Recs from Yale alumni

gibby
Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:37:01 +0000

Unless the alumni can attest first-hand to your academic ability and potential, it is not relevant. Did you have them as a teacher in class? No, then it might have the opposite effect – it could water down your other, hopefully stronger, teacher recommendations.

MIT has a whole section on their site devoted to what recommendations should look like. It could also apply to Yale and to all other selective colleges. See: http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs