hi fellow posters, just to clarify a couple of things:
[mtorc1] - my definition of letter of support (LOS) = a reference letter sent directly to the admin office speaking from a personal point of view - yes, this is in addition to the required letters of recommendation.
[mtorc1/gordonbombay] - yes, it seems like LOS dont necessarily matter in the grand scheme of things (my friend did think that this was weighed more at MIT compared to other schools tho). not sure if everyone that sends one gets a response from Garcia (my other Sloan grad friend doesnt appear to have gotten one).
[bwizzle] - the comment about Stanford was almost a direct quote from Garcia (i am not disputing or supporting it)
[gmatbschool/gordonbombay] - i did think it was rather unprofessional of MIT to release that information to a third party, but i was also glad to be put out of my misery and i actually appreciated hearing it from a friend.