Columbia: Calling all applicants - Class of 2016

Hi guys,

congrats to all those already admitted/invited to interviews, well done! (And fingers crossed for the rest)

I had a question regarding the format of the letters of recommendations your recommenders have used for Columbia as it seems a bit "non-standard" to me. The official guidelines from Columbia are:

We ask recommenders to consider the following guidelines when writing their recommendations:
(Not more than 1000 words)
The applicant’s performance.
Strengths and weaknesses of the applicant.
The applicant’s interpersonal skills.
The applicant’s written and spoken communication skills.
How does the applicant accept constructive criticism or handle conflicts?
How effective are the applicant’s interpersonal skills in the workplace?
The most important thing you would like the Admissions Committee to know.


I was wondering what is the standard/best way to approach this. How did your recommenders do it?
Did they answer each question individually (e.g. similar to LBS or INSEAD) or did they wrote one large letter touching all those points?

Many thanks in advance, much appreciated!
sarchy