Hi, wise parents. My son will be applying to a college that has a law school, of which my husband’s boss is a trustee. My son does not know the boss, as he’s in another city. My husband plans to ask his boss to put in a good word for our son during the admissions cycle. I wonder if this would help or harm him. I think he has a decent shot at getting in regardless, and I don’t want to muddy the waters. Plus, the boss is affiliated with the law school, not the undergraduate college.
My husband already asked his boss to put in a good word for a family friend who was hoping to transfer to this college, and even though he did so our friend was rejected. That gives me pause as well.
If the boss does this a lot for people he doesn’t know - then it’s likely admissions either gets annoyed or doesn’t give it any weight. Of course they have to listen to a trustee, but it doesn’t mean they need to act.
Personally I would never ask someone to put in a good word for someone they don’t know - and I would never do so for someone I don’t know. I want my word to carry weight - which means I only recommend people I have personal experience with and have confidence they’re the right fit.
As a high school math teacher, I write my fair share of letters of recommendation every year. What makes them credible is what I’m able to say about each of the candidates for admission. I can attest to their intelligence, their work ethic, their ability to get the job done-- whatever.
Simply knowing their parents tells the reader nothing about the candidate. And I think it implies that the candidate can’t get any legitimate letters without help from daddy’s boss.
–If the trustee doesn’t know your son at all then a letter won’t do much of anything. Your H may want to ask the trustee if he’d be willing to meet or speak with your son before you ask him to write a letter of support.
–I would only ask for a letter from a trustee if it is your son’s top choice. You don’t want to ask someone (especially a boss) for a favor and then not attend the school if accepted.
I would add that even if it worked (and it won’t) what kind of message does this give to your son? Wouldn’t he want to get in based on something about himself?
All of the above plus I don’t imagine the recommendation of the law school trustee would really matter to the undergrad admissions office, even if the trustee knew your son well.
Remember the saying, the thicker the file, the thicker the student.
No supplemental recommendations unless the recommender can truly say something interesting, important and highly positive about the student that no one else has already said.
Does your husband’s boss know the president of the university? If so a phone call made by a president to the admissions office can carry enormous weight.
An enthusiastic, positive recommendation from a trustee might help but a reluctant, tepid recommendation would hurt.
IMO your husband could talk to his boss about how much your son loves the school, ask advice about ED or whatever other questions he has–and just see if he offers to recommend on his own. Otherwise, I wouldn’t ask.
Weight for what? This might get admissions to look at the application when otherwise they might not…but it’s not going to get an applicant accepted who wouldn’t otherwise be accepted. And it’s not going to guarantee acceptance.
If your son is a competitive applicant for this college, recommendations from people he knows will make more of a difference than a call from someone who doesn’t know your kid…at…all.
I’m not sure why the trustee at the law school would agree to this. the very LAST thing I would do is write a recommendation for someone I have never met, and don’t know anything about.
One of my friends growing up got into Princeton with an 1100 SAT score because her uncle was a trustee. A trustee’s recommendation can carry tremendous weight.
I believe it may help and won’t hurt, but please, please, please don’t do it if this is not your son’s number one choice. My H has done something similar, but for private HS, and it ended up one of the kids did not even attend. My H felt he used up a chit for a kid who wasn’t committed. He now knows to ask kids.parents for his help with admissions, “will you attend if you get in?”
Does your husband's boss know the president of the university? If so a phone call made by a president to the admissions office can carry enormous weight.
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It’s only one year at one school, so no guarantee it applies in the present case, but The Gatekeepers says no. The president of some college called the president of Wesleyan and asked him to put in a good word for some kid with Wesleyan admissions. President of Wes did the favor. It didn’t help.
I can imagine it might be different if it were the university president’s own kid or someone the president knows well and can can say great things about from personal knowledge. But “Hey, I know someone who knows someone who has a kid. I hear the kid is smart and nice. Please give his application every consideration.” You could probably fill every class every year with kids whose parents know someone who knows a trustee or a big deal professor or a high level administrator.