Columbia Business School MBA Recommendation Question Analysis

In this post I analyze the Columbia Business School MBA recommendation MBA for January 2016 admission. The recommendation has not changed.  For my analysis of the MBA application essays and whether to select J-term Class of 2017, please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here.  At this time the August 2016 application is not yet up.

Before reading my post below on Columbia, you might want to read  two of my other posts first. For overall MBA recommendation advice, I would suggest beginning with my 10 KEY POINTS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION: WHAT EVERY RECOMMENDER SHOULD KNOW, which provides core advice for what recommenders need to know.  Applicants can use this post to help educate recommenders.  In Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders, I provide applicants with some very detailed advice on how to select the right recommenders. This post addresses the most common kinds of questions that my clients and blog readers have asked me about selecting recommenders

Columbia has the most user friendly and simple recommendation of any top MBA program.   The instructions, taken from the recommendation form,  are quite simple:

“Recommendation Upload

Thank you for your willingness to recommend a candidate to Columbia Business School. Your recommendation adds vital perspective to the admissions process. Please consider the following guidelines when writing your recommendation:

• How do the candidate's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.
• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

Please limit your recommendation to 1000 words. Thank you once again.

Upload a Word or PDF document”

Recommender Friendly: There is no quantitative evaluation form and the recommender needs to only consider the above questions, but unlike on most other recs (Well, we will see what other schools do this year. Previously, only Booth had a similar rec),  the recommender is not forced to answer specific questions.  Given that the recommendation is simply uploaded as a MS Word or PDF file, clearly they are not really counting words. I will surely suggest that recommenders keep to around a 1000 words, but if it is a bit over, clearly not something to worry about.  That said, keeping it to 900 to 1100 words would be a general rule of thumb.

Not set questions, just suggested topics for the recommender’s consideration: This is particularly user-friendly because it means that the recommender can really focus on the best stuff they want to mention about the applicant.

Beyond the suggested topics, I suggest you provide your recommender (Especially if they are not a Columbia MBA alumnus) with some background information on what Columbia is looking for.  Fortunately Columbia provides a very nice FAQ on this issue:

“Who makes a good applicant?
The Columbia MBA Program is carefully designed to instill both the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the fast-moving, competitive world of business. Many top managers credit the skills they acquired at Columbia Business School as the springboard to their successful careers.
We look for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Our students share a record of achievement, demonstrated, strong leadership, and the ability to work in teams.
The Admissions Committee seeks intellectually inquisitive applicants with superior academic credentials from their undergraduate and graduate programs. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Fluency in multiple languages is not required for admission but is increasingly desirable for the study and practice of global business.
Over the past five years, competition for admission to Columbia Business School has continued to rise steadily. We typically receive and review 5,500 to 7,000 full-time MBA applications each year, and in recent cycles only 15 percent of applicants were admitted.”

I will refer to this statement in what I discuss below.

Let’s look at each of the topics that your recommenders need to consider:

While, not stated a good recommendation should always mention the recommender’s relationship to the applicant.”As I emphasized in my 10 Key Points Post, "#2: YOU BETTER KNOW THE APPLICANT OR CREATE THE APPEARANCE THAT YOU REALLY DO," it is critical that the recommender establish the legitimate basis upon which they are making this recommendation. A clear description that is explicit about the time knowing, organizational relationship to, and extent of observation of the applicant is critical.

“How do the candidate's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.”
Columbia is asking the recommender to compare the applicant to others in a similar role. You should advise your recommender to evaluate your performance comparatively, which is something many schools require. Comparing your performance to others is one very clear way to address your performance. While a recommender should not unrealistically overstate the applicant's performance, it will not be helping the applicant very much if they are not positively distinct in one or more ways. Ideally the recommender should provide at least one very concrete example of what makes the applicant special in comparison to others. The recommender should make it clear who they are comparing the applicant to. They should make that comparison in a way that supports the applicant. Measurable positive indicators of performance, especially in the recommendation by a supervisor or former supervisor who regularly evaluates/evaluated the applicant, can be an effective way to hig hlight the applicant’s performance, especially if the numbers relate well to one of the applicant’s accomplishments. The recommender may discuss an applicant’s strengths relationship  to overall performance, interpersonal skills, and  language skills or simply in terms of specific qualities or skills.

A good recommendation will help admissions understand why the applicant will make a good classmate and has the potential to be personally effective throughout their career.    Since Columbia is looking for applicants with  strong leadership  and the ability to work in teams, interpersonal skills (via personal qualities) are a very important consideration.  Interpersonal skills relate not only to aspects of leadership (For example, ability to motivate others and ability to manage up/down/across an organization) and teamwork (For example, ability to work well with teammates, ability to help with teammates, and ability to gain support from others on a team), but also in a number of other ways (For example, sales skills,  ability to gain the trust of others, ability to influence others, charisma, winning personality).  Given the importance of the Cluster System at Columbia, admissions is looking for applicants with the ability to work effectively with their classmates.

For non-native English speakers,  a positive statement on the topic of the applicant’s written and spoken communication skills should hopefully be in at least one of the recommendations.  Admissions officers are always concerned about English speaking ability on the part of international applicants in general because low-level English speaking ability can significantly impact both a student’s and their classmates’ experience, which is to say that it is a gate keeping/overall student satisfaction issue.  Given that Columbia has been known to conduct post-interview English checks of non-native speaking applicants, it is surely important that a recommendation not overstate the applicant’s English abilities.

For native English speakers, If the recommender has a basis for commenting positively on your non-English language skills, they should do so. Especially for American and Canadian- Not many of my Anglophone Canadian clients have had solid French skills- if one or both of your recommenders can positively comment on your foreign language skills, they should do so. Again, they should only do this if they actually would have observed you using your foreign language skills. In most circumstances, I don’t necessarily recommend that Indian applicants have their recommenders discuss their non-native Indian language skills (Even if for example, you are native in Tamil and you use Hindi in your work, assume that admissions will not get the fact that Tamil is a Dravidian language while Hindi is Indo-European.) because it is surely much more important that the specific language is not mentioned and/or assumed to be English. East and Southeast Asian applicants mi ght have a recommender mention their non-native non-English skills, but in general mentioning an applicant’s native Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai language skills would not necessarily have much positive impact on admissions. Use of a non-native non-English language (A French applicant using German, a Japanese applicant using Mandarin, a Chinese applicant using Spanish, a Korean applicant using Thai, an Australian applicant using Japanese, a Indian applicant using Portuguese, etc.) is surely worth mentioning if the recommender has a basis for doing so.

“Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.”
While feedback need not be in response to weakness or need for improvement on the part of the applicant, it is often effective if the recommender does just that.  While good advice is a possible kind of constructive feedback, what is typically meant by constructive feedback relates more commonly to advice designed to help someone improve in the future.  I find that many recommenders resist writing about weaknesses, yet to do so reveals a deeper understanding about the applicant. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that the recommender actually reference your areas for future development. One standard defensive strategy that many recommenders seem drawn to is to write about knowledge or skill areas where the applicant is weak, but such weaknesses, unless specifically connected to past failures,  are rather superficial.  To quote my  general advice for recommenders: BE CRITICAL, BUT NUANCED. You will likely be asked to provide a critical perspective on the applicant. Questions about areas for future growth, weaknesses, or characteristics about the applicant you would change are very common on MBA recs.   The objective of such criticism is to help the admissions committee understand the applicant and also the extent to which you are relatively objective.  Still, make sure that your criticisms are not fatal ( Examples: "The applicant loses his temper easily and has been disruptive on teams."  "The applicant lacks the ability to analyze complex issues."  "She is too aggressive to work effectively with some people."), but are measured and nuanced. Be honest about the applicant, but when you answer such questions think carefully about the answer and provide a full and complete answer that  explains (and hopefully delineates) the extent of your criticism.

Is it a good strength (performance, potential, background, or personal qualities) or weakness? Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate the applicant’s potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does Columbia  need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon, why do want to mention it to Columbia?
3. Is there sufficient context provided to really understand the strength or weakness? Providing a low context answer unsupported by evidence is likely to have little impact.
Finally, recommendations play in an important role in the admissions process at Columbia Business School, so make that you give recommenders both sufficient time and appropriate input for them to be your strong advocates.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Columbia, HBS, and Stanford Essays and Recs

While Columbia Business School is the only one of the three to actually have the application online for 2015 entry, Harvard Business School and Stanford GSB have also announced their essay and recommendation topics.

I have already written about Stanford’s Class of 2017 essays and recommendations very briefly in Stanford GSB cuts 1 Essay and 1 Recommendation for Fall 2015 Admission (the full essay analysis will follow very soon).  Stanford actually has made the biggest changes of the three schools in terms of what blog post title indicates. 

I am actually working on Columbia Business School essay post now and will get it up very soon (It is up now).  I have already posted my recommendation analysis for 2015 entry.  Columbia has changed the topic of one essay and a done a few modifications to some of the others.  They also further simplified their recommendation.

And HBS?  The biggest change is their new Round 1 deadline of September 9th!  That is one week earlier than last year. This is extremely early,  but given the October 1st deadlines at Wharton (Essays not yet announced, but given what CBS, HBS, and Stanford have just done, they should!)  and Stanford, those that start on HBS early will be in a good position.  MIT's round 1 deadline is September 23rd (Essays not yet up).  Here is what Dee posted on the the “From the Admissions Director” blog:
“This is what the (optional) "essay" question will be:

“You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, academic transcripts, extracurricular activities, awards, post-MBA career intentions, test scores, and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?"
Use your judgment as to how much to tell us. We don’t have a “right answer” or “correct length” in mind. We review all the elements of your written application to decide who moves forward to the interview stage.
Why are we repeating this question when we usually dream up something new? In fact, I went on record last year as saying that we'd ALWAYS be changing the essay question. I was wrong. We liked it. When we look at the responses of admitted candidates, there was a wider-than-usual range of how folks approached it. Some are completely about professional lives, others barely mention work experience. Some are very brief, others are not.
And, sorry to repeat myself, but getting into HBS isn't an essay-writing contest. If we were to publish 50 "essays that worked" and another 50 that "didn't work", I would challenge anyone to make a perfect distinction. It's just one element of the application.
Now, on to recommender questions:
• How do the candidate’s performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (300 words)
• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (250 words)
The application itself will go "live" in mid-June. I'll post here when we've got a definite date. And please watch our website for both our in-person information sessions around the world and our informational webinars.
And finally, something you may want to know: Round One application deadline will be September 9, 2014. Interviews, by invitation only, will be conducted from mid-October through end of November. Notification will be on or around December 10.”

So, no change to the essay or recommendations.  Round Two deadlines are not yet indicated.  My essay analysis for HBS, expanded from last year, will be up soon.

I look forward to seeing what kinds of changes, if any, Wharton, MIT,  Booth, Kellogg, and the rest make.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Columbia Business School MBA Recommendation for January and August 2015 Admission

In this post I analyze the Columbia Business School MBA recommendation MBA for January and August 2015 admission.  For my analysis of the MBA application essays and whether to select J-term Class of 2016 or August Class of 2017, please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here.

Before reading my post below on Columbia, you might want to read  two of my other posts first. For overall MBA recommendation advice, I would suggest beginning with my 10 KEY POINTS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION: WHAT EVERY RECOMMENDER SHOULD KNOW, which provides core advice for what recommenders need to know.  Applicants can use this post to help educate recommenders.  In Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders, I provide applicants with some very detailed advice on how to select the right recommenders. This post addresses the most common kinds of questions that my clients and blog readers have asked me about selecting recommenders

Columbia has the most user friendly and simple recommendation of any top MBA program.   The instructions, taken from the recommendation form,  are quite simple:

“Recommendation Upload

Thank you for your willingness to recommend a candidate to Columbia Business School. Your recommendation adds vital perspective to the admissions process. Please consider the following guidelines when writing your recommendation:

• How do the candidate's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.

• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.

1. Does the strength demonstrate the applicant’s potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does Columbia  need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon, why do want to mention it to Columbia?
3. Is there sufficient context provided to really understand the strength or weakness? Providing a low context answer unsupported by evidence is likely to have little impact.

Please limit your recommendation to 1000 words. Thank you once again.

Upload a Word or PDF document”

Recommender Friendly: There is no quantitative evaluation form and the recommender needs to only consider the above questions, but unlike on most other recs (Well, we will see what other schools do this year. Previously, only Booth had a similar rec),  the recommender is not forced to answer specific questions.  Given that the recommendation is simply uploaded as a MS Word or PDF file, clearly they are not really counting words. I will surely suggest that recommenders keep to around a 1000 words, but if it is a bit over, clearly not something to worry about.  That said, keeping it to 900 to 1100 words would be a general rule of thumb.

Not set questions, just suggested topics for the recommender’s consideration: This is particularly user-friendly because it means that the recommender can really focus on the best stuff they want to mention about the applicant.

Beyond the suggested topics, I suggest you provide your recommender (Especially if they are not a Columbia MBA alumnus) with some background information on what Columbia is looking for.  Fortunately Columbia provides a very nice FAQ on this issue:

“Who makes a good applicant?
The Columbia MBA Program is carefully designed to instill both the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the fast-moving, competitive world of business. Many top managers credit the skills they acquired at Columbia Business School as the springboard to their successful careers.
We look for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Our students share a record of achievement, demonstrated, strong leadership, and the ability to work in teams.
The Admissions Committee seeks intellectually inquisitive applicants with superior academic credentials from their undergraduate and graduate programs. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Fluency in multiple languages is not required for admission but is increasingly desirable for the study and practice of global business.
Over the past five years, competition for admission to Columbia Business School has continued to rise steadily. We typically receive and review 5,500 to 7,000 full-time MBA applications each year, and in recent cycles only 15 percent of applicants were admitted.”

I will refer to this statement in what I discuss below.

Let’s look at each of the topics that your recommenders need to consider:

While, not stated a good recommendation should always mention the recommender’s relationship to the applicant.”As I emphasized in my 10 Key Points Post, "#2: YOU BETTER KNOW THE APPLICANT OR CREATE THE APPEARANCE THAT YOU REALLY DO," it is critical that the recommender establish the legitimate basis upon which they are making this recommendation. A clear description that is explicit about the time knowing, organizational relationship to, and extent of observation of the applicant is critical.

