Interview with 2nd Year Berkeley MBA/MPH Student

One of my former clients, who wishes to remain anonymous, was kind enough to answer my questions regarding his experience in the University of California Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the School of Public Health 2 1/2-year MBA/MPH concurrent degree program. Below he discusses subjects both relevant to those specifically interested in the joint program as well as those interested in the Haas MBA more generally.

Interviewee ("MBA/MPH") background: He is a 2nd year student in the UC Berkeley MBA/MPH program. He has over seven years business experience. He was born and raised in Japan and he worked as a management consultant focused on the healthcare industry and was a manager in a consumer goods company. In the latter position, his areas of responsibility included consumer research and market/target strategy development for a global brand in the Japanese and Korean market. Upon graduation, he aims to contribute to improve the quality of service and financial stability of healthcare providers.

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ADAM: You are in the MBA/MPH Program. How is that different from the regular MBA Program? How many students are in your program?

MBA/MPH: You will find a couple of points that differs from MBA program; 1) it requires 2 1/2 years for graduation, 2) students are required to take acertain amount of units from school of Public Health and 3) internship is required (though 99% of all Haas students do it anyway) for graduation. Typically, we have around 10-15 MBA/MPH students every year and most of them have a fair amount of work experience in the healthcare industry.

I believe the program gives unique advantage to students such as 1) strong academic background for healthcare system and health, both of which are indispensable to work at and lead the healthcare industry, 2) good friendship with talented classmates in a small class setting, 3) alumni network and strong reputation in healthcare industry that allows us to have various opportunities to meet industry leaders, 4) career opportunities both from MBA and MPH side (some employers are knowledgeable about our program and really value MBA/MPH dual degree students), and 5) opportunities to expand your personal network in MPH field (i.e. non-MBAers).

ADAM: What were some of the courses you took in your first year? What courses do you plan to take in your second year?

MBA/MPH:In my first year, I took Haas core courses except for Macro economics, which I waived by passing a waiver exam. Plus, I took “introduction of U.S. healthcare system”, “strategic management of healthcare organization”, and “Social Sector Solution (class- consulting project for not-for-profit organization with McKinsey consultants)”, all of which were required course for MBA/MPH students. I also took “consumer behavior” from Haas and “healthcare information services”, offered by the School of Information. Haas is well integrated with other schools and I can easily take courses from those schools. That allows me to get to know more people with different background and interest and provides me with a unique perspective.

In this semester, I am taking courses mostly from the School of Public Health including epidemiology, international healthcare economics, independent study with a professor about healthcare quality. Also, I am taking healthcare finance and service strategy courses from Haas. And, I take beginning Danish solely from my interest (that does not count as units for graduation). I am planning to take a course from the School of Architecture in Spring on top of courses from Haas.

ADAM: What did you do last summer?

MBA/MPH:I split my last summer between two internships. In early summer, I went back to Tokyo and I worked at a consulting firm in Tokyo on a project for a pharmaceutical company. I came back to the U.S. and have been working for a health systems company as a project management intern.

ADAM: What does Berkeley’s slogan, “Leading Through Innovation,” mean to you?

HAAS 2Y: First of all, innovation does not mean just “technology innovation” and it should be understood to have a broader meaning. Innovation, I believe, should be in any industries in various ways. Leading through innovation for me is to have a mindset to challenge the status quo, to think through and accept the diversity for new idea generation, and to influence the organization so that it commits to make things (or even the world) better. Haas is a place to incubate innovation. In my personal view, Haas has a real variety of people with different values, backgrounds and expertise. And, we have a culture of understanding each other. In addition, UC Berkeley has many cross-listed programs with other schools (e.g. School of Engineering, School of Public Health, School of Information etc.) that helps us to foster new ideas.

ADAM: How important is team/group work at Haas?

MBA/MPH: First, no business is done by an individual and no business is done only with math or calculation. I think students at Haas understand that and we seriously value collaboration and others’ point of views. I don’t know about other schools, but we are basically not so keen on getting an “A”, rather, we value getting unique insights or trying something that inspires us. We have a fair amount of work for each group we are assigned by the school (especially in the first semester) and obviously it is not easy at first due to differences of background, expertise and culture of each student. But, we are get used to it as we know each other well and understand each other’s value.

ADAM: Are you active in any clubs?

