<p>A recommendation letter isn’t required to apply for Stanford as a freshman.
However, my mom has a friend who graduated from Stanford, and he told me that he would like to write a recommendation letter for me.
Does it really help?
I’m just a junior and not really familiar with the application process.
Thank you.</p>
<p>Two letters of recommendation are required to apply to Stanford as a freshman.</p>
<p>[Applying</a> to Stanford | Freshman Applicants | Letters of Recommendation](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/applying/1_2e5_lettersofrec.html]Applying”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/applying/1_2e5_lettersofrec.html)</p>
<p>I would strongly advise that you thoroughly read this division of Stanford’s site:</p>
<p>[Stanford</a> | Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://stanford.edu/dept/uga/]Stanford”>http://stanford.edu/dept/uga/)</p>
<p>Supplemental recs are, of course, not required. The alum’s rec would be considered supplemental. And no, it does not help simply that he is an alum; Stanford admissions officers have stated many times that having a rec from a person affiliated with the university will not influence your admission unless he or she can give them information they can use to evaluate the application. So if your mother’s friend knows you well, has seen you in a capacity that will not show well in the application otherwise, and can give a very different and enlightening perspective on you, then go for it. The supplemental rec is supposed to be for those who have a strong case for more information, and if his rec won’t bring anything new to the table, then don’t bother.</p>
<p>For example, say you have two teachers who give strong recommendations; would it make sense to have another teacher do a recommendation? Not really, since, at best, they’d be able to portray aspects of your personality that are a) obvious in the application already, and/or b) described in the other teacher recs. That’s why Stanford doesn’t allow supplemental recs to be from teachers. It’d make more sense, for example, to have the adviser of one of your main clubs/ECs to write a supplemental rec; or perhaps the manager of a program you interned with, or something similar. </p>
<p>But really, you do not need to feel compelled to submit a supplemental rec; they’re really for those who have more to show, and whose applications can be more thorough with that rec. Most don’t submit one. And definitely don’t feel compelled to submit a supplemental rec simply because the person graduated from Stanford; I can tell you now that it won’t help on that alone.</p>