“How do the candidate's performance, potential, background, or personal qualities compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples.“
Columbia is asking the recommender to compare the applicant to others in a similar role. You should advise your recommender to evaluate your performance comparatively, which is something many schools require. Comparing your performance to others is one very clear way to address your performance. While a recommender should not unrealistically overstate the applicant's performance, it will not be helping the applicant very much if they are not positively distinct in one or more ways. Ideally the recommender should provide at least one very concrete example of what makes the applicant special in comparison to others. The recommender should make it clear who they are comparing the applicant to. They should make that comparison in a way that supports the applicant. Measurable positive indicators of performance, especially in the recommendation by a supervisor or former supervisor who regularly evaluates/evaluated the applicant, can be an effective way to high light the applicant’s performance, especially if the numbers relate well to one of the applicant’s accomplishments. The recommender may discuss an applicant’s strengths relationship  to overall performance, interpersonal skills, and  language skills or simply in terms of specific qualities or skills.

A good recommendation will help admissions understand why the applicant will make a good classmate and has the potential to be personally effective throughout their career.    Since Columbia is looking for applicants with  strong leadership  and the ability to work in teams, interpersonal skills (via personal qualities) are a very important consideration.  Interpersonal skills relate not only to aspects of leadership (For example, ability to motivate others and ability to manage up/down/across an organization) and teamwork (For example, ability to work well with teammates, ability to help with teammates, and ability to gain support from others on a team), but also in a number of other ways (For example, sales skills,  ability to gain the trust of others, ability to influence others, charisma, winning personality).  Given the importance of the Cluster System at Columbia, admissions is looking for applicants with the ability to work effectively with their classmates.

For non-native English speakers,  a positive statement on the topic of the applicant’s written and spoken communication skills should hopefully be in at least one of the recommendations.  Admissions officers are always concerned about English speaking ability on the part of international applicants in general because low-level English speaking ability can significantly impact both a student’s and their classmates’ experience, which is to say that it is a gate keeping/overall student satisfaction issue.  Given that Columbia has been known to conduct post-interview English checks of non-native speaking applicants, it is surely important that a recommendation not overstate the applicant’s English abilities.

For native English speakers, If the recommender has a basis for commenting positively on your non-English language skills, they should do so. Especially for American and Canadian- Not many of my Anglophone Canadian clients have had solid French skills- if one or both of your recommenders can positively comment on your foreign language skills, they should do so. Again, they should only do this if they actually would have observed you using your foreign language skills. In most circumstances, I don’t necessarily recommend that Indian applicants have their recommenders discuss their non-native Indian language skills (Even if for example, you are native in Tamil and you use Hindi in your work, assume that admissions will not get the fact that Tamil is a Dravidian language while Hindi is Indo-European.) because it is surely much more important that the specific language is not mentioned and/or assumed to be English. East and Southeast Asian applicants mig ht have a recommender mention their non-native non-English skills, but in general mentioning an applicant’s native Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai language skills would not necessarily have much positive impact on admissions. Use of a non-native non-English language (A French applicant using German, a Japanese applicant using Mandarin, a Chinese applicant using Spanish, a Korean applicant using Thai, an Australian applicant using Japanese, a Indian applicant using Portuguese, etc.) is surely worth mentioning if the recommender has a basis for doing so.

“Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response.”
While feedback need not be in response to weakness or need for improvement on the part of the applicant, it is often effective if the recommender does just that.  While good advice is a possible kind of constructive feedback, what is typically meant by constructive feedback relates more commonly to advice designed to help someone improve in the future.  I find that many recommenders resist writing about weaknesses, yet to do so reveals a deeper understanding about the applicant. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that the recommender actually reference your areas for future development. One standard defensive strategy that many recommenders seem drawn to is to write about knowledge or skill areas where the applicant is weak, but such weaknesses, unless specifically connected to past failures,  are rather superficial.  To quote my  general advice for recommenders: BE CRITICAL, BUT NUANCED. You will likely be asked to provide a critical perspective on the applicant. Questions about areas for future growth, weaknesses, or characteristics about the applicant you would change are very common on MBA recs.   The objective of such criticism is to help the admissions committee understand the applicant and also the extent to which you are relatively objective.  Still, make sure that your criticisms are not fatal ( Examples: "The applicant loses his temper easily and has been disruptive on teams."  "The applicant lacks the ability to analyze complex issues."  "She is too aggressive to work effectively with some people."), but are measured and nuanced. Be honest about the applicant, but when you answer such questions think carefully about the answer and provide a full and complete answer that  explains (an d hopefully delineates) the extent of your criticism.

Is it a good strength (performance, potential, background, or personal qualities) or weakness? Some questions to ask yourself:

Finally, recommendations play in an important role in the admissions process at Columbia Business School, so make that you give recommenders both sufficient time and appropriate input for them to be your strong advocates.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Columbia Business School MBA Recommendation for January and August 2014 Admission

In this post I analyze the Columbia Business School MBA recommendation MBA for January and August 2014 admission.  For my analysis of the MBA application essays and whether to select J-term Class of 2015 or August Class of 2016, please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here.

Before reading my post below on Columbia, you might want to read  two of my other posts first. For overall MBA recommendation advice, I would suggest beginning with my 10 KEY POINTS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION: WHAT EVERY RECOMMENDER SHOULD KNOW, which provides core advice for what recommenders need to know.  Applicants can use this post to help educate recommenders.  In Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders, I provide applicants with some very detailed advice on how to select the right recommenders. This post addresses the most common kinds of questions that my clients and blog readers have asked me about selecting recommenders.

Columbia Business School previously had the single most burdensome recommendation form of any top MBA program (Ten separate questions plus a numerical evaluation table).  Applicants for 2014 admission are indeed fortunate in this respect because Columbia made the highly recommender friendly move of eliminating all specific questions and just asking for the recommender to cover the basics. In this respect Columbia is following Booth, which previously had the most recommender friendly form of any top MBA program.  Unless some other school, including Booth, simplifies their form even more, Columbia is looking like winner in terms of reducing the burden on the recommender.

So simple, it is shocking!
From the perspective of someone who has been helping clients with MBA recommendations since 2001, this change is quite shocking. I think this is a very smart move because I know applicants  had frequently considered the recommendation form as a major disincentive to apply to Columbia: The questions were just such a burden for recommenders (or often the applicants, who might have to explain, outline, or draft the recommendation). Now, unless the other schools follow Columbia, everyone will be complaining why the schools are not like Columbia. The instructions for the recommendation are very simple (taken from the online recommendation form):
“Recommendation Upload

Thank you for your willingness to recommend a candidate to Columbia Business School. Your recommendation adds vital perspective to the admissions process. Please consider the following guidelines when writing your recommendation:

• Your relationship to the applicant.
• The applicant's performance.
• Strengths and weaknesses of the applicant.
• The applicant's interpersonal skills.
• The applicant's written and spoken communication skills.
• The most important thing you would like the Admissions Committee to know.

