Would getting a letter of rec from a professor who graduated from the University help in any way? I asked my professor for the letter of rec before knowing that he was an alum and he told me about it recently. I’m applying as a transfer student.
I personally think it could give you a slight edge because your prof certainly knows the University, and logically he will be able to say with some authority that you would “fit”. Of course, when I say slight edge, it means a slight edge in one aspect of your application. So it’s a portion of a portion. But who knows? It may make the difference.
Having said the above, what the prof says is much more important than who he is. Ideally, he would give you a glowing recommendation to go along with his UChicago connection. But if you think he will give you a so-so rec maybe you should look elsewhere for this part of your app.
Best of luck to you.
^^ Ditto. The substance of the letter is going to carry the biggest weight. But the reviewer himself may give you an edge, assuming they know he’s an alum. Legacies have a bit of an edge due to the “natural connection” to the university and that benefit may well extend to protégés too.
Good luck!
Writing a recommendation letter is like many things in life - it can be done perfunctorily, or it can be done with conviction. It can be merely dutiful and honest; or it can be not only these things but have something a bit extra in it, something that will grab the attention of the reader. You are more likely to get that sort of letter from an alumnus, whose day you might just have made by being asking him or her to join the cause of getting you into the old school. Especially when the school is the U of C, which for so many years (probably including those in which the alumnus attended) was a closely held secret little known outside a small circle of the enlightened. You already have a mark in your favor with this alumnus simply because you know about the place and want to go there.