Hi guys.
Patrick Ryan is my 1st cousin, twice removed. In other words, he’s my grandfathers cousin. I can prove this if asked to by admissions. I have never actually met the guy, but I know he is a pretty big donor to Northwestern (Ryan Field, etc). When the application asks about family, I said yes I have a relative who attended, because my uncle did. However, when it asks if I have ever had a relative work there, technically the answer is yes, because Pat Ryan’s on the board of directors. Now normally, I wouldn’t think to say yes because he’s related kind of distantly, but since he is such a big donor, I’m wondering if it is worth putting down. Additionally, I may be meeting him soon anyways for a family funeral. My great-grandmother, his aunt is in hospice due to a stroke. I don’t want to bug him there about this though while there, because that would be extraordinarily rude, especially considering I’ve never met him. I am probably not going to mention it, or say I have a relative who works for Northwestern, but before I turn the app in, I would like a second opinion.
Regardless, I have relatively good stats (3.93 UW, all honors classes, good extra curriculars and a 2290 SAT), and have a shot at getting in on my own merit.
Thoughts?
also maybe relevant piece of information (?) : my uncle included this on his application, and was accepted with stats that are below average for the school.
If the application asks you to list people who are related to you, and Pat Ryan is related to you, then I feel like you can put him down on the application. If they ask to provide the type of familial relationship, don’t lie, just write down what it actually is.