Please limit your recommendation to 1000 words.“

There is no quantitative evaluation form and no specific questions are being asked.

Short: In the past, Columbia recs could be easily be 1500-2000 plus words long, but now a single letter of a maximum of 1000 words is required.  Given that the recommendation is simply uploaded as a MS Word or PDF file, clearly they are not really counting words. I will surely suggest that recommenders keep to around a 1000 words, but if  it is a bit over, clearly not something to worry about.  That said, keeping it to 900 to 1100 words would be a general rule of thumb.

Not set questions, just suggested topics for the recommender’s consideration: This is particularly user-friendly because it means that the recommender can really focus on the best stuff they want to mention about the applicant.

Beyond the suggested topics, I suggest you provide your recommender (Especially if they are not a Columbia MBA alumnus) with some background information on what Columbia is looking for.  Fortunately Columbia provides a very nice FAQ on this issue:

Who makes a good applicant?
The Columbia MBA Program is carefully designed to instill both the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the fast-moving, competitive world of business. Many top managers credit the skills they acquired at Columbia Business School as the springboard to their successful careers.
Columbia Business School looks for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Students share a record of achievement, demonstrated, strong leadership, and the ability to work in teams.
The Admissions Committee seeks intellectually inquisitive applicants with superior academic credentials from their undergraduate and graduate programs. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Fluency in multiple languages is not required for admission but is increasingly desirable for the study and practice of global business.
Over the past five years, competition for admission to Columbia Business School has continued to rise steadily. The School typically receives and reviews 5,500 to 7,000 full-time MBA applications each year, and in recent cycles only 15 percent of applicants were admitted.

I will refer to this statement in what I discuss below.

Let’s look at each of the topics that your recommenders need to consider:

“Your relationship to the applicant.” As I emphasized in my 10 Key Points Post, "#2: YOU BETTER KNOW THE APPLICANT OR CREATE THE APPEARANCE THAT YOU REALLY DO," it is critical that the recommender establish the legitimate basis upon which they are making this recommendation. A clear description that is explicit about the time knowing, organizational relationship to, and extent of observation of the applicant is critical. 

“The applicant's performance.”
While Columbia does not require the recommender to compare the applicant to his/her peers or others in a similar role or anyone else in particular, if you are applying to other MBA programs, you should advise your recommender to evaluate your performance comparatively because your recommender will have do this anyway. If you are only applying to Columbia, comparing your performance to others is one very clear way to address your performance. While a recommender should not unrealistically overstate the applicant's performance, it will not be helping the applicant very much if they are not positively distinct in one or more ways. Ideally the recommender should provide at least one very concrete example of what makes the applicant special in comparison to others. The recommender should make it clear who they are comparing the applicant to. They should make that comparison in a way that supports the applicant. Measurable positive indicators of performance, especially in the recommendation by a supervisor or former supervisor who regularly evaluates/evaluated the applicant, can be an effective way to highlight the applicant’s performance, especially if the numbers relate well to one of the applicant’s accomplishments.

“Strengths and weaknesses of the applicant.”

The recommender may discuss an applicant’s strengths or weaknesses in relationship  to overall performance, interpersonal skills, and  language skills or simply in terms of specific qualities or skills.

I suggest focusing directly on three-five strengths and one or two weaknesses. With consideration to other recommendations that the recommender might be writing, there is a high possibility that they  will eventually need to write on more than one weakness.
I find that many recommenders resist writing about weaknesses, yet to do so reveals a deeper understanding about the applicant. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that the recommender actually reference your areas for future development. One standard defensive strategy that many recommenders seem drawn to is to write about knowledge or skill areas where the applicant is weak, but such weaknesses, unless specifically connected to past failures,  are rather superficial.  To quote my  general advice for recommenders: BE CRITICAL, BUT NUANCED. You will likely be asked to provide a critical perspective on the applicant. Questions about areas for future growth, weaknesses, or characteristics about the applicant you would change are very common on MBA recs.   The object ive of such criticism is to help the admissions committee understand the applicant and also the extent to which you are relatively objective.  Still, make sure that your criticisms are not fatal ( Examples: "The applicant loses his temper easily and has been disruptive on teams."  "The applicant lacks the ability to analyze complex issues."  "She is too aggressive to work effectively with some people."), but are measured and nuanced. Be honest about the applicant, but when you answer such questions think carefully about the answer and provide a full and complete answer that  explains (and hopefully delineates) the extent of your criticism.
Compared to weaknesses, strengths are easier for most recommenders to write about. While making general statements about strength (“She is a decisive leader who gets the job done. “ ”He is really smart.”) is important, it is insufficient.  Your recommender should provide evidence that you have that strength. In other words, good strengths should be linked to specific examples.

Is it a good strength or weakness? Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate the applicant’s potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does Columbia  need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon, why do want to mention it to Columbia?
3. Is there sufficient context provided to really understand the strength or weakness? Providing a low context answer unsupported by evidence is likely to have little impact.

“The applicant's interpersonal skills.”

A good recommendation will help admissions understand why the applicant will make a good classmate and has the potential to be personally effective throughout their career. This topic might be addressed in relationship to the applicant’s performance or strengths and weaknesses or as a stand alone topic.   Since Columbia is looking for applicants with  strong leadership  and the ability to work in teams, interpersonal skills are a very important consideration.  Interpersonal skills relate not only to aspects of leadership (For example, ability to motivate others and ability to manage up/down/across an organization) and teamwork (For example, ability to work well with teammates, ability to help with teammates, and ability to gain support from others on a team), but also in a number of o ther ways (For example, sales skills,  ability to gain the trust of others, ability to influence others, charisma, winning personality).  Given the importance of the Cluster System at Columbia,  admissions is looking for applicants with the ability to work effectively with their classmates.  

“The applicant's written and spoken communication skills.”

Columbia takes this category very seriously as should be clear from the FAQ above: Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential. Fluency in multiple languages is not required for admission but is increasingly desirable for the study and practice of global business. This topic might addressed very briefly or might simply be stated in terms of a strength (or weakness)  of an applicant or in relationship to their interpersonal skills.  Depending on the applicant, it might also be connected to statement about their performance.

For non-native English speakers and international applicants in general,  a positive statement on the topic of the applicant’s written and spoken communication skills should hopefully be in at least one of the recommendations.  Admissions officers are always concerned about English speaking ability on the part of international applicants in general because low-level English speaking ability can significantly impact both a student’s and their classmates’ experience, which is to say that it is a gate keeping/overall student satisfaction issue.  Given that Columbia has been known to conduct post-interview English checks of non-native speaking applicants, it is surely important that a recommendation not overstate the applicant’s English abilities.  

