Recommendation Questions

[lcandrew]

Hi,

I met with my supervisor about completing my recommendations. We are a small 8 person firm. We work in a very collaborative environment - I work just as much with my supervisor as with anyone else. Anyway, my supervisor said that she would likely prepare a letter that was sent from our firm - not just from her. She said it would be contributed to by others at our firm. How will this be viewed by admissions consultants? Is this a common or acceptable thing to do?

I think it would be great to get other people's input into the letter, especially since I think it will only improve the letter (not totally sure how enthusiastic my supervisor is about me, but know others are).

A corrollary question: Is it okay to get letters from two people at the same firm as long as they highlight different things? I know HBS requires 3 letters and I only have 2 employers to tap.

Thanks!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear lcandrew,

I think it is great that your supervisor wants to get additional input. It is not common, but I don't think it will be viewed poorly (probably the opposite if it is complimentary of you). Yes, you can have more than one person from the same company provide a recommendation. It is nice to have different perspectives, so you should ask the person you have in mind.

Regards,
Lisa

[lcandrew]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your help. I'm wondering - if I apply to 6 or more schools, is it okay to ask my recommenders to write one letter that hits on all of the "short answer" questions for my six schools?

Will this be viewed negatively in any way at top schools (Stanford, HBS, Kellogg, Yale)?

Also, I know that my recommenders will have to complete the matrix for each school, but is that all that would need done for each school individually?

Thanks!

[Lisa Anderson]

Most schools offer recommenders the chance to upload a letter. This letter can obviously be school-generic and thus not have to be changed for each program. However, the short answers and matrix on the evaluation forms might be different. Thus the recommenders will end up spending 15-30 minutes on each evaluation form. It might be helpful for them to save the short answers from one on a document they can copy and paste from for a different school.

Regards,
Lisa