Student Union
- By Pete Musto
Recommendation Letters Can Help Boost Your College Chances
When it comes to reaching one’s goals, there is a saying English speakers often use to explain the path to success. It goes like this:
“It’s not what you know, but who you know...”
Those words suggest that being hard working or knowledgeable is not the only way to get what you want in life. Very often it can even be more important to have a relationship with someone who can help you reach your goals.
Kenley Jones says that in a way, the same could be said of the process of applying to colleges and universities in the United States.
Jones is the director of international admissions at the University of Redlands, a private, liberal arts and science university in southern California. He says most U.S. colleges and universities often base their admissions decisions on an applicant’s test results and school work. But he admits that this information does not always do the best job of explaining the strengths of each applicant.
There are other parts of a college application that do more to describe personal qualities, says Jones.
For example, most U.S. colleges and universities ask applicants to list their activities outside the classroom. Also, many require applicants to provide a brief written statement that describes the kind of people they are.
But Jones notes that many students list activities which some admissions officials may know very little or nothing about. Some students may feel listing specific details of these activities is unimportant because they do not directly relate to their field of study, he says. And some students may be unwilling or unable to share this information about themselves in writing.
“There’s many cultures out there where students taking upon themselves to stand out…about certain…things that they’re involved in, socially, would be considered sort of a negative thing,” Jones told VOA. “So sometimes it’s very hard to get students, depending on the culture or situation, to expound on some of the things they’re doing…And it takes, sometimes an active voice from someone else to…bring that to life and to our attention as well.”
Jones argues that not every student has to be the strongest writer. That is especially true if students are applying to a program in which writing is not a major part of their duties. But in that case, they will need a recommendation from someone who is skilled in writing a letter in support of the applicant.
Most U.S. colleges and universities require applicants to provide at least one letter of recommendation, Jones says. However, these statements should not be from just anyone who knows the applicant. After all, he notes, admissions officials expect most applicant’s friends and family to be extremely supportive of the student.
Schools want to hear from people who will speak honestly and objectively about an applicant, says Jones. Admissions officials want to hear what an individual outside the applicant’s immediate circle of contacts thinks of that person. And they want to hear examples of the better qualities the student has demonstrated over the years.
Jones adds that, depending on who offers it, a letter of recommendation can bring attention to a quality a student might not think about. For example, an employer might be able to describe leadership qualities that an applicant may not know he or she is demonstrating.
However, recommendations do not always have to say how great an applicant is, he adds. The person writing the recommendation can explain to admissions officials how a student overcame a serious mistake. The writer could, for example, say how he or she witnessed the applicant getting caught doing something dishonest in school. But then the writer could say how the applicant learned the seriousness of the offense and demonstrated a change in behavior.
“A letter of recommendation can add a little bit of context,” Jones said. “It can add a little bit of strength. It can clarify some things and really push the decision, typically, in favor of the student.”
That is why asking the right people to write a letter of recommendation is important, says Jones. Some colleges and universities have rules about exactly who should write such letters. Admissions officers often want the writer to be a teacher the applicant studied under, often teachers of specific subjects. Jones says applicants should choose someone they have studied under recently.
If a school lets applicants name whomever they want to write a recommendation, he says, there are often plenty of people who would be a good choice. This includes religious leaders, leaders of sports teams, volunteer and social group organizers, work supervisors and co-workers. Almost anyone an applicant feels they have a strong relationship with would be a good person to ask.
Some applicants might feel unsure about who in their lives they might have this kind of connection with, Jones notes. In that case, the applicant should ask teachers, friends and family members who they think might be able to provide a strong recommendation.
But he also says just because an applicant wants a recommendation from a specific person does not mean that person will know how to write one.
“You want somebody who feels comfortable writing on your behalf,” he said. “And I think that’s a good question to ask someone that you want to write on your behalf. Are they comfortable with writing a letter of recommendation for you? And even if they are comfortable I think there are some things students can do to get the most out of that recommendation.”
Jones notes that applicants have no control over what people will write about them. Most schools will not let applicants read a letter of recommendation before the writer sends it. But applicants can discuss the things they think are important about themselves and make suggestions before the letter is written. And applicants should ask for letters of recommendation well before the final date that schools will accept them. That way the writer has plenty of time to consider everything they want to say in support of the applicant.
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College athletes push for voter turnout while largely avoiding controversy as election nears
Lily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in.
The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat seeking re-election. The group, which is not affiliated with the Tester campaign, offered from $400 to $2,400 to athletes willing to produce video endorsements.
Meskers, who is from Colorado but registered to vote in Montana, decided against the deal because she disagrees with Tester's votes on legislation involving transgender athletes in sports.
"I was like, OK, I believe that this is a political move to try to gain back some voters that he might have lost," Meskers said. "And me being a female student-athlete myself, I was not going to give my endorsement to someone who I felt didn't have the same support for me."
Professional athletes such as LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick and Stephen Curry have taken high-profile stances on hot-button topics and political campaigns in recent years, but college athletes are far less outspoken — even if money is available, according to experts in the NIL field. Being outwardly political can reflect on their school or endanger potential endorsement deals from brands that don't want controversy. It can certainly establish a public image for an athlete — for better or for worse — or lead to tensions with teammates and coaches who might not feel the same way.
There are examples of political activism by college athletes: A Texas Tech kicker revealed his support for former President Donald Trump on a shirt under his uniform at a game last week and a handful of Nebraska athletes a few days ago teamed up in a campaign ad against an abortion measure on the Tuesday's ballot.
Still, such steps are considered rare.
