they were sent). Specific examples of humor, technical skills etc. were mentioned. Both boys were accepted to Dartmouth although only one (my son) chose to go.</p>
<p>My girlfriend is writing mine, apparently girlfriends have a good record. But I think she might make it too long, since she tends to overwrite, like her common app essay was somewhere around 1500 words long, about 3 times longer than mine.</p>
<p>I got my friend who is a freshman at Dartmouth to write mine. Hopefully he can show that I am a good fit for the school!</p>
<p>Two of my friends who are applying have asked me to write theirs. What kind of things are they looking for? I'm not really sure what to write. Plus, do you think they'll compare the two letters? (By the way, I'm not applying to Dartmouth, so I shouldn't have a problem with being competitive or anything like that.)</p>
<p>^ Each applicant is unique. So I don't see why they will compare both the letters they ought to be <em>unique</em>. The rec allows the adcom to know the applicant better. So you need to write something about them which will not show their rest of the application.</p>
<p>Even so, if both your friends are at the same school, the same admissions officer will likely read both letters, so they should be distinct. Try to explain how each friend makes your school (or team or organization) a better place, using concrete examples of things they have done that demonstrate their best qualities. Instead of "she's really altruistic" say "she organized a food drive" or something along those lines.</p>