<p>Recently, my dad has suggested (read: vehemently demanded) that I contact my district's congressman and start conversation with him so that he can write me a recommendation to the colleges I am applying to. I am very reluctant to do this, because I feel that the admissions offices would be quite annoyed and know instantly that I don't actually have a personal connection with the congressman and am only trying to get in through recommendation from an influential figure.</p>
<p>Additionally, my dad somehow knows/is familiar with a trustee from Harvard (or so he says) and insists on getting said trustee to write a recommendation for me for Harvard. Again, I'm a bit skeptical about this idea.</p>
<p>Do any of you CCers have any thoughts about these ideas? Could they actually be beneficial in any way, or could they possibly hurt me in my admissions chances? My dad is usually very detached from my academic life, but he is intense about this...</p>
<p>(In terms of my objective stats, they're not bad - Intel/Siemens semis, tons of science awards, >2300 SATs, 4.0 UW, but Asian male from California.)</p>
<p>It has NOTHING to do with the writer, all to do with the student. A first year student teacher, with good anecdotes about you is fifty times more valuable to you than a xeroxed sheet you’ll get from some flunkie staffer at the congressional office since you don’t have a real connection (just like you mentioned). Same thing with the Harvard trustee. Unless you actually WORK for either person, they are Worthless. And I’d tell him to his face, myself if I could.</p>
<p>I generally agree with T26E4 with one giant exception. If you are applying to a service academy (US Military Academy - West Point, US Naval Academy - Annapolis, or US Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs) then you are REQUIRED to have a congressmember’s endorsement. Perhaps your father heard this and is assuming this is standard for all universities.</p>
<p>^ Point taken – but then this would have already happened. But given the OPs statement about Tiger Dad hustling his Harvard Trustee friend for a rec letter, I kinda doubt it.</p>
<p>I assumed the OP is a junior who is lining things up for next year. If OP is a senior, then any LOR at this point is going to have negligible impact.</p>
<p>I’m trying to give “Tiger Dad” the benefit of the doubt.</p>
<p>As you suspect don’t bother and it could even be detrimental - reflects poorly on your personality. Maybe mention in your essays that despite little interest/support from your dad you have excelled…now that might help!</p>
<p>Just dont bother. Unless if the congressmen wants to lie (which he won’t unless he’s getting a big favor), his “recommendation” is just going to be look laughably fake at the very best.</p>
<p>There are people who do get letters from their congressmen - they have worked in their office. If you are not one of them, your congressman is doing what - certifying that you live in his/her district? Colleges do not need such certification.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would be suspicious about a letter from a congressman even for a student who had worked in the congressman’s office. I mean, if my congressman is directly supervising the part-time work of a 16-year-old in his office, I want a new congressman! For one thing, the congressman should be doing only the things that only the congressman can do–speaking on the floor of the House, casting votes, obsequiously currying favor with constituents, going with lobbyists on junkets to the Virgin Islands, etc. For another thing, I strongly suspect that any congressman who’s spending a lot of time with a 16-year-old he’s not related to is–er, up to no good.</p>
<p>A letter from someone on the congressman’s staff who directly supervised your work? Sure. A letter from the congressman? Probably another pointless letter from somebody who has a title but doesn’t really know the applicant.</p>
<p>I admit, I’m guessing about this theoretical letter from this theoretical congressman for this theoretical teenage intern. But I’m not guessing about this: caliboy, your instincts are exactly right, and your dad’s instincts are, with due respect, way off-target. </p>
<p>Seriously, show your father that link that T26E4 gave you. And ask him this: If you can get a letter from your congressman, even though you have no real connection to him or his office, then couldn’t anybody? And if anybody could get such a letter, what’s it really worth?</p>
<p>That MIT link on recommendations is very very helpful!! :)</p>
<p>Gave it to both my teachers as they were clueless on how to go about it!!</p>
<p>@caliboy196 - Sikorsky and everyone else on this forum is right. College adcoms are smart and experienced enough to realize that the said congressman/Harvard Trustee has no idea of who you are. </p>
<p>My friend was in a similar situation(he could get a letter from the Chief Minister) - and my counselor advised him against it because my friend had not done anything significant to be recognized my the Chief Minister(International applicant here) - so that couldn’t be bluffed and sending an extra bland generic LOR to admissions with a sign of the CM is not something adcoms want!! They’d probably be annoyed!!</p>
<p>So try to convince your Dad that this won’t help much. You can try to get your counselor to tell him that. But if your Dad is really really adamant and said Congressman/Harvard Trustee is willing to write a recommendation and you don’t want to be at loggerheads with your Dad - then just send them. At the most, they’d get thrown into the bin and the person who read them, would probably see your application with a bit of contempt!!</p>
<p>Sikorsky - I know kids working in local congressmen’s offices as an EC or service. No matter who is writing the letter or signing, the letterhead will be the congressman’s. It is quite possible they see the congressman only a few times an year.</p>
<p>I am not certain they need to give up their right to a recommendation after spending 100s of hours doing service?</p>
<p>Of course not! That isn’t what I said at all. I said that such a student should have a letter of recommendation from the staff member who supervised him or her, and not from the congressman who didn’t. And of course that letter belongs on the office stationery.</p>
<p>I would also add that too many people overestimate the personal rapport they have with influential people. Every congressman/trustee of Harvard knows thousands of people, and are very cognizant as to who would help his re-election effort. They are well aware that a person begging for a letter of rec probably won’t do anything in return. </p>
<p>It is not inconceivable that if the trustee did write a letter of rec, it would read, “I don’t know this applicant, and as a trustee it is my responsibility to request that you not to admit this individual who awkwardly demanded a recommendation from me.”</p>
<p>I am friends of several admissions committee members and they have seen “letters of rec” which was anything but.</p>
<p>Right. I keep agreeing with that. But any such letter will be most credible if it is written by and signed by the young person’s supervisor, and not the congressman.</p>
<p>LOL: this is a dog pile thread if I ever saw one! Poor caliboy’s dad! If he entered a room with all of us, I think he’d legitimately be afraid we’d jump him! hahahah</p>
<p>On a side note, the colleges don’t want more letters than about 4 or 5 and commonapp allows you to load 3-4 of them. So pursuing letters that seem immaterial to one’s application may be detrimental to your application.</p>
<p>I listened to a presentation by an USNWR top 20 school an year ago. Someone raised the question about what is considered a good number. The answer was that 4 is a stretch but ok, at 6 the readers of the application become resentful, and anything more and they no longer care for your application. She said someone submitted recs in double digits and needless to say, was not admitted. Too many recommendations raise a red flag about the applicant in her opinion.</p>
<p>I was about to suggest that caliboy just show his dad this thread, but then I reread the original post, in which even caliboy kind of threw his dad under the bus!</p>
<p>Caliboy, maybe you’re just going to have to say, “Gee, Dad, I was poking around the Internet and I found this blog at MIT…”</p>
<p>Yes, I was just thinking, “Poor Caliboy!”. My parents (applying students’ grandparents) also think this is how college admissions should be done. Fortunately I am there to run interference and keep them from trying to make this happen. Caliboy is going to be under a lot of pressure from someone who does not know how this stuff works at all. I guess the best you could do is give him the link, and also suggest he spend some time out on CC to get a better feeling for the process (although this could create a monster of a different type).</p>
I guess the best you could do is give him the link, and also suggest he spend some time out on CC to get a better feeling for the process (although this could create a monster of a different type).</p>