The Subtle Art: Extracurriculars & Recommendations in MBA Apps
Dr. Don Martin
In our last post, we discussed the academic portion of your MBA application. However, that is not the only consideration when the admissions committee evaluates your candidacy. Outside experience is equally important, as are letters of recommendation. Here are some tips for both of these components:
Extracurricular/Volunteer Activities/Community Service
Demonstrating that you have a “life” outside of your academic pursuits is very important, because a large portion of your MBA experience will take place outside of the classroom. The committee needs to know that you are able to enter into a community of learners, including group/team projects, student groups, career preparation, ability to collaborate with others, etc.
You may be specifically asked to discuss some of your outside activities as part of an essay question. Additionally, it is appropriate to provide information on these activities on your resume. Also, be prepared to comment on them, if appropriate, in an essay or interview.
Be careful not to go overboard here. Listing every single activity can backfire. Upon reading the resume for one applicant, the individual mentioned “helping people” as a volunteer activity. Not good. What is helpful here are specific activities in which you have participated.
Also, if all of your activities have taken/are taking place within two or three months of applying, you come across as insincere. The admissions committee is looking for evidence of commitment to long-term involvement outside the classroom.
That said, some individuals are unable to participate in outside activities due to family or employment obligations or health issues. If this is your situation, by all means explain this in a regular or optional essay.
Recommendation Letters
Of the close to 80,000 applications I personally evaluated during my time at Chicago Booth, 90% to 95% of the letters of recommendation accompanying those applications were useless. It was clear that the recommender either did not know the applicant, or did not take time to write a meaningful letter if s/he did. With this in mind:
Choose individuals who know you well/long enough to write a thoughtful and accurate letter. There seems to be a huge myth floating around the applicant world, and it is this: “Having a well known and/or highly influential person/alumnus write a letter of recommendation will give me an advantage.” If this person really knows you, no problem. But if they do not, you are barking up the wrong tree. Receiving a recommendation letter from someone who met you at a dinner party or who has a close personal/professional relationship with one of your family members, but who has never spent quality time with you, lowers credibility big time. It begs the question: “Does this applicant not have close professional associations with anyone?” I denied many applicants for whom some very famous individuals (politicians, entertainers, journalists, athletes) provided a recommendation, but who obviously did not know the candidate. The best recommendation letters include some of the applicant’s greatest strengths along with examples of those strengths. They also include at least one area in which the applicant needs to improve, which leads to my next point.
Ask your recommenders to assess you honestly. No one is perfect, so do not try to come off that way. If your recommender gives you a superior rating on every single dimension she/he is evaluating, you have just lost credibility with the admissions committee. Most institutions want real people in their student body, not Mr. and Ms. Perfect. Those who consider themselves this way are usually arrogant, self-absorbed, and look down their nose at everyone else. Do not allow yourself to be perceived that way.
If not requested by the admissions committee, ask your recommenders to write a separate letter. This is a nice touch. The letter does not have to be terribly long, but should address, in part, some of what was completed on the recommendation form. Perhaps the recommender can comment on one or two of your qualities that he/she believes to be especially strong. In addition, he/she may want to comment on something that is less strong while still providing an overall endorsement of your candidacy. This, coming from an individual who knows you well, is a plus.
Make sure your recommenders write their own letters. As indicated above when talking about essays, do not write your own recommendation letters. This can be easily detected. I have had cases where an applicant did ask someone to recommend her/him, but wrote the recommendation letter. Worse yet, I have encountered situations where the applicant did not ask anyone to do the recommendation. She/he simply wrote the recommendation and put someone else’s name and signature on it. If this is discovered (and it often is), so long applicant.
It is extremely important for recommenders to provide examples of the qualities/character traits they are claiming you possess. If a recommender indicates that you are highly motivated and a self-starter, she/he should provide an example or two. Or, if you are a good leader and have great communication/people skills, it would help to know how your recommender came to hold that opinion.
Send only the number of letters of recommendation requested. If the limit is two, send two. If you believe you cannot truly present yourself without an additional letter, go ahead and send an extra one (but no more). And be sure to explain your rationale for the extra letter. If you take it upon yourself to send extra letters with no explanation, the admissions will question your ability to read and/or follow directions.
Dr. Don Martin is Consultant in Residence at Spring
