hardlycore wrote:
I have a question about recommendation letters.
I'm applying for the MBA half of the three-year JD/MBA degree this fall. (I've already been accepted to Penn Law and I'll start there in a couple weeks - yikes.) The Wharton application, which I'm working on now, strongly suggests that both letters of recommendation come from an employer. I've been out of college for two years at this point, and have spent that time working at the same law firm, i.e. this is the only post-college job I've had. I don't have any prestigious finance internships from undergrad either, as I was busy working part-time to cover my living expenses. I've already asked my supervising attorney from that firm to write me a recommendation letter, but I still need one more.
Should I 1) ask another person at my law firm to write recommendation letter #2 knowing that there would be significant overlap in content between the two letters, or 2) get one from a professor I worked closely with during undergrad, who I know would write me a glowing recommendation? I realize I'm an extremely marginal candidate at Wharton because of my lack of business-related work experience, but I figured that I would give it a shot anyway and I'm determined to present the strongest application that I can.
Thanks for any advice you can provide. Good luck to everyone!
Don't be intimidated by your lack of business experience. JD/MBA programs are actually more forgiving, as evidenced by their younger age at matriculation (some schools average 25-26!) and hence fewer years of professional work experience. Use the recommender who can best highlight and discuss in detail your outstanding qualities as a manager / leader. That means, if you knew your professor through a research project, DON'T use him. If the context was instead how you led a student organization through a transition, USE him!
HBS Grad
Thanks so much for your help. In my case, the professor was my senior thesis adviser, not someone who would be able to speak to my leadership experience terribly well. I ended up asking another supervisor from my job.