MBA/MPH: I am a member of H2B2(Haas Healthcare and Bio Business), Soccer Club, and Net Impact Club. I participated in Net Impact case competition held in Boulder, Colorado with 3 classmates in the summer. I was also on the mentoring committee for incoming student this summer. These club activities helped me to expand my network of friendship.

ADAM: Are there any common characteristics you find amongst your classmates?

MBA/MPH: I don’t know about others school so my answer may be subjective. I view everyone here as having the idea of what he or she wants to do, and has passion for that. Good example is that a fair amount of students at Haas have their career interest at not-for-the-profit, CSR and social ventures and they inspire other students.

The other point is that, students here are basically very nice. Not only they are nice from their nature, but also I guess the fact that we know each other well helps a lot. We have many opportunity to know students each other as we only have 240 MBA students in one year.

ADAM: Why should someone considering an MBA choose Haas?

MBA/MPH: If you just want to spend 2 years (or 2.5 years in my case) just as a prep school for I-bank or consulting, then Haas may be just “one of many options.” Having spent 1 year here in Berkeley, I am pretty sure that my experience in business school is absolutely more than that. Studying and collaborating with classmates, I learned from the various values, ways of thinking, beliefs, communication styles, and expertise in business and cultural context of my classmates and professors. I am sure that, here at Haas, I have made life-long friends from all over the world.

In addition, our MBA/MPH program, as mentioned above, is simply great. It has been honestly much better than I had expected. I am sure that the program fit my academic interest very well (there are lots of things we can learn only because we are in the School of Public Health, and these are absolutely good to know or a must to know for working in the healthcare industry). The program expands my possibility of networking and career as well. If you are interested in healthcare industry, MBA/MPH is an option you may want to consider.

Lastly, not the least, the Bay Area is simply perfect. Great nature, great city (San Francisco), laid back culture, great food (vegetables and fruits are amazing) and sunny and mild weather.

ADAM: Do you have any specific advice for those considering application to Haas?

MBA/MPH: Many people might have already told you about this, but, again, I think you need to spend your best effort to know Haas thoroughly before you apply. And, you should ask yourself if you fit to what Haas offers and to your future classmates. Meet alumni or current students and feel Haas by yourself. If you visit school or meet alumni, it is a good idea to prepare before meeting by carefully reading through website or other publications. It should help you to identify what you need to know about Haas more and helps you ask the right questions to students or alumni. I personally believe that just a strong GMAT cannot differentiate you from others.

Finally, I would recommend checking the official website of our program (http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/advantage/health/) if you are interested in applying MBA/MPH program or knowing more about the difference between the MBA program and MBA/MPH program.

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I want to thank "MBA/MPH" for taking time out of his busy schedule. You can read my analysis of the Haas MBA questions for Fall 2009 entry here. Japanese interested in Haas should visit http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/japan/.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

-Adam Markus
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ビジネススクール エッセイ 大学院入学 カウンセリング コンサルティング 合格対策 MBA留学 カリフォルニア大学バークレー ハース

HBS Director Leopold on applicants from the financial sector and being unemployed

Dee Leopold, Director of HBS Admissions, posted the following as part of a Q&A:

Q: If there is an increase in the number of applicants from financial services, will the number of admits from this group be greater than in prior years?
A: Not necessarily. Our goal is to compose a class which represents many different kinds of diversity, of which professional experience is only one element. We don't have fixed industry or geographical targets so the year-to-year class profile may change.

Q: Are candidates who are not currently employed at a disadvantage?
A: No. We realize that these are unusual times and that many strong contributors may find themselves in this situation.

In a word, if you are recently unemployed, HBS will not hold that against you, but don't expect it will be easier to get in if you are coming from the financial industry. Nothing really surprising here, but good to know nonetheless.

I think it is safe to assume that Ms. Leopold's comments apply more generally to other schools as they reflect standard admissions practices.

By the way if you are coming from a country (Japan, where I live, being the best example) whose financial industry has not been significantly damaged or may actually stand to benefit, make sure you point that out to admissions (HBS or any school). You don't have to provide them with a full economic analysis, but a brief reminder of local conditions in your essay can't hurt.

