My son is finalizing his application in hopes of getting into the College of Engineering. He will be an auto admit to A&M, but under review for Engineering.
I wanted to get some thoughts on letters of recommendation. He hasn't asked for any and honestly I didn't even think about it. Are they valuable for the engineering review?

I work in an engineering department, not Admissions, so take this for what it's worth. I don't put much stock in letters of recommendation unless I happen to know the person who wrote the letter. I figure even the worst egg can find a few people to say something nice about them, so I'm not too interested in what Coach Jane Doe, whom I've never met, has to say about the kid.

Traditionally, letters of recommendation for freshman applicants have not been very impactful.