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How To Write An MBA Cover Letter

Introduction.

One of the most daunting parts of the MBA application is writing an effective cover letter. An MBA cover letter is an important supporting document in your MBA application. Along with being a required component of your application, the cover letter for MBA programs provides valuable insight to admissions committees.

It is your opportunity to make your case as to why they should admit you to the program. The cover letter and your resume are often the first parts of your application to be read by the admissions committee, and a strong cover letter is key to making a great first impression. This article will tell you everything you need to know about how to write a cover letter for MBA programs and outline the dos and don’ts for creating a top-notch MBA cover letter.

What is an MBA Cover Letter?

An MBA cover letter is a short letter — generally one page in length — that accompanies your MBA applications. This letter should provide a short summary of what you will bring to the MBA program in terms of your academic background, qualifications, and experiences.

The MBA cover letter should elaborate on some of the skills and experiences listed on your resume as opposed to simply repeating them. The MBA cover letter is also your chance to showcase your personality.

Resumes are very straightforward and fact-based, and don’t really show much personality. Your cover letter has much more space for writing and, therefore, can better display your writing style and thought processes, which can help admissions committee members gain some insights into your personality.

Purpose of the MBA Cover Letter

The purpose of the MBA cover letter is to give the admissions committee an idea of who you are. Similar to the cover letter you would write when applying for a job, the MBA cover letter is your opportunity to demonstrate why you would be a good fit based on your skills, goals, and personal traits. MIT Sloan recommends highlighting how you’ve made an impact in your recent professional roles when describing your professional experiences in your cover letter. However, you are limited in how much space you have to convey this information.

The exact word or page length of the cover letter will vary by school, so it’s crucial you check the cover letter requirements for each school before you start writing. Typically, you can expect your cover letter to be one page in length, and this limited space requires your writing to be concise.

The cover letter is also your chance to demonstrate your knowledge about the MBA program and the business school itself, which is also similar to what you would do if you were applying for a job. Showing what you have learned about the program and how it has informed your decision to apply will demonstrate to the admissions committee you have done your research and are serious about attending the school.

It can also be a helpful way to tie in how your skills, experiences, and characteristics suit the program’s mission and values, along with the types of candidates they are seeking.

Step-by-Step Guide on Writing a Cover Letter for MBA Programs

Step 1: format your letter..

Laying out the framework for your letter allows you to see how much space you’ll have to work with once you’ve included basic information. First, start by setting up your header. Your cover letter should have the same header and font as your resume.

You want them to look like a set and not like completely separate documents. If your resume header is aligned with the right-hand side of the page, your cover letter should mirror this. Your header should contain your full first and last name, your phone number, and your email address.

Business schools will have their own criteria for the font size and spacing for MBA cover letters. You can generally expect to write your letter using a 10 to 12 point font size and single spacing, but it is vital to check each business school you are applying to for their specific guidelines and make note of these requirements.

Step 2: Include the date your letter will be sent and the name of the recipient.

The first line following your header should be the date on which you will send your letter. This should be written out in full (April 14, 20XX) and not as a short form (04/14/XX nor Apr. 14, 20XX). Leave a space between this line and the next line, which will contain the name of the person to whom your letter is being sent.

Since your letter is going to an admissions committee and it would take up far too much space to include the name of every committee member, your letter should be addressed to the head of the admissions committee. Both the dateline and the address line should be aligned with the left-hand side of your page.

Classically, prefixes have been used when addressing your letter recipient, such as Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Dr. However, it is no longer easy to assume which of these prefixes — or one of many others — a person uses. It does not make for a good first impression to address the head of the admissions committee incorrectly, so it is best not to put a prefix in front of someone’s name unless you know with absolute certainty the specific prefix they use. Simply use their first and last name.

Step 3: Include a salutation.

The salutation is the greeting that signals the start of your letter. The most commonly used salutation by native English speakers is “dear”, but “greetings” is also a suitable choice. Following your salutation, you will put in the name of the person to whom your letter is addressed. This should be the same person indicated in the previous section. 

Step 4: Demonstrate the research you have done about the program.

The first paragraph of your cover letter should demonstrate the research you’ve done about the school’s MBA program. This will show the admissions committee you are a serious applicant because you have taken the time to learn about the program and its community.

You can refer to materials you’ve read, alumni you may have spoken to about the program, or a campus tour or class visit. While you demonstrate your research, you should also indicate how this research influenced your decision to apply to this particular program. This can include how your goals, current skills and areas for improvement, and career aspirations align with the program.

Step 5: Pitch yourself.

The second and third sections of your cover letter should discuss how your profile of skills, experiences, achievements, and leadership potential make you a good fit for the program. This can be done in either a narrative or bullet format. A narrative format is likely the way you have written cover letters in the past. In this format, you write in full sentences to tell the story of how you’ve gotten to where you are, where you want to go, and how the MBA program will help you get there.

