It’s hard to give an honest answer when a parent asks me about the potential value of a connection they have at a college. The question usually sounds something like this:
“My wife’s business partner interviews for the school. Would it help if he wrote a letter of recommendation?”
Connections almost never get kids into college. First, the more popular the school, the more people will try to pull their own connections. When a big chunk of the applicant pool “knows someone,” those connections lose their oomph. And more importantly, the 24-year-old admissions officer reading your file doesn’t care if you know an alum or if your dad went to school with someone in the chemistry department.
Still, that’s not the answer most parents want to hear. So I usually spin the question back to them and ask:
“How much influence does this person claim to have with the admissions office, and what has he or she offered to do to help you?”
I do it to encourage the family to have an honest, open conversation with this person they know. Those rare occasions where a connection can make a difference happen when a) the connection has real influence with the admissions office, and b) the connection makes a sincere offer to help.
The next time a family asks if they should utilize a perceived connection, ask them the two follow-up questions and offer to discuss it once they have that information. The family will appreciate that you’re taking their question seriously and offering some guidance, and you’ve done so without giving them false hope that who-you-know can get you into college.