Superintendent of Schools Recommendation

<p>I just asked our township's superintendent for a rec for Yale and she said she could do it. The reason that I know her is b/c there was an "issue" in the beginning of this school year where the directors of the marching band were fired, and I (being drum major) ran practices for about 2 weeks before they could hire new ones. We've had lunch before but she said she'd be willing to have another interview.</p>

<p>Would this have a big impact on my chances for Yale?</p>

<p>It would not and could possibly be viewed as a waste of the admissions officer's time. If you must include an additional letter of recommendation, it should be from someone who knows you well and who can say something about you that can't be said elsewhere in your application. You can put on your resume that you took ran marching band practices for two weeks. You don't need her to do it.</p>

<p>You don't want to ask someone you've met twice to write a letter. They can't say anything truly substantive about you because they don't know you. Every year people get US Senators, governors, big $ Yale alum donors, etc. to write them letters when these people don't really know them. It doesn't impress the admissions officers at all and may make the person who solicited the recommendation look foolish because they are relying on a "big name" as opposed to substance.</p>

<p>Thx for the fast reply.</p>

<p>The Superintendent probably wouldnt take recs if she didnt know the student well enough. She knows just as u do, that recs should only be written if you know the person well.</p>

<p>I'm just wondering how well she knows you if you met at the beginning of this school year. What she considers knowing someone "well enough to write a recommendation" may not be what an admissions officer considers well enough to write an additional recommendation that the admissions materials specifically discourage. This doesn't mean that you should never submit an additional recommendation, but it does mean that you should only solicit one from someone who 1) offers a perspective that your academic recommendations cannot and 2) knows you very well.</p>

<p>Obviously you should do what you think is best, I'm just trying to alert you to the fact that admissions officers won't be impressed that the Superintendent wrote a recommendation and may be annoyed if you had someone in a "power" position write a rec when their acquaitance with you is fairly superficial. </p>

<p>My perspective comes from many years as an alumni interviewer and someone who has actively followed the Yale admissions scene for a long time. </p>

<p>Strawboy, please don't feel I'm arguing with you. I know other applicants will read this thread and I just want to make my point for those who may be considering a similar recommendation.</p>

<p>I agree with AdmissionsAddict. Individuals with impressive titles don't impress admissions officers very much, especially when their connection to the student is tenuous. Those who work in admissions have seen every trick in the book, and even a glowing letter from a superintendent who has only met a student a handful of times would not do much good. It is Yale's goal to create the most balanced and talented class they possibly can each year, and a letter from a person who doesn't know you well will likely be a disadvantage when compared to the letters submitted on behalf of other students by people with no titles, but an intimate knowledge of the student's personality, work ethic, goals, etc.</p>

<p>I don't doubt the superintendent would write a nice letter for you. However, I'm also confident that the brevity of your relationship with her will be clear to those individuals whose profession it is to make such determinations. Really, it looks like you're trying to gain admission as a result of your connections rather than your skills. I know you're excited about the prospect of getting someone with power to recommend you, but please, give this some serious thought before you push this further.</p>