I recently received an email from UC faculty member (initiated by moi) stating that should I provide him with demonstrated ability, he would be more than happy to write me a letter of rec for UC (each campus I was to apply to). He is not a professor, but still someone directly related to the university (maybe an alum?). Title says the rest.
Thank you in advance.
Since he has no first hand knowledge or oversight of your actual academics, it’s basically worthless at best – and at worst, will water down others who might write you a LOR.
With all this pushing, afraid you’re going to end up behind where you started. Seems you don’t know what it takes.
@codemachine, What, exactly, are you trying to do? You have several threads, all of which seem geared toward finding an easy way to an elite college:
You want a relative at Penn to ask adcoms to admit you.
You want a staff member (non professor) at one of the CA Univ’s (do you even know this person?) to write recommendation letters for you.
You wonder if studying Latin or showing devotion to your religion will give you an edge in college admissions.
Unless your family is extremely wealthy (donating buildings type wealthy), there isn’t a short cut.
This is a rough idea of how college admissions work: Students take a rigorous high school course load, pursue ECs and social activities that interest them, volunteer in their community, do as well as they can on standardized tests, and apply to a list of schools that includes financial and academic safeties (schools they have a good chance of being accepted to based on their SAT/ACT scores & GPA, that they can afford, and would be happy to attend) as well as a few matches for their stats and a couple reaches. They get recommendations from people who know them well: teachers, employers, and people at any volunteer organizations they’ve worked with, and their guidance counselor. Then they choose from their acceptances and do the best they can.
Do you have standardized test scores yet? Can your parents pay for OOS colleges or will you need merit aid? What are you interested in studying? You’d be better off focusing on making a strong application and less time (and fewer threads) wondering how to game the system.
UC do not take letters of recommendation. From the website:
UC does not require (nor read) letters of recommendation at the time of application. A campus may ask for them later as part of a supplemental review, so be sure to check your email.
Here’s an original idea: why not get into a well-matched school based on YOUR OWN MERIT?
Actually, UC Berkeley will be accepting 2 letters of recommendation starting next fall: http://admissions.berkeley.edu/freshmanpolicy This does not apply to the other UCs, which do not have any plans to accept letters of recommendation.
It sounds like UCB is looking for a teacher and the other person should be either a teacher or someone who knows you well. Not someone you wrote an email to.
This year UCB accepts letter of rec, but not from a staff, only academic professor or teacher matters.