My recommender asked to answer a question

Question

Hi all,

a former professor has asked me to answer one question from a form.
It has something to do with commenting my strengths and weaknesses related to my future career in management.

My question is, there is not enough space to write more than 4 sentences.
I know my strengths and weaknesses (and I want to tell this to my professor), but when I start writing it, I end up with more then 10 sentences :roll:

and I think the b.school don't that much. Even a professor don't want to write that much.
I am a little bit confused about that.

Any ideas?

and I think the b.school don't that much. Even a professor don't want to write that much. I am a little bit confused about that. Any ideas?

joerandom · Answer

If you can't get your strengths and weaknesses into four sentences how are you possibly managing to stay within the word limits of the essays? I'd say just give him three strengths and a weakness in bullet point form and let him figure out how to make it fit. It also saves you from writing something that sounds like you wrote it and not the recommender (which of course would be the case). Just take a quick look after he's drafted the language to make sure that he's on point.

HaasEWMBA2015 · Answer

Are you still in undergrad? Based on every school I have applied to they all stress not to use a professor as your recommender. The only exception to this that I am aware of is the HBS 2+2 program. If you're currently in the workforce you may want to reconsider your choice of recommender.

katelynMBALink · Answer

Yes, I agree with reconsidering your recommenders since nearly every MBA program uses the recommendation to get a professional perspective on your performance and potential. In some rare cases a professor may work, but it's not ideal.

Also, I strongly encourage you NOT to write any portion of your own recommendation. Many rec forms require you to attest to the fact that you have not done that, so you want to make sure that you're staying above board with the process. That being said, you can certainly help prepare your recommender (i.e.: given them bullet points, as someone else suggested; refer them back to a performance evaluation that they've maybe written about you in the past).

As a former adcom member at a top US program for many years, it's much more obvious than you might think when an applicant has written her/his own recommendation letter. Try to avoid that altogether.

My recommender asked to answer a question

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