How do recommendations work?

Question

Do recommenders submit one recommendation which is disseminated to schools the candidate is considering?

I ask because I'm thinking of applying to 20+ schools.

I hope this doesn't mean 20+ different letters to 20+ different places.

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Unfortunately not. Each school has a different form the recommender will have to fill out and the questions vary to some extent (though certainly not completely) by school. I would recommend you apply to a much smaller number than 20 though as that will be too much work for you and definitely too much for recommenders. While it is good to hedge your bets, I have not heard of anyone applying to that many schools and I have been doing this for 10 years.

Cut your list down and you will thank yourself in the end. Let me know if you have any other questions or if you want further assistance with figuring out the right strategy.

Best,
Scott

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

That's not fair to make the recommender jump through so many hoops. Med schools just have one form to submit.

Does each recommender have to go on each school's site? How does it work exactly?

ashwink · Answer

20+ is an a very very large count! I don't think any recommender would be pleased to fill out 20+ forms for you even if you're close to them!

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

There aren't that many top Business schools.

My intent was to apply to T20 and have a few T100 safeties.

T5 (5): I think I could probably break into T5

T20 (15): Hopefully scholarships

T100 (5): Last Resort

(25) Total. I don't see this as being unreasonable except for the work on the recommender. I don't want to put this much of a load on recommenders. This is a $200K investment for me and I don't see 25 applications ($2500) as that much all things considered. I'm just a bit put out to the fact that B schools haven't streamlined this process.

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

My recommenders would do anything for me, but I am empathetic and don't feel right asking this. So I am caught in the situation of this unreasonable request hampering the amount of applications I would submit, which seems unjust overall. I don't think I should be hampered by the additional work needed of a recommender to re-create 1 recommendation many times.

Is there no governing authority to streamline this process? Really?

ApplyMBAapp · Answer

As of last year there was a common letter of recommendation for these 4 schools Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, Cornell Johnson, and Stanford GSB. (More details  here  ). GMAC did try to streamline the process somewhat. Hopefully it will on-board more schools this year to accept a common letter of recommendation.

If you are really fixed on applying to 20-25 schools then keeping track of all application deadlines , essay questions and other related tasks is going to be a challenge. Recommend you  download our free app that helps you do just that. All deadlines and essay questions are available offline and there is a task management app that helps you keep track of tasks related to each school you are applying to. You can even add the deadlines to your phone calendar from the app to get a reminder 3 days before the actual deadline.

Good luck with the applications.

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

Thanks for the follow up post and for reaching out offline. For the purposes of answering this here, as mentioned below there has been an effort to streamline the process though most of the schools still use their own form and website. The good news is the content is often similar, so the recommender would not write an entirely new letter each time. Rather some things are different for some schools. In terms of the process, you start the application and enter the recommender info online. Then the recommender receives an email with instructions to log in and begin the recommendation form online. For many schools the recommender can then upload a letter to the system, and for others they will copy/paste content into fields on the site. This would be a different site though for the most part for each school.

Best,
Scott

Best,
Scott

Simon1994 · Answer

Thanks for the valuable info all!!

Simon1994 · Answer

Thanks for the valuable info all!!

StratusDonna · Answer

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

Thanks. Michigan, NYU, Cornell, and Stanford were on my list, but I think Stanford is statistically the hardest to gain acceptance. I appreciate the info. I'll definitely put these schools on a streamlined list. I still feel a bit put down by the fact that my limiting factor to applying to a handful of schools is a result of work on the recommender's part.

As mentioned to Scott in an email, I am a diversity candidate and my background is a bit different. I view this as a strength, but my resume definitely looks unconventional. I feel the hit/miss factor is high and some schools might love my background where others might just say 'no way'.

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

What if I reach out to admin staff and admissions to gain an idea if my background would be suitable to them? In this way I could filter out schools that might flat out reject me and avoid excess recommendation letters?

Would it be reasonable to ask the Dean of the Business School or Head of Admissions?

Would it be reasonable to ask the Dean of the Business School or Head of Admissions?

ApplyMBAapp · Answer

Thats a very good idea. Head of Admissions would be the person. You can also reach out to the current students as well as alumni from the schools to figure that out. 
What are your post MBA career plans? You should also look at the employment reports of each school to see if recruitment happens in good numbers in the target industry/company of your choice after MBA.

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

I have thought of a two pronged approach:

a) Vet myself partially with admissions

b) Use a variety of recommenders to diminish work on their part

Posted from my mobile device

isaiahfiftythreee · Answer

ApplyMBAapp - My post MBA plans largely depend on which school I go to for an MBA. My friend went to HBS and is in PE in NYC. That would probably be my first choice, but I'd have to attend a T5 to join the firm. If I went to a lower ranked school I would be ok to go into Corp. Fin. again at a higher level, which is where I have prior experience.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

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