Manager
Joined: 28 Dec 2009
Posts: 245
Given Kudos: 13
Location: New York City
Concentration: International Development, Social Enterprise
Schools:Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Stanford
Q48 V47
GPA: 3.6 - Ivy
Seeking Your Recommendation re: My Recommendation
[#permalink]
31 Dec 2009, 11:25
Hi Everyone,
I would appreciate your strategic advice. For one of the schools to which I am applying, the recommender is asked to assess the applicant's competency in a number of characteristics, on a scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (great). The instructions specifically say that applicants getting all 5's -- and even those getting only 4's and 5's -- will be viewed with some incredulity. My recommender's response was, verbatim, "F this. You deserve all 5's." I feel fortunate to be so well-regarded by someone I respect, but strategically it seems like she should identify some areas of potential development. I know they exist, or I wouldn't be going to school to improve! The characteristics are:
Initiative
Communicating
Information Seeking
Strategic Orientation
Developing Others
Team Leadership
Change Leadership
Influence and Collaboration
Respect for Others
Trustworthiness
My instinct is that my recommender should feel comfortable giving me lower marks for those skills that can be best developed in business school, whereas a low score on certain personal characteristics could be deadly. For example, if you're not trustworthy or respectful of others NOW, an MBA is probably not going to go a long way to improve you in those areas. Thoughts?
Thanks!