<p>I was home schooled so i don't have a high school teacher to write a recommendation letter. I do, however have a recommendation letter from someone who graduated from the university I'm hoping to be accepted to.</p>
<p>My question is, would it hurt my application to add a recommendation letter in the additional information section of common app?</p>
<p>I've read that adding needless information can hurt your application.</p>
<p>I would not add it to the additional information section. Mail or fax a copy (or email a .pdf version) to the college. It is better if the person who wrote it actually sends it (that way they are more likely to consider it to be genuine). But if that is not possible, send it yourself.</p>
<p>You should confirm what the colleges expect for recommendations from homeschooled students with the admissions office at each college. Sometimes their websites have info on this, in some cases you may need to ask.</p>
<p>1) like intparent said, you need to confirm whether or not rec letters are even welcome – most schools do not require them</p>
<p>2) the letter writer, an alum of your target school, means NOTHING. what is meaningful to your application is what the letter says about you. If it doesn’t have this</p>
<p>[Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions)</p>
<p>then it’s next to meaningless.</p>
<p>3) have the person send it to the admissions office directly.</p>
<p>4) you should definitely call the school to see what other documentation a Home schooled applicant should have. you don’t want to be rejected b/c of a simple oversight. Maybe search this forum for advice</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/</a></p>
<p>I do have to agree that what the letter says about you matters much more than whether the person is an alumni. That said, my D2 did have one of her coaches in an academic league who has known her very well for 4 years (and she is his top player) write a letter for the college he graduated from. It is known as a sort of quirky place, and not all students fit in well, so in that case it seemed appropriate. Most of the time I think the alumni connection is not relevant at all. So… unless this person REALLY knows you well and has exceptional things to say about you in some regard (academic, extra curricular, etc), then is probably is not going to help much.</p>
<p>I would like to also add that sending it in seperately is a great idea. I work in an admission office and we have students either mail or email them to us to make sure that we have a copy on file for decisions. </p>
<p>Best of Luck to you!</p>