And if you are unemployed, stay positive and don't be apologetic about it in your application. No one likes a cry baby, but people respect those who can make the best of such situations. As someone who experienced the Internet Boom while living in New York City (I had the title of death, Senior Manager for Online Sales and Marketing, and my wife worked for a start-up with no business plan), I know that from my own experience. Focus on the future and enjoy New York State's Unemployment Benefits and "The Inflation Special" at Gray's Papaya. For those of you still working in New York City, I bet it is now much easier to get dinner reservations.

Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

ビジネススクール MBA留学

Stanford GSB Tokyo 9/21/08 Event

As is usual for Stanford GSB events, the alumni panelists provided great insight into their own experiences.

Last year, the admissions presenter was quite dynamic and said more than was contained in his slides. By comparison, I found this year's admissions presentation mostly a mere recitation of information found on the website.

I think the only interesting thing admissions said was that for non-native speakers "if the essay is too perfect, we are not going to believe you wrote it." This is not new, but certainly worth repeating. Everything I heard at the event, leads me to believe that I don't need to modify my Stanford GSB Essay Question Analysis for Fall 2009 Admission. By the way, regardless of what Stanford admissions should say about the openness of their essay topics, please see the first post in my series on Stanford for why their questions are being asked for specific reasons.

Still if you want to go to Stanford, attend admissions events so that you can listen to the alumni panel and network with the alums afterwords. In my experience, Stanford alum are very friendly and approachable, so if you are serious about getting into Stanford GSB, network!

Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

-Adam Markus
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スタンフォード ビジネススクール

Letters of Recommendation for Public Policy Programs

Steve Green on Letters of Recommendation for Public Policy Programs

This is both my second post on recommendations and my third post on public policy programs. The earlier recommendation post is here. The earlier public policy posts are here and here.

The advice in this post is aimed at applicants to public policy degree programs, e.g. an MPP, MPA, Environmental Policy, etc. Public policy programs include programs in policy and administration. Degrees such as the MPP focus on strategic policy analysis and public policy creation, while degrees such as the MPA emphasizes skills and knowledge for the administrative side of public policy formation.

In general, a letter of recommendation for a public policy degree applicant should cite evidence of the kinds of brainpower discussed in the previous post. In particular, ideal recommendation letters give specific examples of skills directly relevant to analyzing and making public policy and, particularly in the case of MPA applicant, to organizational and leadership skills. A recommender should be able to should cite specific examples of when and how an applicant analyzed a complex problem, preferably one that was social or economic in nature, and proposed a solution. Furthermore, a recommender should ideally be able to cite evidence of good project management, leadership and/or interpersonal skills.

Part I below contains advice for applicants currently working in the field of policy-making at any level of government, or for NGOs. Part II makes suggestions for applicants currently working outside the field of public policy. Part III has advice for current university students.

1. If you currently work in a policy-making field (i.e. as a government ministry professional, a legislative aide, or for an NGO) then you probably have a well of experience from which a recommender can draw specific examples to verify your strengths.

• The ideal recommender is the person who directly oversees and evaluates your work. This person is probably your immediate supervisor. Considering the many titles held within government bureaucracies it might be tempting to seek a recommendation from someone higher up the command chain with a more impressive-sounding title, but, unless that person has directly overseen your work, then his letter will not sound authentic. For example, I once worked with a client who was a policy analyst for a ministry of the government of Japan and who obtained a recommendation letter from the prime minister. The letterhead and the signature were very impressive. Unfortunately, the content of the letter was quite bland because the writer could not actually describe the details of any particular accomplishment of the applicant, who worked directly under someone who was several positions lower in the government hierarchy than the prime minister. Thankfully, the client decided not to include this letter in his application and was successfully admitted to a number of top programs.

• Other recommenders include previous supervisors at work, former university professors in your field, and supervisors of any volunteer or extra-curricular activity in which you believe your participation indicates the potential for success in a policy degree.

  • The ideal recommendation letter from your boss should describe the details of how you achieved specific accomplishments, and/or your particular contributions to projects. The writer should be able to demonstrate how you think and how you solve abstract problems, as well as how you work with and/or lead your peers.

    • If you work for a government ministry or agency the ideal letter should contain details of your contributions to specific policies and/regulations, and/or of specific your role in inter- or intra-governmental negotiations or summits.

    • If you work in an NGO the ideal letter should present evidence of your contribution to a policy proposal, or your role “on the ground” in carrying out your NGO’s mission, including examples of how you identify, frame and solve problems, as well as how you work with and/or lead your colleauges.

