The "Other Recommender"

Applying to College
1

<p>I was looking at the text above the button that let's you assign another recommender that isn't a teacher, and it says:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Recommender types accepted: Arts Teacher, Clergy, Coach, College Access Counselor, Employer, Family Member, Peer, Other

[/quote]
</p>

<p>So I was thinking, how do colleges weight recommendations from family members and peers? I'm not planning to use one from my friends/family or anything but this is pretty interesting. Could a friend assign me as a recommender? Has anyone assigned friends as their recommenders before and how has it turned out for them? I realize that there's a credibility gap between someone like me, and say, a football coach but consider the following situation:</p>

<p>A pretty quiet student in general who doesn't really talk to his/her teachers, who got all 5s in every single AP class he takes is applying to college X, Y and Z. He/she knows that a teacher would write a recommendation solely based on his academic strengths because that's the extent to which the teacher knows him/her.</p>

<p>On the other hand, the student has a very close friend who's known him/her since 9th grade and can comment on both his/her ability in class as well as his/her personal qualities.</p>

<p>Essentially the letter from the student would provide a lot more insight. Obviously most colleges require a letter from the teacher, but if they provided the opportunity for an extra recommender, would it be beneficial for the friend to be that person (provided he/she gives a completely honest perspective) or would it just come off as a desperate attempt to impress colleges?</p>

<p>PS: This is purely theoretical, I just thought this was an interesting question to post here.</p>

2

<p>The question is what would be in that letter. It got to have something very unusual. For instance, it shows the candidate grown up in a very tough situation (e.g. poverty, diseases, etc). If it is just a letter from parents bragging their kid, it may not have any value. I think the credibility of the letter is one consideration too. Also, adcom dislike reading unnecessary extra recommendations.</p>

3

<p>Okay, yeah I can see how a recommendation from a family letter would be pretty much worthless.</p>

<p>But how about a very well written one from a friend about personal qualities that a teacher can’t convey? I see how it may be less credible than a letter from someone older, but in a case where the student knows that their teachers won’t write anything but things like “He/she is outstanding in subject x and consistently scores high, turns in assignments on time etc”, I think that a different perspective might help the application; for example, if the applicants friend (who writes the recommendation) writes about a completely different side that other recommendations do not cover such as his/her ability to endure hardship or his/her care for the community, then I don’t see how the letter might hurt the application. </p>

<p>I might be completely wrong though, and I do understand that the admissions community does not want to read more than it needs to. Any thoughts from anyone who’s had a friend as a recommender before?</p>