Applicants for the Class of 2009 became the first in University history to be offered the opportunity to send in personal recommendations, which could be written by a parent, sibling or friend.
When flipping open their college application packets this year, hopeful high school seniors across the country discovered they would no longer have to rely solely on teacher recommendations to prove they were Duke material.
Applicants for the Class of 2009 became the first in University history to be offered the opportunity to send in personal recommendations, which could be written by a parent, sibling or friend.
Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions, said that after 21 years of involvement with admissions, he finally came to the conclusion that personal recommendations—which are also accepted at schools like Princeton University, Dartmouth University, Davidson College and Williams College—can only improve the application process.
“It has always been our goal to view applicants as people rather than as credentials,” he said. “We thought there was value in discovering these kids beyond their listed attributes, and who better to help us to do this than the people who know them best?”
Although some current Duke students scoffed at the idea that recommendations from family members and close friends are now encouraged, responses from applicants and their parents have been predominately positive.
“We have received word from a number of parents who appreciated the opportunity to tell us about their children,” Guttentag said.
Joanne Zuercher is one mother who took advantage of the opportunity. She chose to explain in her letter a situation in which her daughter, future Dukie Alyssa, was absent from her basketball team for 11 months due to an ACL injury.
“Alyssa isn’t the type to say much about herself,” Joanne Zuercher said. “I wanted the admissions people to know that during the period that she was injured, she learned to play the trombone. Since she would never talk about that, I’m glad that I could tell them.”
Candace Buford, a senior at Memorial Senior High School in Houston, Texas, said she was grateful for the additional opportunity to make a good impression with admissions officers.
“I got the director of a summer program that I did in Oxford, England, to write my rec,” said Buford, who was admitted early. “I think this new development is ideal for those of us who—based on credentials—don’t look like perfect students. Admissions people can’t really get a taste of who we are by reviewing our SAT scores.”
Reactions from some current Duke students were not quite as enthusiastic. “I think it’s a terrible idea,” sophomore Ashlyn Forde said. “Every mom thinks her child is great, so what’s the point?”
Freshman Tom Donaho was also doubtful that the idea was a beneficial development. “Allowing personal applications is essentially adding bias to an already biased process,” he said.
Although it is too soon to determine the percentage of regular decision applicants who took advantage of personal recommendations, Guttentag noted that while a fair amount of students sent in personal recommendations, the majority did not.
The personal recommendation is optional, receiving only a brief mention at the bottom of the personal statement document. Emily Roesing, a senior at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., confessed that she had no idea that personal recommendations were even an option. “I didn’t take note of it when filling out the application,” said Roesing, who was nonetheless accepted.
Guttentag said it did not hurt students if they chose not to send a personal recommendation. “I just want applicants to feel as if they’ve had every reasonable opportunity to tell us who they are.”
As for applicants worried about the potential competitive advantage involved in placing too much emphasis on these recommendations—or too little—Guttentag insists they have nothing to fear. “We are not going to base our decision on the recommendations,” he said, “but if they help us to really get to know the student, then nothing but good can come from our reading them.”
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