Alumni Recommendations

Applying to College
1

<p>So last spring, I asked my AP biology teacher for a letter of recommendation. She got to know me really well during the year, and can attest to how I challenged myself to stay in the highest level of Biology. At the beginning of the year, I was struggling, but she saw me improve my study habits and eventually my scores. I think the upward grade improvement over the fall term, and then over the whole year will be highlighted in her letter. </p>

<p>Anyways, I recently checked with her about the status of the letter, and mentioned that I would be applying ED to a college with a Nov 1. deadline. To my surprise, she told me that my ED school is her alma mater. Since the recc will be pretty positive (she got to know me really well), will her alum status have a sway in my admissions decision?</p>

<p>(other info: I am applying ED to an Ivy league school)</p>

2

<p>bump bump bump</p>

3

<p>It certainly won’t hurt but I’m not sure it will really sway the admissions staff. It is a nice bonus though!</p>

4

<p>Could be a tipping point since if the recc is excellent, the committee is more likely to believe an alum than to believe someone who’s not intimately familiar with their college.</p>

5

<p>Another factor is how old your teacher is. Someone in their 20’s is much more familiar with the current environment at the school than someone who graduated 35 years ago. Adcoms are always going to be pleased when they get a letter from an alum recommending a student, but the credibility of it in evaluating how well the student will fit is often a diminishing function of time since graduation.</p>

6

<p>It also depends on the school. Some schools (I found this on the UCLA Common Data Set) don’t consider recs at all.</p>