craig wrote:
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your willingness in assisting potential MBA students with our applications. I have a dilemma with regards to who should write my 2nd LOR.
Here is some background information:
Education
Graduated B.Sc. Biology Pre Med with 3.13 GPA
Completed two research studies while in university on dengue virus DNA
Speak five languages - 4 languages fluently
Gmat Score - 710
Target Schools – UT Austin, UCLA, HBS, Stanford, Kellogg
Extra curriculum/ Leadership Skills
2 years in Student Government
1st year - Student Government Accountant
2nd year - Student Government Design & Technology Director
Did 2 years full time volunteer work in South East Asia on my own expense.
Work Experience
I founded a hosting company my last year in university and actively built the company for a year and a half. Because the company failed to generate revenue, I decided to completely overhaul the company and change the focus to another service which will be launched this coming April. While building up the company, I had the opportunity to converse and seek advice from Dell CEO and a former VP of AOL. In fact, the reason for overhaul was partly due to their advice.
In order to pay off my start up expenses, I have been doing contract work building websites for businesses and selling electronic items on Ebay (currently a Powerseller). I generated $90,000 in sales during the past 4 months on Ebay and $12,000 on web development work.
Important Info - Because of my international status, The company I founded is registered under my mother who is a US Permanent Resident.
My Dilemma: ***
Letter of Recommendation 1: My professor who was involved with my senior research studies will be writing my first LOR. We worked together for a total period of 2 years.
Letter of Recommendation 2:
Because my work experience is considered self employment, who would be an effective person to write my 2nd letter of recommendation? My company did not have solid clients.
The only clients I have are those for whom I have built business websites. However, I do not feel that these clients have an in-depth view of me as we communicated primarily through email.
My mother has in-depth knowledge of all the work that was involved with my start-up company. Would she be an appropriate person to write the 2nd letter of recommendation?
Also what are my chances of being accepted at my target schools?[/b]
You really need to get a rec from at least one person who can comment on your professional experience. Consider whether your accountant or attorney could do so? While I can understand your reluctance to ask someone whom you have never met in person, your remote clients may still be the best ones to ask. I have written references for people whom I have never met, and they were good recs. In this connected-via-the-ether world, your clients can talk about your reliability, initiative, creativity technical skills, and many other qualities important in the business world.
Your mother would not be a credible reference.
HBS, Stanford, and Kellogg are a stretch schools and you are competitive at the other schools. Good luck!
Good luck!