Letter of Recommendation

gibby
Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:36:47 +0000

**DO NOT have the Yale alum send in an additional letter of recommendation – to Yale or any other college. **

What can the alum possibly say besides “@conner10397 is a nice person. I’ve known him since he was an infant. He is a wonderful human being with a wicked sense of humor who comes from an upstanding family and you should accept him. Boola Boola.”

What does that tell Admissions besides you and your parent’s are well connected?

Does that kind of letter of recommendation speak to the kind of person Yale (or Harvard) is looking for? Does that letter attest to your scholastic abilities? Or your research abilities? Or your maturity in the workplace? Does that kind of letter tell an Admissions Director about your performance in the classroom? Or your writing abilities or perhaps cognitive skills? Does it tell Admissions that you are a leader of classroom discussions or that you are a shy person who needs to be called upon? Does it tell an Admissions Committee that you are respected by your teachers and peers? Does it tell an AO that you will be remembered for years to come because of your passion and love of learning?

IMHO, the fastest way for you to hit the reject pile is to submit an additional letter of recommendation from someone that doesn’t know you in the context of the classroom, the research lab or the workplace. Go ahead submit it. . . . and let the chips fall where they may!

FWIW: Think about this: Every student who is currently registered at HYPSM could, in theory, write an additional letter of recommendation on behalf of their sibling. After all, the sibling is from the same gene pool. The reason HYPSM don’t want LoR’s from currently enrolled sibling’s is the same reason they don’t want LoR’s from Presidents’ of countries or alums. That kind of letter does not attest to how the student compares to their peers on a day-to-day basis. End of discussion.