If the recommender has a basis for commenting positively on your non-English  language skills, they should do so. Especially for American and Canadian- Not many of my Anglophone Canadian clients have had solid French skills- and British applicants (At least the Aussies I have worked with seem to be better in this respect), if one or both of your recommenders can positively comment on your foreign language skills, they should do so. Again, they should only do this if they actually would have observed you using your foreign language skills.   In most circumstances, I don’t necessarily recommend that Indian applicants have their recommenders discuss their  non-native Indian language skills (Even if for example, you are native in Tamil and you use Hindi in your work, assume that admissions will not get the fact that Tamil is a Dravidian language while Hindi is Indo-European.) because it is surely much more important that the specific language is not mentioned and/or assumed to be English.  East and Southeast Asian applicants might have a recommender mention their non-native non-English skills, but in general mentioning an applicant’s native Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai language skills would not necessarily have much positive impact on admissions.   Use of a non-native non-English language (A French applicant using German, a Japanese applicant using Mandarin, a Chinese applicant using Spanish, a Korean applicant using Thai, an Australian applicant using Japanese, a Indian applicant using Portuguese, etc.) is surely worth mentioning if the recommender has a basis for doing so.

“The most important thing you would like the Admissions Committee to know.”

I don't think it is necessary for recommenders to write, "This is the most important you should know...",  but they might. At minimum, the point of this statement is help recommenders understand that they should feel free to emphasize a killer selling point about the applicant. Here is how I suggest you think about this question:  What is that one accomplishment story you could tell about the applicant that would really help Columbia understand why the applicant should be admitted? As an advocate for the applicant, provide a meaningful and memorable example that will really help to set the applicant apart.

Finally, recommendations play in an important role in the admissions process at Columbia, so make that you give recommenders both sufficient time and appropriate input for them to be your strong advocates. 

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

HBS MBA 2+2 Class of 2017 Application

This is the eighth in series of eight posts. My analysis of the HBS Application for the Class of 2015 (and 2+2 Class of 2017) consists of:

1. Changes to the HBS application
2. An overall introduction to HBS
3. Who should apply to HBS?
4. Essays
5. Recommendations
6. Interviews
7. Post Interview Reflection
8. 2+2 Program

My comprehensive service clients have been admitted to the regular HBS MBA for the Classes of 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005 and one 2+2 client admitted to the Class of 2014. My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application counseling on HBS, I regularly help additional candidates with HBS interview preparation. I have worked with a large number of applicants from Canada, Europe, India, Japan, other parts of Asia, and the United States on HBS application. I think that this range of experience has helped me understand the many possible ways of making an effective application to HBS. In the posts in this series, I provide insights based on that experience.

2+2 Program
This will be the shortest of my posts in this series because from an application viewpoint there are only two differences between applying for the MBA Class of 2015 and the applying to join the 2+2 Program for the Class of 2014:

• Two recommendations vs. three for non-2+2 applicants
• Nonrefundable U.S. $100 application fee (credit card only) vs. $250 application fee for non-2+2 applicants

As the second point is not actually something I need to discuss, we have only the issue of recommendations, which is certainly worth considering. After discussing recommendations, I will discuss three issues that I consider worth mentioning.

Two Recommendations
Before reading any further I suggest you first review my main post on HBS recommendations.  Many college students will find it useful to have an academic recommendation, but this is not strictly speaking necessary. If you think your recommenders from your work or extracurricular activities will be better, it is reasonable to use them.  Keep in mind that the person should be in real position of superiority and not your peer.  A supervisor from a meaningful part-time job or internship would certainly be appropriate. If you have served as a research assistant, grader, or teaching assistant to a professor, that can also work quite well. If you think that you don't have any useful non-academic references, just use the two professors who you think know you best and will be able to support your application the most effectively.

Who is the 2+2 Program for?

The 2+2 Program attracts accomplished college seniors from all fields of study. We encourage students from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines to apply.

We're looking for innovative thinkers who have demonstrated leadership and analytical skills and want to apply their knowledge and passion to make a difference in the world.

In other words, they are looking for academically accomplished college students who have clear leadership potential and demonstrated analytical skills. Based on my limited experience working with 2+2 applicants (1 admit in 2009, 1 ding after interview in 2011, and 1 ding without interview in 2010), this program is best for those who have a truly outstanding background. My one client who was dinged without interview was solid, but compared to both the admit and the client dinged after interview, not impressive. I would at this point only work with a client on 2+2 if they were truly outstanding. A combination of clear academic abilities, demonstrated leadership (this should be conceived in a very broad way and need not take the form of just running some sort of organization or activity), community engagement, and that highly subjective quality of just being someone who stands out from their peers, makes for the best candidate for this program. It is clearly for high achievers.

Interviewing for 2+2
Please read my main post on interviewing at HBS. Take this interview very seriously and be very prepared for it. From the reports I have read, HBS admissions officers don't really treat 2+2 applicants especially gently.  If you have limited experience interviewing, you really need to get practice and feedback from an admissions consultant, someone with significant experience as an interviewer, an interview coach, and/or HBS students and alumni.  Ideally, a combination of these would be best.  Don't just rely on your parents, siblings, and friends unless they fit into the categories I previously mentioned.

Alternatives to HBS 2+2? Stanford GSB! 
No other MBA program offers something like 2+2 in terms of being a program that is designed to support admits before they actually enter the MBA program.  That said, Stanford GSB does offer both direct and deferred enrollment to the MBA program to college seniors. Like HBS, they encourage promising college seniors to apply. They are looking for exactly the same sort of profile as HBS. The deferred enrollment option allows for college seniors to work for one to three years prior to entering Stanford. Details can found here.  I would encourage applicants to 2+2 to also consider application to Stanford.  While neither program is easy to get into, admission or rejection from one for strong candidates does not have any baring on how you will do at the other.  If you would be happy attending either of these schools, I do recommend making application to both of them.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

MBA & OTHER GRADUATE PROGRAM RECOMMENDATION ADVICE

I wanted to provide a brief guide to my primary posts on recommendations.


For overall advice, I would suggest beginning with 10 KEY POINTS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION: WHAT EVERY RECOMMENDER SHOULD KNOW, which provides core advice for what recommenders need to know.  Applicants can use this post to help educate recommenders.  While it is primarily focused on MBA recommendations, the overall advice provided is applicable to all sorts of graduate school recommendations.


In Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders, I provide applicants with some very detailed advice on how to select the right recommenders. This post addresses the most common kinds of questions that my clients and blog readers have asked me about selecting recommenders. 


In HBS MBA Program Class of 2015 MBA Essays and Recommendations, I provide my analysis of the four questions that HBS requires recommenders to answer.  I do intend, at some point, to analyze other schools' recommendation questions. 


My guest blogger, Steve Green, prepared a post specifically focused non-MBA graduate school school recommendations, Letters of Recommendation for Academic Graduate Degree Applicants.   He also did a post on recommendations letters for MPA and MPP programs, Letters of Recommendation for Public Policy Programs.


Recommendations can be a particularly difficult part of the application process for many candidates, so I hope the above posts are helpful.


-Adam Markus
アダム　マーカス
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form, which is publicly available on google docs here, and then send your completed form to adammarkus@gmail.com.  You can also send me your resume if it is convenient for you.  Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. See here for why. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

HBS MBA Program Class of 2014 MBA Essays and Recommendations

This post is focused on the HBS MBA program.  For the 2+2 MBA program essays, see here.  For HBS interviews, see here. 

