Letter of Rec from someone without college degree?

[vi0linm0nster]

I am currently doing a community service volunteering program where the director is a college drop out, but he is kind of successful now in terms of starting up this local organization that is in the works of expanding throughout California (got funds and approval from state gov already). I think he has a pretty positive impression of me, and I think his letter could emphasize more clinical/humanistic skills such as speaking and interacting with underprivileged individuals of the community as well as leadership that may or may not be present in my other letters from profs and research.

However, I'm concerned as to how much this letter could weigh if he doesn't even have a degree, or whether he is versed in writing letter of recs. Would asking the high school students there to see if he has possibly written a letter of rec for them for college be a good idea to get a grasp of his experience with writing letters?

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[965978]

I don’t think his degree status is really even a problem.

The bigger problem, however, is that letters from volunteer activities may not be weighed heavily.

 

[OchemOficionado]

How would anyone know if he has an undergrad degree or not? If you're curious about his letter writing experience I think you should ask him directly. Also, ask him if he feels that he can write you a strong letter.

 

[Ultimakey]

I don’t think his degree status is really even a problem.

The bigger problem, however, is that letters from volunteer activities may not be weighed heavily.

Which letters are weighed heavily? I would have thought that volunteer letters were great because they can display your altruism.

 

[965978]

Which letters are weighed heavily? I would have thought that volunteer letters were great because they can display your altruism.

Your altruism should already be demonstrated in your essays and work and activities. And since you provide free service then of course your coordinator will say that you are altruistic.

Letters weighed most heavily are usually college professors, faculty, and PI’s.

 

[deleted980662]

regardless of how any given letter writer is weighted, LORs are consistently ranked as one of the least important factors in admission.

strive to get letters from people who can speak to your academic skills and personal strengths. if you think this person can say something substantive about the latter, his level of education is not significant.