  • The ideal recommendation from a former university professor should describe details of your analytical and communication skills in an academic subject directly related to the field of public policy. The greater the time between your university graduation and your current job, the less useful a recommendation letter will be. So, ask for an academic recommendation only if:

    • The graduate program to which you are applying requires it

    • Only 1-3 years have passed since your graduation AND you are confident the professor remembers you well

    • You are still in contact with the professor

  • Seek a recommendation from outside work and university only if it will enhance your policy-making and/or policy administration skills. You are already a working professional in the field, so a recommendation letter that is from someone outside work might be seen by the admissions committee as a sign that you could not obtain good recommendations from your supervisors or professors.

• Provide your recommender with a copy of your resume/CV as well as with detailed plans of your graduate and career goals.

• If your employer will pay for all or part of your graduate tuition, then be sure to include that fact on your resume/CV. If someone responsible for the decision to award you with sponsorship for your graduate studies also meets the criteria above for an ideal recommender, then you should certainly request a letter from that person.

2. If you are currently working in a field that is unrelated to public policy, then you likely have no experience in drafting or implementing public policy. So, you will need recommendations that can demonstrate that the skill and knowledge you possess can transfer to your new field.

Remember! The point of your whole application is to demonstrate that you have the brainpower and communication skills to succeed as a public policy graduate student and professional. Many of the skills that you have developed as a professional will transfer to your new field.

• The ideal recommender is the person who directly oversees and evaluates your work. This person is probably your immediate supervisor. Considering the many titles held within corporate hierarchies it might be tempting to seek a recommendation from someone higher up the command chain with a more impressive-sounding title, but, unless that person has directly overseen your work, then his letter will not sound authentic.

• Other recommenders include previous supervisors at work, former university professors in your field, and supervisors of any volunteer or extra-curricular activity in which you believe your participation indicates the potential for success in a policy degree.

• The ideal recommendation letter from your boss should describe the details of how you achieved specific accomplishments, and/or your particular contributions to projects. The writer should be able to demonstrate how you think and how you solve abstract problems, as well as how you work with and/or lead your peers.

• The ideal recommendation from a former university professor should describe details of your analytical and communication skills in an academic subject directly related to the field of public policy. The greater the time between your university graduation and your current job, the less useful a recommendation letter will be. So, ask for an academic recommendation only if:

  • The graduate program to which you are applying requires it

  • Only 1-3 years have passed since your graduation AND you are confident the professor remembers you well

  • You are still in contact with the professor

• The ideal recommendation letter from someone in a volunteer organization will emphasize your organizational skills, interpersonal and leadership skills and any analytical ability you utilized for the sake of the organization.

• Provide your recommender with a copy of your resume/CV as well as with detailed plans of your graduate and career goals.

• If your employer will pay for all or part of your graduate tuition, then be sure to include that fact on your resume/CV. If someone responsible for the decision to award you with sponsorship for your graduate studies also meets the criteria above for an ideal recommender, then you should certainly request a letter from that person.

3. If you are currently a university student then you likely have no experience in drafting or implementing public policy. So, you will need recommendations that can demonstrate that you are an excellent student with potential to succeed in graduate school and a career in the field of public policy. In addition to the advice discussed in the previous post you should seek recommendations from teachers based on the criteria listed below.

• Ideal recommenders include:

• A teacher in whose class you earned an excellent grade

• A teacher who taught a class as closely related as possible to the field of public policy

• A teacher with whom you worked closely on an extended project, such as a graduation/senior thesis

• An immediate supervisor from an internship, volunteer activity, or job

• Ideal letters should be able to:

  • Highlight your brainpower, with emphasis on your verbal and written analytical ability and with an example of how you approached a complex social or economic problem

  • Where relevant, highlight your leadership and/or personal skills

For questions regarding this post, please contact me at h.steven.green@gmail.com. To learn more about my graduate admissions consulting services, please click here.
- H. Steven ("Steve") Green, グリーン・ハロルド・スティーブン 大学院留学 カリフォルニア大学バークレー校 マクスウェルスクール シラキューズ大学 ハーバード大学ケネディスクール コロンビア大学の国際関係・公共政策大学院（通称SIPA)

Letters of Recommendation for Academic Graduate Degree Applicants

Steve Green on Letters of Recommendation for Academic Graduate Degree Applicants

In this first post on recommendations, I am going to focus my discussion of strategies for letters of recommendation for applicants to academic graduate degree programs in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and engineering. This post also applies to those applying for LL.M. programs. In the next post, I provide advice for those applying to public policy programs. In the third post, I will provide advice for those applying to MBA programs. There is necessarily some repetition between these posts.