"It can be viewed as risky and there may be people telling them just don't even take that chance because they haven't made it yet," said Lauren Walsh, who started a sports branding agency 15 years ago. She said there is often too much to lose for themselves, their handlers and in some cases, their families.
"And these individuals still have to figure out what they're going to do with the rest of their lives, even those that do end up getting drafted," she added.
College coaches are not always as reticent. Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has used social media to make it clear he does not support Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in next week's presidential election. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy once caused a stir with a star player for wearing a shirt promoting a far-right news outlet.
Blake Lawrence, co-founder of the NIL platform Opendorse, noted that this is the first presidential election in the NIL era, which began in July 2021. He said athletes are flocking to opportunities to help increase voter turnout in the 18-to-24 age demographic, adding that one of his company's partners has had 86 athletes post social media messages encouraging turnout through the first half of the week.
He said athletes are shying away from endorsing specific candidates or causes that are considered partisan.
"Student-athletes are, for the most part, still developing their confidence in endorsing any type of product or service," he said. "So if they are hesitant to put their weight behind supporting a local restaurant or an e-commerce product, then they are certainly going to be hesitant to use their social channels in a political way."
Giving athletes a voice
Many college athletes have opted to focus on drumming up turnout in a non-partisan manner or simply using their platforms to take stands that are not directly political in nature. Some of those efforts can be found in battleground states.
A progressive group called NextGen America said it had signed players in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia to encourage voting among young people. Another organization, The Team, said it prepped 27 college athletes in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan to lead volunteer voter participation opportunities for students. The organization also said it got more than 625 coaches to sign a nonpartisan pledge to get their athletes registered to vote.
The Team's executive director is Joe Kennedy, a former coach who coordinated championship visits and other sporting events at the White House during President Barack Obama's administration. In early October, it hosted a Zoom event during which panelists such as NCAA President Charlie Baker and WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Natasha Cloud gave college athletes advice about using their platforms on campus.
In its early days, The Team seized upon momentum from the record turnout seen in the 2020 election. The NCAA that year said Division I athletes could have Election Day off from practice and play to vote. Lisa Kay Solomon, founder of the All Vote No Play campaign, said even if the athletes don't immediately take stands on controversial issues, it's important for them to learn how.
"It is a lot to ask our young people to feel capable and confident on skills they've never had a chance to practice," Solomon said. "We have to model what it means to practice taking risks, practice standing up for yourself, practice pausing to think about what are the values that you care about — not what social media is feeding into your brain, but what do you care about and how do you express that? And how do you do it in a way that honors the kind of future that you want to be a part of?"
Shut up and play?
Two years ago, Tennessee-Martin quarterback Dresser Winn said he would support a candidate in a local district attorney general race in what experts said was very likely the first political NIL deal by a college athlete.
There have been very few since.
The public criticism and fallout for athletes who speak out on politics or social issue can be sharp. Kaepernick, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn't played in an NFL game since January 2017, not long after he began kneeling during the national anthem at games.
Meskers, the Montana sprinter, said political endorsements through NIL deals could create problems for athletes and their schools.
"I just think that NIL is going to run into a lot of trouble and a lot of struggles if they continue to let athletes do political endorsements," she said. "I just think it's messy. But I stand by NIL as a whole. I think it's really hard as a student athlete to create a financial income and support yourself."
Walsh said it's easier for wealthy and veteran stars like James and Ogwumike to take stands. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, started More Than a Vote — an organization with a mission to "educate, energize and protect Black voters" — in 2020. He has passed the leadership to Ogwumike, who just finished her 13th year in the WNBA and also is the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association. More than a Vote is focused on women's rights and reproductive freedom this year.
"They have very established brands," Walsh said. "They know who they are and they know what their political stance is. They know that they have a really strong following that -- there's always going to be haters, but they're also always going to have that strong following of people who listen to everything that they have to say."
Andra Gillespie, an associate professor at Emory University who teaches African American politics, also said it is rare that a college athlete would make a significant impact with a political stand simply because they tend to have a more regional platform than national. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem are better at increasing turnout than championing candidates.
"They are certainly very beneficial in helping to drive up turnout among their fans," Gillespie said. "The data is less conclusive about whether or not they're persuasive – are they the ones who are going to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate?"
Athletes as influencers
Still, campaigns know young voters are critical this election cycle, and athletes offer an effective and familiar voice to reach them.
Political and social topics are not often broached, but this week six Nebraska athletes — five softball players and a volleyball player — appeared in an ad paid for by the group Protect Women and Children involving two initiatives about abortion laws on Tuesday's ballot.
The female athletes backed Initiative 434, which would amend the state constitution to prohibit abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions. Star softball player Jordy Bahl said on social media that the athletes were not paid.
A University of Montana spokesperson said two athletes initially agreed to take part in the NIL deal backing Tester. The school said one withdrew and the other declined to be interviewed.
For Meskers, deciding against the offer boiled down to Tester twice voting against proposals to bar federal funds from going to schools that allow transgender athletes to play women's sports, a prominent GOP campaign topic. Tester's campaign said the proposals were amendments to government spending packages, and he didn't want to play a role in derailing them as government shutdowns loomed.
"As a former public school teacher and school board member, Jon Tester believes these decisions should be made at the local level," a Tester spokesperson said. "He has never voted to allow men to compete against women."
Meskers said she believes using influence as college athletes is good and she is in favor of NIL. She just doesn't think the two should mix specifically for supporting candidates.
"I think especially as student athletes, we do have such a big voice and we do have a platform to use," she said. "So I think if you're encouraging people to do their civic duties and get up and go (vote), I think that's a great thing."
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