• Blog
  • >
  • MBA
  • >
  • Axolotl: I’ve Got My Recommenders!
Select viewing preference
Light
Dark

Axolotl: I’ve Got My Recommenders!

September 09, 2013 :: Admissionado Team

AxolotlThere are so many little things to keep track of when applying to business school. Thankfully I’ve settled on just applying to my one reach school R1 and then holding off on all my other choices until Round 2. Between:

GMAT
Essays
Recommenders
Resume
Biographical information

There’s a lot to think about. And I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time (or whatever I have left between working) on essays. One of the items I’ve embarked on this week is nailing down recommenders, who now have about a month left to finish their recommendations for me.

Again, it’s a benefit that I’m only applying to one school, but it’s been tough to decide who to give my recommendation. After much discussion I settled on my two according to the one decision making heuristic that has broadly guided me through this whole application process: “who knows you the best?”

I’ll reiterate the warning people give you about selecting recommenders based on seniority or alma mater. I’ve tried to pick two recommenders who will go to bat for me and really be strong advocates for my application. And I’ll stress that phrase “for my application,” since I’m hoping I’ve picked people who understand the story I’m trying to get across to the adcom. Picking a recommender who is a decent advocate but really doesn’t understand the story you’re trying to get across can be a sign of two things: either the wrong recommender or the wrong story.

[**Note from Kyn: Choosing the best recommenders is only half the battle. Now it’s time for Axolotl to COACH them, and make sure they’re staying on task.]

I’m hopeful both my recommenders understand me and the story I’m trying to tell, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In the meantime I’m hoping to have all my essays sewn up and ready to ship by the end of the month so I can start focusing on the boring things on the application!

Axolotl’s a Finance guy looking for an MBA to make some moves in the Private Equity/Venture Capital world. He’s documenting his MBA application experience every other week. Follow his journey  here