SUMMARY: First, I discuss the role of the recommendation within your application package, and I suggest how to maximize the impact of the endorsements you obtain. While the overall purpose of a recommendation letter may seem self-evident, you will solicit the best possible set of recommendations if you understand the strategic value of each letter to your overall application before you contact possible recommenders. Also, I provide specific advice to LL.M. applicants. Next, I describe what actions to take related to requesting letters. Finally, I offer advice for solving common problems in obtaining a letter of recommendation.

I. STRATEGIC THINKING ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS

A recommendation letter is NOT a general endorsement of you. It is an endorsement of you based on specific abilities you have demonstrated to the recommender. A recommendation letter needs to sound genuine, which is only possible when the writer can provide first-hand evidence of particular strengths.

A list of strengths that indicate a high potential for graduate school success begins with examples of your brainpower, which includes analytical ability, creativity, and logical thinking. A recommender should ideally be able to highlight written and verbal evidence of your brainpower.

Remember! The primary measurable evidence of your brainpower lies in your GPA and GRE or other graduate school test scores. A strong letter of recommendation will provide a concrete application of your ability, i.e. it will offer a glimpse how your brain worked to obtain a high GPA and test score. A strong recommendation will also support the claims made in your statement of purpose and/or other essays.

Other strengths that indicate your ability to succeed in graduate school include strength in skills that directly relate to your field, the ability to complete a task in a timely manner, excellent communication skills with your peers in a formal academic setting, organizational skills (such as you may have demonstrated in an extracurricular activity) or time management skills (e.g. your ability to earn a high GPA while engaged in extracurricular pursuits or while working near-full or full time.).

• Ideally you should try to get letters from people able to provide specific examples of your strengths in your intended field of study.

• If you are applying to a field different from the one in which you majored as an undergraduate, and cannot obtain more than one recommendation from someone in your new field, then try to obtain letters from people able to demonstrate applications of your brainpower in different fields.

• If you are continuing graduate work in your major field of study, then aim to obtain letters from people who taught different topics within your field to demonstrate you are not someone who cannot perform outside a narrow field of interest.

You should request letters from those people in the best position to judge the particular strengths you wish to highlight in your application. Most graduate programs require two or three letters of recommendation.

• As the guidelines above indicate, the best judge or your abilities to succeed in an academic graduate degree program are usually your undergraduate professors (or graduate professors if you are changing programs). Some guidelines for whom to ask:

  • If you have been a member of a small seminar run by a professor, then a recommendation from this teacher would be ideal as the recommender is perfectly suited to judge your written and oral brainpower, as well as your interactions with peers. Even if your only seminar experience was in a field outside your major (and you want to continue graduate work in your major field of study) a letter from a seminar professor can be an excellent endorsement of those academic strengths.

  • If most or all of your undergraduate courses included lectures supplemented by discussion sections with a graduate teaching assistant (TA), then you can still obtain a letter of recommendation. Ask either the TA or the professor for a recommendation letter (whom you ask will probably depend on how comfortable you feel with each, which will likely be a function of the class size). Many professors have their TA’s write a letter on behalf of a student, but sign it themselves. This practice is legitimate because the TA is serving as a proxy for the professor, who is responsible for the course content. On the other hand, admissions committees do accept letters from graduate students because they understand that at many large universities it is not possible for undergraduates to be observed closely by professors.

  • If you successfully completed an internship or worked at a part-time or summer job that developed skills and knowledge you consider relevant to your graduate school goals, then you may want to ask your immediate supervisor for a recommendation.

• If you have already graduated do not worry. If this is the case, then whom you ask will depend upon how long you have been out of school. The further back in time your graduation was, the less likely professors will be able to remember you well enough to say something specific about you beyond commenting on a paper you wrote (assuming you still have a copy of it to present to them with your recommendation request.) DO NOT WORRY! Admissions committees look favorably upon “experienced” graduate students as they value their maturity and know they are probably dedicated since they are willing to step outside an established income stream for an extended period of time. Guidelines for people who have already graduated from university:

  • Seek letters from your immediate supervisor at your most recent position, as well as from at least one other position you’ve held. Aim for someone who can verify the skills listed above in whatever setting possible.

