The Application Process

An extremely important part of your MBA application is recommendations. These can both come from previous professors and supervisors. Since it's your qualifications acquired in your professional the admission committee is most interested in, recommendations from supervisors are to prefer. A professor can only vouch for your engagement in class.

Each and every season, admission committees receive recommendations written by employers who have high profile titles. Many applicants are under the impression that the fancier the title, the better the chance of admission. This is incorrect. It is crucial that the recommender knows who you are as a professional. The admission committee is not wowed by fancy titles. They are wowed by credible recommendations that can vouch for the qualifications, you are trying to convince them, you posses.

You can help yourself and the recommenders by giving them a few pointers. Let them know which schools you are applying to and if you have a few examples you would like them to highlight. You may have done a challenging project that demonstrate the particular qualifications you are aiming to show in your application.

Your recommenders are most likely busy people. Be in good time, a couple of months just to be sure. You can give the supervisor a deadline. However, be sure to be polite about it. If the deadline is approaching and you still didn't receive your recommendation, send a thank you e-mail to the recommender a couple of weeks in advance. This will show a sign of gratitude and in the same time remind the supervisor of your recommendation in a very friendly manner, just in case he/she forgot about it. Remember to send another thank you note after you receive your answer from the admission committee. Never underestimate a strong professional network. You will learn more about this in business school!

We wish you the best of luck!