Business School Recommendations

[kr13]

Hi all,

I've been working on my business school applications, and was just reviewing Harvard's section on recommendations. I was surprised to find that the school asks recommenders to respond to two separate specific questions with word limits. Does anyone know whether those completing the recommendations would be able to submit a letter in a standard format once he or she is logged into the computer system and filling out the necessary forms? I have two individuals who are happy to write my recommendations but I feel very uncomfortable asking them to customize and/or write new recommendations for the five different universities I'm planning on applying to.

Has anyone else been in a similar position or had to ask a recommender to fill out four or five different recommendations?

Thanks so much for any input you have.

[TarunaSaini]

HI,

I was in a similar situation but the each university asks a particular set of questions.
My recommender conveyed me that certain colleges did not have an option to submit the recommendation in a letter.
Therefore I had to request him to customize the recommendations.

Good Luck!!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well, Im afraid your recommenders will have to "play the game". So do all the recommenders of all other candidates, and it's something you will need to ask them to do.
If they have done it before, they will already be aware of this,
Best,

[CriticalSquareMBA]

You know, a lot of people stress this part. But the fact of the matter is if they're table pounders for you and really support you - this is what they've signed up. They're part of an important process for you and that means they can't copy/paste their responses. But make sure you help them as much as possible in terms of prepping them and making sure they have everything they need to make the process as painless as possible!

Bhavik

[Michelle@ARINGO]

Hi kr13,
You are describing a very common problem, but keep in mind that this year many top MBA programs are asking the SAME 2 recommender questions (Booth, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford, Wharton, Yale)

1. How do the candidate's performance, potential or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.

2. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.

For more tips regarding the MBA recommendation process, see here: https://www.aringo.com/MBA_Recommendations_Process.htm

[neo656]

Include Duke and Darden too to the list ... Tuck though has very different set of questions..
https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/uploads/ ... 4_2015.pdf

Hi kr13,
You are describing a very common problem, but keep in mind that this year many top MBA programs are asking the SAME 2 recommender questions (Booth, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Stanford, Wharton, Yale)

1. How do the candidate's performance, potential or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.

2. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.

For more tips regarding the MBA recommendation process, see here: https://www.aringo.com/MBA_Recommendations_Process.htm

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

Yes, though the industry has made great strides in this regard, there are still some schools that have their own prompts. And it is indeed a pain. But my strong advice is don't have them upload a general letter.

And if you have any spare time for reading, here is an op-ed I wrote on Poets and Quants about this issue. It also has some good practical tips:

https://poetsandquants.com/2013/12/08/ho ... tter-sham/

Good luck!