Benefits of a Peer Reference

malthus
Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:03:30 +0000

Hey guys, would just like to throw this general question out: What are the benefits of having a peer reference (from a fellow student) included in your application along with those of your teachers? And what type of student would benefit from this?

On a specific note: there seems to be two of us in my year who stand out in our respective fields and have presented ourselves as candidates for acceptance at Harvard. Both of us are very good friends, yet we worry that if one of us is accepted, that would be to the detriment of the other one’s chances at being accepted as well, with Harvard not wanting two people from the same school (our school consistently sends kids to Harvard, but rarely more than one a year). Could both of us peer referencing each other turn that “competition” perhaps into a strength, as it might push those reading our applications, even slightly, to contemplate the idea of accepting us both (buy 1, take 1?). I’m concerned I may be reading too deeply into this, but at the same time, think it might add a nice dimension to our applications that would turn what could be a reason against us into one for us.

Thanks guys, and looking forward to your responses. :)