  • Seek letters from a supervisor or peer of any professional or volunteer organizations in which you have been active, in particular if you have played a leadership role in them.

Should all recommendation letters come from the same type of person? Not necessarily. As is evident from the previous comments, whom you ask depends on what your current status is and what accomplishments you wish to highlight (i.e. academic, professional or extra-curricular achievements).

Two “case studies” (I use these two personal examples because I can do so without disclosing information about clients):

• A successful applicant who did not have any academic recommendations: My wife was accepted to academic MA programs at both of the graduate schools to which she applied (one of which was at an Ivy League university.) She had earned her BA degree fifteen years earlier and had not been in contact with any of her professors since that time. On my advice, she relied exclusively on recommendations from her current supervisor, her previous supervisor and someone with whom she co-led a national volunteer organization. She had a strong GPA, safe test scores and a wealth of experience that included leadership positions at work and in her volunteer activities.

• A successful applicant with one non-academic recommendation: I applied to graduate school during a year I spent working full time after I earned my BA. I was applying to graduate programs in political science, but I was working as a foreman of a factory. My recommenders included two professors, and the president of the factory, who happened to be my immediate supervisor. I wanted his recommendation because I hoped to demonstrate my analytical ability as applied to a “real world” endeavor as well as my organizational and interpersonal skills.

Specific Advice for LL.M. applicants: Assuming you need three letters of recommendation and that you have work experience, at least one should come from a law faculty member (For Japanese applicants this could be either a professor or a member of the Legal Training and Research Institute.) and one should come from a supervisor who is lawyer or other legal professional and can attest to your abilities as a lawyer/legal expert. The third recommender might be another professor or a lawyer/legal professional. If possible, avoid using someone outside of the legal professsion.

WHOM NOT TO ASK:

You should not ask for a letter of recommendation from anyone who is not able to evaluate your strengths objectively, which would include:

• Your peers at work and/or university (unless you have been specifically asked to provide such a recommendation), but senior colleagues at work are fine as substitutes for supervisors
  

• Family members

• Friends and neighbors

• Anyone in your university or at work who does not directly oversee you or is not someone to whom you report directly. For example, as impressive as it might seem to have a letter of recommendation from the President of Prestigious University or the CEO of Large Powerful Corporation, these people will not be able to say anything meaningful about your abilities, unless you happen to study/work directly under them.

• Famous people you may happen to know but not actually study or work under. Sure, it would look pretty cool to be able to list Angelina Jolie as a recommender on your application, but unless she was your professor or your immediate supervisor, she cannot say anything specific about your abilities.

A RECOMMENDATION LETTER SHOULD NOT:

Emphasize traits everyone is expected to possess, such as politeness, good attendance, enthusiasm, likeability. It should not emphasize loyalty or the willingness to work overtime hours.

• Detailed examples of how you perform will demonstrate many or all of these traits indirectly but more concretely.

  • Since you cannot usually control what the recommender writes it is a good idea to deliver your resume/CV with your request so that the writer will have in mind specific accomplishments.

REMEMBER! GOOD RECOMMENDERS:

• Are in a proper authoritative position from which to evaluate you.

• Can provide specific evidence of the strengths you wish to highlight because they…

• Have personally seen and evaluated your work already.

REMEMBER! A GOOD RECOMMENDATION LETTER: Emphasizes particular strengths relevant to your graduate degree plans by describing specific examples of accomplishments.

II. WHEN TO REQUEST A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

Request letters of recommendation now. The application deadlines for most American academic programs are not until December at the earliest. You should make a respectful request to your desired recommenders now. Asking early is not only polite, but it ensures the writer will have plenty of time to prepare a letter and evaluation that comprehensively describes your strengths. If you cannot yet obtain the evaluation forms from your target schools, just let the recommender know that you will deliver them as soon as possible. Even though the writer may not act upon your request until then, at least they have time to think about you and they will know to budget time for the task once the forms are in their hands.

• Asking early is especially important if you are either a current university or graduate student. As someone who has written letters of recommendation for my undergraduate students, I can say that your university teachers’ memories of your written work and strengths in the classroom or seminar will probably decline as the time passes between when you were their student and when they actually write the letter. A professor may remember that you were an excellent student and a good writer, but, as time passes, he may not recall particular, unique qualities of your abilities in a classroom setting.

