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jd04
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 20:15
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They are from former supervisors/superiors over the past few years at the same firm I'm with now who are deeply familiar with what I do now and my leadership potential (ie they know me very well and they didn't supervise me ten years ago in a completely different role).

At my firm, the people for whom you do the most work aren't techinically your direct supervisors.

Do I have to write an optional "essay" explaining this? (BTW-I've already submitted Tuck and I left it out...the last line in their description of the optional essay is "Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application" and I consulted two second-years who said my choice of recs wasn't worth explaining...but yet here I am panicking in this forum).

If so, what do I write? Just one sentence??

What if I don't?

Why would anyone care as long as the person can speak to your (recent)professional performance, aptitude and leadership potential?
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rhyme
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 20:29
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I dont address. Adcoms understand why you might not want to tell your current supervisor about your plans. If none of your recs come from your current job, I think you should write something, but otherwise, I wouldn't bother. All they really care about is that it come from someone who you've worked with long enough to be able to comment with some intelligence on your skills.

Don't even worry bout it.
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 20:33
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trudat. Nerves = calm

Thanks for your input.
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rhyme
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 20:43
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jd04
trudat. Nerves = calm

Thanks for your input.
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no prob yo. Keep it rizal n sheet.
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 22:09
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One caveat on this:

Check your application instructions carefully. Some schools (I believe Stanford is one, but am not sure) specifically ask you to say why your direct supervisor is not your recomender. It's not a big deal if that's the case; they just want you to say something like, "due to a CU restructure, my current boss has only been my boss for 3 months. I've worked closely with bill throughout my time at the CU, and felt he was in the best position to comment on many aspects of my candidacy."
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Letters of Rec Not from Current Supervisor 02 Jan 2007, 22:21
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Now, a word from Cornell, our Wednesday morning sponsor:

We recommend at least one letter be from an immediate supervisor. If you are unable to obtain an evaluation from an immediate supervisor, use your best judgment in supplying a substitute. Indicate why you selected an alternate to your supervisor in the optional essay.