<p>I’m applying to Stanford, and I need some advice on letters of rec. Do private schools such as HYPS accept letters of recommendation from work supervisors? I was a congressional page for 6 months, and plan on asking my work supervisor in Washington for a recomendation, but I’m not sure if those schools need recs only from teachers. thanx.</p>
<p>Check with the admissions office because colleges’ policies vary on this.</p>
<p>I think you should also ask yourself just what the rec could show? Sure it will be on impressive stationary and from someone with a grand-sounding title, but what will it actually convey to the college about you as a member of their student body? If you want them to know you’re active in politics, you’re EC list will already tell them that. Colleges are in the business of education, BTW, and what can this rec convey about how you perform in an academic setting?</p>
<p>IMHO you’re better off using one of your essays to explain what you learned/gained from your time as a page, how it changed or affected you. It’s your story, after all, and one you are in a better position to tell than your supervisor.</p>
<p>Send recs from your teachers - those have taught you at least one full year course. It is useless or, possibly harmful, to send recs from anyone else.</p>
<p>If the colleges allow recommendations from employers, such recommendations can provide a lot of info about your character including: ethics, organizational skills, sense of responsibility, leadership skills, maturity and and (depending on what your job is) your talents and even things like writing or other academically-related skills. </p>
<p>My older S submitted such a recommendation to several places that he applied to and the recommendation helped him get scholarships related to the field he was working in. The person who wrote the recommendation also knew my S for a longer period of time and more in depth than did my S’s teachers.</p>