Lawrence Technological University

How much does Alumni make a difference in refrence to getting accepted into college?

Well my sister is currently a softmore at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhatten, and I am applying in about a year or so (I am currently a junior).. Would alumni make me a shoe-in on top of having good grades and high creative abilities? Or is alumni making a difference, just a myth?

Public Comments

1. It probably depends on the college, but unless the alum has been a significant donor or made some other very notable contribution to campus, it certainly doesn't make you a shoe-in, and it probably wouldn't help any more than a glowing letter of recommendation from anyone else. Also, you mentioned your sister - most places frown upon/won't accept letters of recommendation from family members. And, she would be a very recent grad...
2. First of all, it's your sister, so the reference probably would not be viewed as an objective evaluation of your abilities. Second of all, an alumni letter can only matter so much. It may help them evaluate whether you can handle the school if someone from that school writes you a good letter and says you can do it. But when it's not from even a semi-objective source, it's hard to imagine it would help that much. I think it would be more beneficial to you if you have someone in an authority position write you a really good letter of reference that the admissions dept can use to evaluate your potential at FIT.