Over-enthusiastic Recommenders?

Question

One of my recommenders called me to tell me that he'd submitted the recos and said gleefully that he's given me an 'outstanding' on all the rating on the evaluation form. Now, just how bad is that?

Turnpike · Answer

No, seriously guys. The Adcom might not take kindly to such ratings. How would you deal with such over-enthusiastic recommenders?

Jerz · Answer

There's not a whole lot you can do once the recommendation is submitted, but if you still have others outstanding it wouldn't hurt to have a talk with your recommender to let him/her know that it's ok to identify areas where you're not in the top 1% or need some improvement. You're right that schools will be skeptical of a recommendation that doesn't identify any weakenesses, since nobody's that good (and if they are then why do they need an MBA?)

rhyme · Answer

Actually, I wouldn't worry. There are a lot of recommendations that come through like that - and while it certainly would have lent a bit more 'credence' to have one or two 'meets expectations' in there, this isn't really going to hurt you all that much in the end. Consider the alternative!

Much better to have an over-the-top recommendation than to have a mediocre one. I remember one 40 year old candidate whose manager had listed, under areas under improvement, "maturity". Ouch. Now THAT will hurt you.

Turnpike · Answer

Yes I did read abt that one here. I might have a talk with my yet-to-submit recommenders and tell them to take a more reasonable approach.

gottabwise · Answer

You should be fine as long as he provided clear anecdotes supporting why you're outstanding. Also, remember that being called outstanding is better than being bashed. Other rec's should balance it out.

Milie · Answer

I agree with gottabewise. As long as he provided anecdotes that show he actually knows you it wont hurt. It just shows he doesnt know much about what the adcom expects but thinks you really deserves to get in, so in my opinion dont worry about it. A little conversations with your other recommenders who havent submitted yet might not hurt though...

Milie

Milie

sniperssk · Answer

As far as I know, this evaluation grid is supposed to give an impression of the recommender's SUBJECTIVE view where the applicant stands in the recommender's mind relative to other people he/she has met. As the reference group that each recommender uses is different, this assessment is always going to be subjective and the schools know that. For example, saying that an applicant is in the top 1% is senseless without knowing compared to whom. This means that comparing applicants on this basis is pointless as they all come from different companies, different departments, different company sizes etc. And as far as I know, schools focus on the assessment of each trait relative to the other traits in the grid. For instance, if 8 of 10 traits are marked as top 1%, and the other 2 as top 5% or 10%, it might be perceived that the recommender deems these to be weaknesses of some sort. The adcom knows that most recommenders try to present the applicant in the best possible light. I think that recommendations are viewed more a measure of how the applicant is able to convince superiors to say something good about him/her (managing up, leadership etc.) than a reliable assessment of a candidate. Everyone knows that most recommendations are focused on positive traits and exaggerate the picture - their very name implies it. As rhyme says, I don't think it is going to be a problem. But I haven't been on an admissions team, so if there is someone more knowledgeable, I'd be happy to read their opinion.

gottabwise · Answer

Something to keep in mind is that recommendations are only one aspect of your profile or more so, the picture you paint for adcom's.

Turnpike · Answer

Thank you sniperssk, gottabwise, rhyme, Jerz and Milie for your inputs.

My second recommender submitted the recommendation y'day and I didn't have the opportunity to talk to him about the ratings. I don't know how he has ranked me. Perhaps I'll have a talk with my third recommender. The thing is that all my recommenders have at one point or the other been a mentor to me. And are naturally as excited of me applying to b-school as I am. So I can understand their enthusiasm.

I am leaning towards the reasoning given by sniperssk. I'm sure if the adcom have any doubt they'll call up the recommenders and my recommenders can then explain their ratings. And as far as anecdotes are concerned, I'm sure they have mentioned them in their essays.

Thank you all for the replies.

gottabwise · Answer

Is HBS the only school you're applying to?

Turnpike · Answer

Yes. it's not a very bright thing to do.

gottabwise · Answer

Well, they do have a very large class size. You if you see it, believe it. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen."

BM · Answer

After contacting my former professor about recommendation letters, she stated that she "would write whatever you want." She's not irresponsible by any means, but I still had to make sure nothing could be jeopardized. So I simply asked her to mention that while I am good at x, y, and z, there was still room for improvement, and that school X could provide the tools for me to reach the next level. I not only wanted her to discuss the type of student I was, but also wanted her to talk about who I could become.

I left it up to her to fill in the details, but I think this was the right approach to guide her to the desired path.

I left it up to her to fill in the details, but I think this was the right approach to guide her to the desired path.

Over-enthusiastic Recommenders?

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