Recommenders and essay topics

[smkrn]

Hi,

I am planning to apply to MBA programs this coming fall and was wondering, how much time is acceptable between obtaining a recommendation and the specified interaction with the recommender? Specifically, I did volunteer work full-time for 2 years, ending 3.5 years ago. I had a very great experience with my superior over the course of the 2 years, in which I was appointed to numerous leadership positions - is it ok to have him write a letter of recommendation for me, given that the experience ended 3.5 years ago? For what it's worth, I've stayed in steady contact with the potential recommender since ending my volunteer service.

Second, would this volunteer service (specifically the leadership experience) be an acceptable subject for an essay, again considering that the service spanned 2 years and ended 3.5 years ago?

I ask these questions because of my background: I will graduate from my undergrad program next May and will be applying as a college senior to MIT, Wharton, Chicago, and Cornell (also HBS 2+2). My other recommendation will come from a professor that I've helped with special projects and done research for over the last 2 years (this should be a very strong recommendation, as he knows me well outside the classroom).

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear smkrn,

If you have stayed in contact with the person, then the recommendation is probably fine. Ideally, it would be best to have a supervisor from the last 1-2 years but if that is not possible than the recommender from your volunteer experience will suffice. Likewise, if the volunteer example is the best one for you to use for an essay question, then you should use it. However, I think more recent examples will resonate more with the admissions committees. Perhaps you have come extracurricular experiences or internships during college you can use?

Best of luck,
Lisa

[smkrn]

Thanks for the input Lisa.

I do have some other more recent experiences from college. For any programs that will allow 3 LOR, I'm planning to use a supervisor from a summer internship in addition to the professor and the advisor from the 2-year volunteer experience. However, some programs only allow 2 letters of recommendation (like HBS 2+2). In these cases, I could use an internship supervisor (instead of the volunteer experience person), but my adviser from the 2 year volunteer experience would be able to write a much more comprehensive and powerful recommendation (assuming that the time since the activity is not an issue).

As for the essays, it is somewhat the same issue. I have some good EC leadership things I could write about (president of honors fraternity, chair of student advisory committee), but I think I could write a killer essay about the 2 year volunteer experience (I was appointed to oversee and train 180 other volunteers, etc).

What do you think?

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear smkrn,

You want to write about the strongest experience which demonstrates your effectiveness as a leader. However, I do think you should be aware that the committees might be looking for something more recent. Ultimately, go with your instincts to present yourself in the best way.

Best of luck,
Lisa