MBA letters of recommendation are a critical part of every business school application, but don’t panic! If you haven’t done so already, we at Stratus suggest that you start by reading our “Four Steps to a Five-Star MBA Recommendation.”
Although recommendation letters are the part of your application over which you have the least control, you can improve your chances of getting solid recommendations by preparing your MBA recommenders as outlined below:
1. Reach out early and provide your recommenders with specific details about your work and impact.
Once you have identified your recommenders, you should reach out to them six to eight weeks before your first application deadlines to ensure they have enough time to write your letters. You are asking them to do a lot of work on your behalf, so make it as easy as possible for them. Provide them with a list of the schools to which you are applying and include each school’s deadline. Share a copy of your resume and your reasons for seeking an MBA, as well as your post-MBA goals. In addition, providing a little background on the culture of each program can be helpful.
2. Share helpful resources.
If your recommenders have not written many MBA recommendation letters or are unfamiliar with the process, consider sharing advice for recommenders from the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) so they can gain insight on effective letters. Although an admissions committee likely will enjoy reading an elegantly written recommendation letter, schools will focus on the insights the letters provide about you—not on your recommenders’ writing skills.
Thankfully, many business schools have adopted the Common Letter of Recommendation (LOR), which was developed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and enables recommenders to submit responses to one set of questions that will be accepted by multiple schools. Schools are added to this list frequently, so we suggest you check the GMAC website often. If several of your target schools accept the Common LOR, it can save your recommenders a lot of time.
3. Highlight skills and projects that fill gaps in your profile.
You can’t control what your recommenders will write, but you can control what information you give them. To that end, do a little introspection, and think about what business schools are seeking. If you perceive any “gaps” in your profile, your recommenders may be able to help fill them by highlighting specific skills and projects you have worked on that emphasize your competence in those areas. For example, if you didn’t take a quantitative major in college or your quant test score is low, you could suggest that your recommender highlight some quant-heavy work you have done. Remind them of specific projects so they can provide detailed examples to your schools.
4. Avoid providing too much information—and maintain your ethics!
Is it possible to provide your recommenders with too much information? Yes and no. Definitely give your recommenders plenty of specific examples of traits and skills you hope they will highlight in their letters, but be careful how you provide that information. Business schools are built on ethics, and it is unethical for a candidate to write even a portion of their own recommendation letters. Recommenders may think they are doing you a favor by asking you to write your own letter, but they aren’t—and if you get caught (schools have amazing detection systems), it can lead to an automatic trip to the ding pile.
To avoid any whiff of impropriety, do not give your recommenders examples in full sentences. Even the most ethical recommender may be tempted to cut and paste that information into their letters, which can raise a red flag with the admissions committee if a school receives two similarly worded letters or if your writing style is different from that of your recommenders. Instead, provide bullet points or short phrases. We also suggest that you decline to read your recommendation letters should your recommenders offer you the chance to do so.
If you pick the right people to write your MBA letters of recommendation and you prepare them well, step back and trust the process!
If you still have questions about the recommendation letter process or any part of your MBA application journey, sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with a Stratus admissions expert today!