• If you are asking a previous supervisor for a recommendation, then it is also important to ask early. The sooner someone who is no longer working directly with you begins to refresh his memory of you, the more time he will have to recall specific anecdotes that highlight your strengths.

Give your recommender an up-to-date copy of your resume/CV (For more about resumes/CVs, see here). When you make request for a letter of recommendation, present your recommender with the latest version of your resume/CV. The writer will not need to comment on any aspect of your background outside that experience in which they were in a position to judge your work or academic performance. (For example, if you are currently working, your current supervisor has no reason to mention your outstanding GPA in university.) However, there are two benefits to presenting your resume/CV to your recommender.

• First, a professional resume/CV makes you look serious, dedicated and prepared.

• Second, the writer can see which accomplishments you are highlighting for the position in which they are able to evaluate you. If you have given careful thought to whom you ask for a recommendation, then there should be a natural fit between the accomplishments you wish to highlight and the “menu” of possible anecdotes they would choose from in order to illustrate your strengths at that particular position.

III. PROBLEMS IN OBTAINING A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

In my experience, many Japanese, and other non-native English-speaking, applicants face three particular hurdles to obtaining letters of recommendation.

1. It is an unfortunate fact for many Japanese applicants that their bosses do not support their decision to leave the workplace and enter graduate school (usually because they do not want to lose a good employee). So, they refuse the request to serve as a recommender. In such situations or ones like it, I suggest:
   

• First, request a letter from the next person best able to judge your performance. If no one in a position of some authority is available within your organization you may consider requesting a letter from a senior colleague who has worked closely with you as well as an outside observer, such as a vendor. If you are active in non-work activity that can provide examples of your brainpower, then you should definitely try to obtain a recommendation from someone there.

  • If you are unsure of whom to ask, then you may wish to consider seeking the services of a professional admissions consultant. Since 2001, Adam and I have worked with many clients facing this issue and a part of the advice we provide to our clients is how to handle this.

• Second, include a letter with your application package that explains your predicament to the admissions committee. You will not be the first applicant with this particular problem, and the readers will appreciate your directness in explaining your situation. Some applications specifically include an optional essay or other space to discuss such issues.
  

2. Even when their supervisor, senior colleague, and/or professsor does agree to write a letter, many applicants are told they should write the letter themselves first, and their busy boss will sign it later. Needless to say, this is an ethical problem. I should point out that it is not a problem unique to Japanese applicants because sometimes people here in Japan think it is. Actually it is a common problem for all applicants. What should you do? Here is one solution:
   

• First, get as much input from your recommender for the content as you can. This might simply involve asking them standard recommendation questions (see what the recommendation form asks) and recording what they say. If you can get their unique viewpoint on you, it will help to provide something that reflects their real viewpoint and yours.
  

• Next, write the letter in your recommender's native language and ask your recommender to review it. Ask your recommender to read it and let you know if he/she agrees with your interpretations of your actions.

• Next, if applicable, have the letter translated into English by a professional translator. This will at least eliminate the appearence of it being in your own words.
  

3. A supervisor agrees to write the letter of recommendation in English, but includes content that is inappropriate for a North American frame of reference. I have reviewed English-language letters of recommendations and have seen that what may count as a strong letter in one context, is considered weak in another context. Generally, this includes emphasizing the traits listed above under “A RECOMMENDATION LETTER SHOULD NOT”. While all of these traits may be admirable, they do not, in and of themselves, focus on the right content. What should you do?

• If you GIVE THE RECOMMENDER A COPY OF YOUR RESUME/CV when you make the request for a letter, then you increase the chance that the writer will discuss specific accomplishments.

Finally, and this really is not a problem like the above situations, if you have a recommender who is willing to write a letter for you, but not in English, simply get it translated. Send the original along with the translation. Again only do this in the case where the original is written by the recommender. If the school requires it, you might need to send a certified translation. In Japan, one could get such certification through the Notary Public at the US Embassy in Tokyo.

For questions regarding this post, please contact me at h.steven.green@gmail.com. To learn more about my graduate admissions consulting services, please click here.
- H. Steven ("Steve") Green, グリーン・ハロルド・スティーブン

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