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doublejade

作者为俞淼，Chicago GSB 2002. Thanks to her.
Prospective Applicant Series VII - Recommendations
(WPENG, is this from you? I copied it from somewhere and compiled it into the series.)
Recommendations can be as important as essays. Good recommendations will support your essays and provide a fair valued assement from outsiders' perspectives. It is hard to manage this part as you can not tell your recommenders what should be written. Yet you still can do something.

1. Check No. of Rec..
Check each school's application material to find out how many letter of Rec. needed and what kind of specific requirement about recommenders. Most schools require two Rec., one of which preferrably from your boss. NYU ask applicants to explain reasons if you can not get a rec. from your boss. Harvard requires 3 Rec.

2. Choose right recommenders.
Choose somebody who know you well, who have been working with you for a long time and who can provide personal insight into your character. Do not get one from the company's president, chairman, or Prime Minister etc. unless you really work closely with them. There is nothing wrong with those big names, but they don't really know you well and this will be showed in letter. One of common problems in letters written by big names is generalization without concrete instances. I suffered from that last year.

3. Discuss your personal details with ur recommenders. Attach a copy of your resume and a short summary addressing your strength and weakness, your achievements and your motivation of applying for b-schools with Rec. envelopes. This will provide additional info to your recommenders especially when your recommenders do not know you very well.

4. The ideal Rec. should be tailored to each school just as your essays do. However, it is unrealistic for your recommenders to write several different letters if you apply for more than one school. Suggest your recommenders write one very comprehensive letter of Rec. and tick grade boxes in each school's Rec. form.

5. Columbia's online application system allows your recommenders submit Rec. online or via email.

6. Finanly, do not forget to send a thank-you note to your recommenders after you receive Rec.

applebees

Usually b-school will provide recommendation letter form. So, should the recommender write everything in the form or in a separate formal letter?
Thank you