In this very long post, I will discuss the HBS MBA Program Class of 2014 application essays and recommendation questions. I have had comprehensive service clients admitted to the regular HBS MBA for the Classes of 2013 (testimonial can be found here), 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005 and one 2+2 client admitted to the Class of 2014. 

LEARN ABOUT HBS!

• Learn as much as you can about HBS. If possible, go visit the campus. Visiting HBS, like visiting any business school, is one of the best ways to learn about it.
• Attend admissions outreach events as these will give you an opportunity to hear from admissions directly and possibly interact with alumni
• The HBS curriculum, while focused on case study has included non-case based learning.  For more about that, look at the Immersion Experience Program, Field-based learning.  This year, the faculty approved major changes to the curriculum.  We can expect further change to the HBS website to reflect this in the future, but for now, please see here. 

HBS is not right for everybody, so look at it closely to see if it right for you. HBS is very open about who they take.  Not everyone should apply or go to HBS.  For a happy story of HBS rejection, see here. For some thoughts regarding who HBS admits, please see here where I discuss the Class of 2013.

CASE STUDY AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

If you are thinking about applying to HBS, you should learn about the case method. Even as the role of the case method might be modified at HBS, it will remain at the center of the curriculum.  One of the clearest explanations for the case method is, not surprisingly, the HBS website. Every MBA applicant could benefit from watching the case study video which will provide you with a clear 13 minute and 25 second image of what case study is about. You should most certainly look at videos found at the HBS' YouTube channel.

While Harvard Business School is most known for its use of the case method (80%), other top programs use it typically 30%-50% of the time with the remainder consisting of lecture, experiential learning, simulations, and other methods. By the way, if you want to know what HBS students read in addition to case studies, see http://www.computersexy.com/blog/2008/02/03/hbs/what-do-hbs-students-read/.

One great resource for cases studies is caseplace.org, where you can read cases written by and for top business schools. Many were published by Harvard Business School through Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, and Harvard Business School Publishing. Sources for other cases include Stanford Social Innovation Review,Knowledge @ Wharton, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Sponsored by the Aspen Institute, "CasePlace.org is a practical and dynamic resource for up-to-date case studies, syllabi and innovative MBA teaching materials on business and sustainability— from corporate governance to sustainable development." Given the sources and purpose of the site, this is a wonderful opportunity to read cases on a diverse  range of subjects. If caseplace.org is not enough for you then you can also purchase case studies directly from HBS and other schools.

Please keep in mind that the objective is to get enough background to make good decisions about your applications, so don't feel obligated to spend so much time reading cases. Just spend enough time to know what the case method is and how it will impact your application decisions and admissions strategy.

The Essay Questions 

This year there are  four set essay questions.   I will discuss each of them in detail. 

Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)

HBS is about leadership. The HBS mission statement makes that clear: The mission of Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. As such HBS places a very high premium on applicants' leadership potential:

A Habit of Leadership
We recognize—and welcome—leadership that may be expressed in many forms, from college extracurricular  activities to academic or business achievements, from personal accomplishments to community commitments. We appreciate leadership on any scale as well, from organizing a classroom to directing a combat squad, from running an independent business to spearheading initiatives at work. In essence, we are looking for evidence of your potential — a portfolio of experiences, initiatives, and accomplishments that reflect a habit of leadership.

Harvard thus has a very open-ended conception of leadership, but they are rigid in the necessity that applicants demonstrate it. Even if a set of business school essay questions does not necessarily explicitly ask for you to show your potential for leadership, it should still be accounted for. Leadership is no easy thing. Nor is it obvious. The worst possible thing is to conceive of leadership as simple formal responsibility or a title because this conveys nothing about the person in that position. While some applicants will have held formal leadership positions, many will not.

Formal leadership positions are great to write about if they involve the applicant actually having significant impact, making a difficult decision, being a visionary, showing creativity, or otherwise going beyond their formal responsibility, but the same is true for those showing leadership without having a formal title.

If you are having difficulty really understanding leadership, I have a few suggestions.

First, one great place to read about leadership, and business in general, is Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.

Second, find out what kind of leader you are by taking this quiz based on Lewin's classic framework. I think leadership is more complicated than Lewin's framework, but this quiz is a great way to get you started thinking about yourself, a key part of answering any leadership essay question effectively.

Third, if you have not done so, I suggest reading relevant essays in 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays: With Analysis by the Staff of the Harbus, The Harvard Business School Newspaper. Reading through the essays on leadership should help you to understand the great diversity of topics that are possible.

OK, now that we have grounded ourselves in understanding the importance of leadership and begun to develop some possible leadership stories, how should you proceed?

Given the composition of the application for Class of 2014 admission, I think the accomplishment essay and setback essays are the most likely places for you to show your leadership potential.  It is also possible to show this through the other essay questions, but less obviously so. 

HBS has asked  some variation of this question for a very long time. According to 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays, "This is one of those essays that is probably a permanent fixture in the HBS application (p. 121)." So far it has been the only question not to change. HBS has made this one of the mandatory questions because...

-Accomplishments reveal your potential to succeed at HBS and afterwards.

-Accomplishments reveal your key strengths.

-Accomplishments reveal your potential for contributing to your classmates.
-Accomplishments can reveal your academic potential.

-Everyone has had accomplishments, so it is easy to compare applicants.

-What you consider to be an accomplishment are real tests of your self-awareness and judgment.

The following grid is the kind I have used successfully with applicants preparing this question:

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

How to use this grid for outlining your answer to Question 1:

Row 1: "Stories." The first thing you need to do is think of the accomplishments. These will eventually take the form of stories, so that is what I call them. A few things to keep in mind:

• Your accomplishments may be personal, professional, or academic.
• While it is very important that your accomplishments be distinct so as to reveal different things about you, there is no single formula for what their content must be. It really will depend on your background. Some people think you need to have one academic, one professional, and one extracurricular here. My experience with both admits and those invited for interviews is that this is not necessarily the case.
  

Row 2: "What skill, value, or unique experience is being showcased?" Your accomplishments need to reveal valuable things about you. Some will call these selling points, but more specifically they consist of skills, values, or unique experiences. One might use a specific accomplishment to emphasize one's leadership skills, another to show one's ethical values, and another to explain a significant barrier that was overcome. The point is that each accomplishment must, at its core, reveal something key to understanding who you are.

Row 3: "What potential for success in the MBA program or afterwords is demonstrated?" You may or may not be directly stating this in the essay, but you should think about what each accomplishment reveals in terms of your potential. HBS Adcom will most certainly be considering how your accomplishments demonstrate your potential to succeed at HBS and afterwards, so you should as well. One key way of thinking about the MBA application process is to see it as a test of potential. Potential itself can mean different things at different schools and so you must keep in mind differences between schools and, in particular, must pay close attention to what schools say really matters when they assess applicants. Harvard Business School Admissions states:

Genuine business talent cannot be narrowly defined. Instead of looking for an "ideal" candidate, HBS invites MBA applicants who exhibit a variety of skills, accomplishments, and temperaments. The true common characteristics of our students are demonstrated leadership potential and a capacity to thrive in a rigorous academic environment.

