{"id":33353,"date":"2016-06-07T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/how-to-score-a-great-letter-of-recommendation\/"},"modified":"2016-06-07T07:00:58","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T14:00:58","slug":"how-to-score-a-great-letter-of-recommendation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/how-to-score-a-great-letter-of-recommendation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Score a Great Letter of Recommendation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Learn<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just score well on the GMAT. Score a great letter of recommendation.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When applying to business school, it\u2019s tempting to only focus\u2014or focus too heavily\u2014on your <\/span>GMAT score<\/span><\/a>. After all, that\u2019s within your control, the <\/span>result of stellar GMAT prep<\/span><\/a>. But any and every part of <\/span>your business school application<\/span><\/a> can give you that edge you need. Letters of recommendation are especially important when it comes to demonstrating your people skills and work ethic\u2014things you can\u2019t demonstrate with even the highest possible test score.<\/span><\/p>\n

It can feel daunting or, even worse, awkward, to find someone to write a good letter of recommendation, especially if you do not feel particularly close with any of your professors. Maybe most of your classes were too big to forge close ties with the profs, or maybe you crafted a multidisciplinary major that meant you never took the same instructor twice. Whatever the reason, this is a concern many students face.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some tips to overcoming this hurdle and scoring a great letter of recommendation from any professor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be prepared<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before you even ask for a letter of recommendation, make sure your resume is updated, and that you have recent copies of your transcript on hand. In addition, write a short bio for yourself that illustrates personal characteristics your resume and transcript might gloss over.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you were heavily involved in an organization, internship, or other extracurricular activity, write a bit about that. Detail how it impacted you, what you contributed, and the skills you gained. This allows a professor who might not know you well to learn about you on a more personal level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t wait for the last minute<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ask each professor for a letter of recommendation several months before applications are due. Professors have busy schedules, so make sure you are abundantly clear about the dates on which the letters need to be submitted, precisely where they need to go, and to whom they should be addressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is advanced notice just a matter of common courtesy, but it will also save you a lot of stress, allowing you to focus on other important aspects of your business school applications. <\/span><\/p>\n

Have good reasons to need letters of recommendation in the first place<\/span><\/h2>\n

The first thing your professor may ask when you request a letter of recommendation is, \u201cWhat is this letter for?\u201d When you reply, go one step further than \u201cum, so I can get into business school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> you are going to business school.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have not already done so, reflecting upon your true intentions and long-term motivations is something you should do anyway. Come up with a clear set of reasons for pursuing this goal, and tell your professor when you pose your request. This will help her or him tailor your letter of recommendation around the real, personalized reasons\u00a0you want to attend the\u00a0business school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow up<\/h2>\n

After you ask, make sure you check in with your professor periodically. Immediately\u00a0after you ask in person, follow up with a brief “thank you” email for their time and consideration. If you’ve heard nothing in two to three\u00a0weeks, depending on when they told you they’d complete the\u00a0letter (remember, allow plenty of time!), send a polite email reminder, including any important links\u2014as well as the deadline\u2014for their convenience. Remember, they are doing\u00a0you<\/em> a favor, so make things as easy as possible for them. Don’t forget to\u00a0thank\u00a0them again at the end of every piece of correspondence.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a fine line between polite reminders and pestering, so be courteous and space your emails out every few weeks. Once they finish the letter, send them a thank you note. For this ultimate gesture,\u00a0handwritten letters are better than emails, and delivering it in person is just an added bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, when you decide on your school or job, don’t forget to inform those profs who wrote your letters. They took the time to endorse you, and they want to hear where you’re headed next. That\u2019s the best kind of thanks they can get.<\/p>\n

Still need to take the GMAT? What are you waiting for? Start setting yourself up for success today with <\/span><\/i>Kaplan\u2019s live, online GMAT prep courses.<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The post How to Score a Great Letter of Recommendation<\/a> appeared first on Business School Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t just score well on the GMAT. Score a great letter of recommendation. When applying to business school, it\u2019s tempting to only focus\u2014or focus too heavily\u2014on your GMAT score. After…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,558,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-kaplan-blog","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33353","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\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}