{"id":32151,"date":"2016-02-16T03:02:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T10:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=32151"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:52:31","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T22:52:31","slug":"what-if-the-president-of-the-united-states-wrote-your-letter-of-recommendation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-if-the-president-of-the-united-states-wrote-your-letter-of-recommendation\/","title":{"rendered":"What if the President of the United States Wrote Your Letter of Recommendation?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Check<\/a>
<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Substance matters, not fame.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On this President\u2019s Day, let\u2019s ponder the following: Would a letter of recommendation<\/a> from President Barack Obama, President of the United States himself, ensure your acceptance?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure a letter from President Obama would get passed around the admissions office. That presidential seal and signature (even if from a machine) would be an eye catcher, but does it equal an automatic acceptance?<\/p>\n

What if you had an LOR from a past president? Or from a senator? Or governor? The president of a Fortune 500 company? Maybe Mark Zuckerberg? Would that prominent stamp get the job done?<\/p>\n

Substance Matters, Not Fame<\/strong><\/p>\n

The title after the author\u2019s name doesn\u2019t matter nearly as much as the substance above the signature. Can the author, whatever his or her title, talk from personal experience about your character when answering the questions posed in a recommendation form or in writing the typical letter of recommendation? If the recommender doesn\u2019t have that personal perspective, can\u2019t bring detail and example to the letter, then the title may be a curiosity, but no more.<\/p>\n

That VIP letter could be less effective than a detail-filled letter from your twenty-something team lead who writes with specific examples and persuasive substance about your contribution to her organization.<\/p>\n

Well, Fame CAN Help If\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now if President Obama were to write about:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The difference you made to his 2012 campaign or your contribution in\u00a0nabbing Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your ability to organize his brilliant social media campaign.<\/p>\n

\u2022 An example of integrity that he saw first-hand.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your initiative and analytical ability during the Iran nuclear deal negotiations.<\/p>\n

Then you would have an extraordinarily powerful letter of recommendation. However if he (or his third secretary twice removed) just wrote a general, flowery ode to how wonderful you are with no specifics, it would be of no value. It would just be a shiny seal and sig.<\/p>\n

But it's Substance that Really Matters in the End<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course if your team lead wrote about:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your contribution to the team<\/a> and the difference you have made to the bottom line.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your ability to organize a social media campaign or just about anything else of significance.<\/p>\n

\u2022 An example of integrity that she saw first-hand.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your initiative and cool during a crisis.<\/p>\n

You would also have a compelling letter of recommendation.<\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n

So on this President\u2019s Day, keep in mind that a powerful letter of recommendation is much more about substance than station, personal insight than position, examples than eminence.<\/p>\n

\"LIke<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Quick Guide to Admissions Resumes<\/a>\u00a0[free guide]
\n\u2022 How NOT to ask for a Letter of Recommendation<\/a>
\n\u2022 Instructions for Recommenders<\/a><\/p>\n

This article\u00a0<\/a>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this President\u2019s Day, let\u2019s ponder the following: Would a letter of recommendation from President Barack Obama, President of the United States himself, ensure your acceptance? I\u2019m sure a letter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1,939,775,243],"tags":[1697,300],"class_list":["post-32151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-uncategorized","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-asking-for-a-letter-of-recommendation","tag-letter-of-recommendation","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32152,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32151\/revisions\/32152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}