Therefore, please keep in mind that a core part of your own application strategy should be determining which parts of yourself to emphasize both overall and for a particular school. For example, at HBS, clearly "demonstrated leadership potential" and a strong academic background are necessary.   I have already discussed the importance of leadership, but academic potential is particularly important at HBS, especially because the forced grading curve makes it a uniquely challenging academic environment. Consider the importance that HBS puts on academic potential:

"Harvard Business School is a demanding, fast-paced, and highly-verbal environment. We look for individuals who will thrive on sophisticated ideas and lively discussion. Our case-based method of learning depends upon the active participation of prepared students who can assess, analyze, and act upon complex information within often-ambiguous contexts. The MBA Admissions Board will review your prior academic performance, the results of the GMAT, and, if applicable, TOEFL and/or IELTS, and the nature of your work experience. There is no particular previous course of study required to apply; you must, however, demonstrate the ability to master analytical and quantitative concepts."

Beyond the potential to succeed at HBS, you may want to use one of your accomplishments to show why you will be able to reach your post-MBA goals. 

Row 4: "Will this be a contribution to others in the MBA program? How?" Just as with potential, think about whether your accomplishments demonstrate your ability to add value to other students at HBS. Given space limitations, it is not likely that you will explain how one or more of your accomplishments will be a contribution, but rather this is a strategic consideration. The dynamic nature of case study at HBS is very much based on what each student contributes. Think about whether any of your accomplishments demonstrate how you will likely add value to other students' HBS experience. Not all accomplishments will have this quality, but many will.

Row 5: "Why does Adcom need to know about this?" If your accomplishment has made it this far, chances are they. That said, I have two simple tests for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay. The first is whether Adcom really needs to know about this accomplishment. After all, you might consider getting the love of your life to date you to be one of your most substantial accomplishments, but will Adcom care? If an accomplishment does not reveal (whether stated or implied) potential and/or contribution, chances are likely that it is not significant enough.

Row 6: "Is this something Adcom could learn about you elsewhere? (If "YES," find another accomplishment)" The second and final simple test I have for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay is based on the idea that something that is totally obvious about you to anyone looking at your resume and transcript is probably not worth mentioning. If you were a CPA, having an accomplishment that merely demonstrated you were good at accounting would not be worth writing about. Instead it would be important to show something more specific that reveals something that is not obvious by a mere examination of the basic facts of your application.

Finally, as I mentioned above, what you include here is a real test of your judgment, so don't just write about your obvious accomplishments. Think deeply and come up with a set of unique accomplishments that reveal distinct, interesting, and the most important things about you that will compel admissions to want to interview you.

Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)
 This a new variation on the mistake/failure/setback question that HBS has been asking for a very long time.  it now fully parallels the structure of the accomplishments essay.  This is the first time that HBS has asked for three setbacks.  I think most applicants will find this question to be incredibly challenging.  Applicants usually have enough difficulty writing about one mistake, failure, or setback, so doing three is likely to prove initially daunting, but I think it might not be as hard as it initially looks.

I think we should first consider what a setback is and then think about how you can use setbacks to illustrate your potential to succeed at HBS and in your career.  

I find it easiest to understand what a setback is if we compare it to what a failure is. What is the difference between between a failure and a setback? I think the easiest thing to do is look at standard definitions of both words:

FAILURE: 1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment. 2. One that fails: a failure at one's career. 3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure. 4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure. 5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: .failure to report a change of address. 6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment. 7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.

SETBACK: An unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse.

All setbacks can in some sense be understood as failures in sense of the seventh definition of failure cited above, but actually the difference is one of nuance: a setback does not carry with it any sense of finality. A failure conveys that sense of finality.

To use the experiment example above, "a setback in an experiment means the experiment could still succeed, but if the experiment is a failure, there is no chance for success. The only option is a new experiment.

Setbacks are thus the big challenges in your life that you have overcome.  Such challenges might be academic, financial, interpersonal, intellectual, professional, athletic, political, etc. 

Setbacks are great way of highlighting your strengths.  A setback can show how you performed at your best in a difficult situation. A setback can show you have matured as a person. A setback can show how you have overcome difficult problems in your life including such things as financial obstacles, health issues, and adopting to a new environment. A setback can show your academic, leadership, or other forms of future potential.

Just as with the accomplishments essay, you should write about three distinct setbacks.  Each setback should highlight something unique about you that is important for HBS to know.

The basic components of each setback:

1. Clearly state what the setback was. Given the limited word count available for telling three stories in 600 words, you need to provide a clear, but brief explanation of the situation.

2. Clearly state your role. Since this is your setback, you need to make it very clear what your role was.  For personal setbacks, such as overcoming an academic difficulty, this is obvious.  On the other hand, if you are writing about being part of an organization that experiences a setback, you need to make sure that you are focused sufficiently on your own role within that organization.

3. Explain how you reacted to the situation. What actions did you take to overcome the situation?  It is critical that you highlight specific skills or personal qualities that made you effective in overcoming whatever setback you faced.

4. Interpret the story: Explain the impact on you. If you want to control how your HBS admissions readers will perceive you, you need to clearly analyze the impact of the setback on you.  Just providing a short story is not enough, make sure you are providing 1-2 sentences that actually analyze what each story means.

Finally, keep in mind that the difference between setbacks and accomplishments can sometimes be just a matter of interpretation.  I therefore suggest you fully brainstorm a set of 6-12 possible accomplishments and setbacks and then determine which ones to make use of.  Always use your best stories.

Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)

You should be able to explain what motivates you to want an MBA.  Writing that you want an HBS MBA because it will make you rich and give you prestige is not option, so I suggest you focus on how you will use an MBA to become a leader who will make a difference in the world so that you can show fit with the mission of HBS.  For more about fit, see here.  For more about writing goals that are both ambitious and visionary, see here.

At a strategic application level, all applicants should go through the process of analyzing why they want an MBA in detail. Chances are quite high that if your are interviewed by HBS, you will be asked about your goals. Hence, having essays that account for your goals even indirectly or in limited detail is an important part of having an overall application strategy. 
Even if you know why you want an MBA, I suggest going through a formal process of MBA goals formulation. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. 

(To best view the following table, click on it. )

How to use this table:

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What  roles and responsibilities have you had in clubs, part-time jobs, internships, volunteer activities, etc.? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?

Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.

Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?

Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze your situation in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the  relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals?

Simply stating what your goals are and why HBS is the best place for you to accomplish them is not exactly what you need here. Instead, you need to articulate a vision related to why you an MBA. You need to focus on your motivations as well as your idealized career outcomes.

Making your career goals sound exciting requires thinking about whether these goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge by the time you graduate in 2014? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), putting together a truly outstanding career vision is one way of differentiating your application. But how?

Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start that is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.

LEARN WHAT IS HOT. Learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now, may very well be cold in the future. The point is to come across to the Harvard Business School as someone who is not only well informed, but has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge. Some great general sources for learning what is hot:

HBS Sources: One of the best places to learn about what HBS perceives as cutting-edge is through HBS. You should most certainly visit Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, and Harvard Business School Publishing.

Beyond HBS: Additionally, other great business school sources include the University of Chicago GSB's Working Papers, The University of Chicago's Capital Ideas, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Knowledge @ Wharton, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

LinkedIn Answers: I would suggest that everyone join LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!). Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.

Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.

Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.

Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field.

The writing process: After going through a process of reflection and analysis, prepare a version of this essay that includes everything you want to say. Next begin the process of revision. Here are a few key things to consider when revising:

1. Think about the most important thing you need admissions to know about why you need an MBA. Begin your essay with that. Chances are good that on your initial draft the most important thing is somewhere in the middle or end of your essay.

2. Prioritize the rest of your content: What do they really need to know? You probably have lots of details that can be cut.

3. Make a formal argument: Your essay should be neither a set of disembodied points or a summary. Instead, it should be a formal statement about your career vision. It may very well partially take the form of a memo or it may be rather creative. The important point is that the reader should be able to understand it clearly and be convinced by it.

Next, once you have put together your answer, consider how the rest of your application supports what you say in it. Without over-marketing yourself, or even necessarily writing it directly in the essays, make sure that your past accomplishments and other aspects of your application show how your potential will contribute to your future career vision.

BE AMBITIOUS!!!!!!!

My final point is that HBS is looking for people who want to be leaders, not mere managers. They are looking for people who will use their "one precious and wild life" to achieve great things, not those who will be satisfied at being back office mediocrities.  If you can't articulate an exciting vision of your future now, when will you? 

Answer a question you wish we'd asked. (400 words)
Here you can pose your own question and thus write about anything you want. Don't use this as a place for simply explaining something negative like a bad GPA, instead provide admissions with greater insight into who you are. There is a place on the application to provide HBS with 500 characters (about 125 words) on anything negative that you need to discuss.  Use this question to balance out the rest of your application by discussing some aspect of who you are that has not been sufficiently focused on. Specifically ask yourself, "What else can I tell HBS that helps them understand why they should admit me?" While you will likely use this space for an essay that might be utilized for another application, it is critical that HBS not get the impression that you have done so. As with any school, I think it is important that HBS  gets the impression that you specifically tailored this essay to their school.  

My suggestion is that you write essays 1-3 first and then decide what topic you need to write about here. Unless my client specifically starts with the HBS essay set first, I would hope that have more than one possible topic to consider using here.  Treat this essay as a gift.  Use it wisely to maximize its impact and don't squander it on presenting something redundant.  This essay should have significant impact.  After all your own judgment can assessed by what you decide to write on here.

Questions for Recommenders 

For the MBA program, you will need  three recommenders. I like the HBS recommendation form best because it is short and sweet. Other MBA programs torture recommenders with a series of typically 6-10 questions, while HBS takes a recommender-friendly approach.   For more about recommendations in general see my previous posts, "10 KEY POINTS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION: WHAT EVERY RECOMMENDER SHOULD KNOW" and "Further Comments on Selecting the Right Recommenders."   Another thing that I like about the HBS recommendation questions is that they are found on the HBS website and don't require registering as a fake recommender to obtain.  It is really annoying to have to go through the process of a registering as fake applicant and then registering fake recommenders in order to look at recommendation questions! I try to avoid doing that.  Some schools seem to think that no one has figured out how to get access to these things or that there is something wrong in having applicants have easy access.  Applicants need to see the questions because there is a very good chance that they will need to advise recommenders on the questions, especially if their recommenders are not familiar with this process.   Why make something that should be so easy to obtain so difficult?

Recommendations must be completed online. The form includes the following four essay response questions. I will analyze each question.

• Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant. If applicable, briefly describe the applicant's role in your organization. (250 words)

 Adam's Quick and Dirty Interpretation: HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE APPLICANT AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

As I emphasized in my 10 Key Points Post, "#2: YOU BETTER KNOW THE APPLICANT OR CREATE THE APPEARANCE THAT YOU REALLY DO," it is critical that the recommender establish the legitimate basis upon which they are making this recommendation.  A clear description  which is explicit about the time knowing, organizational relationship to, and extent of observation of applicant is critical.  In addition, this answer should, even though it is not stated, begin the act of advocating for the applicant (My key point #10: BE AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE FOR THE APPLICANT).  In the process of describing the applicant's role in your organization, highlight the ways they have added value to the organization. 

• How does the candidate's performance compare to other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (250 words)

Adam's Quick and Dirty Interpretation: SHOW HOW THE APPLICANT ADDS VALUE IN WAYS THAT ARE DISTINCT FROM HIS/HER PEERS.
 

Directly compare the applicant to his or her peers in the process of explaining the applicant's role in your organization or similar organizations.  While you should not unrealistically overstate the applicant's role, I highly recommend that you clearly indicate what makes him or her special.  You will not be helping the applicant very much if they are not positively distinct in one or more ways.  Provide at least one very concrete example of what makes the applicant special in comparison to others.

• Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response. (250 words)

Adam's Quick and Dirty Interpretation: IF YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO WRITE THIS RECOMMENDATION, YOU HAVE PROVIDED CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK TO THE APPLICANT!

I consider this to actually be the ideal question for determining whether a recommender actually knows an applicant well.  After all, casual acquaintances, your dad's friend, the President of your country,and other such personages that often take the form of bad VIP recommendations, cannot effectively answer this question. As this will be a situation where you are criticizing the candidate, Key Point #7: BE CRITICAL, BUT NUANCED applies. Clearly describe what the candidate did that resulted in you providing feedback.  Next describe how the applicant responded.  An effective and applicant friendly answer here will be one where the applicant learned from and was, ideally, able to implement your feedback.  Assume that HBS believes that great leaders learn from their mistakes and they are trying to gauge the extent to which the applicant has the potential to be such a leader.

• Please make additional statements about the applicant's performance, potential, or personal qualities you believe would be helpful to the MBA Admissions Board. (250 words)

Adam's Quick and Dirty Interpretation: OK, SO WHAT ELSE SHOULD HBS REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE APPLICANT?

Other schools will often ask two questions or more to address this same issue as HBS does in this one question.  What I really like about this is that the recommender is not forced to fit the applicant into a specific category. Such attempts at fitting round pegs into square holes can certainly take much time for a recommender to address. HBS makes it easy for recommenders to focus on what they consider most important to say about an applicant.  This space should be used to focus on the absolutely critical selling points about the applicant that the recommender really wants HBS to know.  Core accomplishments, interpersonal and/or professional skills, and future potential are the ideal topics to write about here.  

USING HBS ALUMNI AS RECOMMENDERS
Finally, I just wanted to mention that given that HBS has the largest alumni network of any MBA program, it is not necessarily the case that one should prioritize obtaining recommendations from HBS alumni.  If you are fortunate to have such a person who can effectively recommend you, that is great, but selecting an HBS alumni simply because they are an alumni is not necessarily smart because there will be so many of them. The most important thing is to have a recommendation that will really standout and fully convinces HBS about your past accomplishments, suitability to enter HBS in 2012, and future potential.

-Adam Markus

 アダム　マーカス

I am a graduate admissions consultant based in Tokyo, Japan with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form, which is publicly available on google docs here, and then send your completed form to adammarkus@gmail.com.  You can also send me your resume if it is convenient for you.  Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to.  See here for why.

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