With the bullet format, you'll still include an introduction and conclusion paragraph written in the narrative style. The middle section is where the bullet format differs from the narrative format. Instead of using full sentences to communicate information about your skills, you will use a list of bullet points. Each bullet point will speak to a specific skill you’ve used in the workplace.

Depending on your industry, this could range from developing financial strategies for your organization to crafting creative briefs for clients and anything in between. These bullet points will look similar to the structure of bullet points you may have used in your resume to provide details on your responsibilities and accomplishments at the jobs you listed.

You will have to balance the information needs of the admissions committee and the space constraints, regardless of the format you choose to use in the middle section of your cover letter. Using the STAR method will help you to write in a way that both conveys relevant information to the admissions committee while keeping it short and sweet.

• Situation - This is the who, what, where, and when of it and sets the scene for your reader (a.k.a., the admissions committee). For instance, this might start a sentence and look something like “While working as a financial analyst at XYZ Company.”
• Task - What were you responsible for doing? This should be a very specific aspect of your job responsibilities and should also be something you excelled at in your role. Following the situation outlined above, it may add on like this: “While working as a financial analyst at XYZ Company, I was responsible for compiling data for quarterly reports.”
• Action - How did you complete the task? Adding this to the situation and task already mentioned, it may look like this: “While working as a financial analyst at XYZ Company, I was responsible for compiling data for quarterly reports. I created a new reporting system which increased the efficiency of data collection.”
• Result - What was the outcome of the action(s) you took? This will show the importance of your actions and what you accomplished. Your final statement may look something like this: “While working as a financial analyst at XYZ Company, I was responsible for compiling data for quarterly reports. I created a new reporting system which increased the efficiency of data collection. This drastically increased the visibility of our clients’ revenue and expenses, and its adoption throughout the department resulted in a 14% increase in our own revenue one year after implementation.”

Since the cover letter is only one page long, it is a good idea to only discuss a small portion of your skills and experiences. You could describe two or three key elements from your resume if you follow the narrative format in your letter, but in the bullet format, you would be able to describe three or four elements.

The skills and experiences you choose should be the best examples of your knowledge and abilities, as these will be your best opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition. It’s not necessary to restate everything on your resume in your cover letter. The cover letter should provide some additional insight into a couple of items on your resume with the goal of standing out.

Step 6: Summarize your letter.

In your concluding paragraph, it is important that you summarize the contents of your letter. This is your last chance in your cover letter to establish yourself as a strong applicant, so restating how your educational background and professional experience make you the right fit for the program is crucial.

Thanking the person for reading and considering your application is a common courtesy in both professional and academic cover letters. This is critical for you to do at the end of your letter since its absence will be noticed by the admissions committee and will reflect poorly on you. Your final sentence should include a call-to-action for the next steps you want to take. This is usually a request for an interview or conversation about your fit for the program.

Step 7: Sign off.

The final part of writing your cover letter is to sign off. You should include a complimentary close, which is a polite way to close a letter. This is usually done by using “sincerely” or “yours truly,” and there is a line space separating it from your final paragraph.

Although phrases like “best wishes” or “kind regards” are other commonly used complimentary closes, they are better suited for situations where you are on a first-name basis with the recipient. You likely will not be on a first-name basis with the head of the admissions committee, so it is best that you use a more formal option such as “sincerely” or “yours truly” in your cover letter.

Following your complimentary close, you will include your first and last name. The way you write your name here should be the same as it appears on your resume and in the header of your cover letter. Your name will also be separated from your complimentary close by one line space.

You may also want to insert your signature above your name. This can be done by handwriting it, taking a picture of it, and scanning it onto your computer to insert into your letter, or by including an e-signature. Including your signature adds a professional touch to your letter and will be noticed by admissions committee members.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

As has been covered so far in this article, there are a lot of things you should do when writing your MBA cover letter. There are also a number of pitfalls you will want to avoid in your cover letter, as these can cause admissions committees to not move forward with your application. Some of the common mistakes to avoid include:

1. Writing one general cover letter and only changing the names.

Admissions committee members will be able to tell the letter wasn’t tailor-made for their program, and a generic letter will come across as lazy.

2. Stuffing your cover letter with everything on your resume and not giving yourself enough space to detail the experiences that matter the most.

Your resume already shows all your work experiences and skills. Do not waste valuable cover letter space by putting your whole resume into it.

3. Forgetting to change the name of the school or admissions committee member to whom the letter is addressed.

Reviewers will notice this immediately. They will see it as a lack of attention to detail and this mistake could result in your application being rejected.

4. Not following the basic format requirements set out by the business school.

The admissions committee won’t be keen to admit you if you demonstrate that you cannot follow instructions.

5. Neglecting the principle of “show us, don’t tell us.”

You want to show the admissions committees the impact you had as a result of your combined skills and experiences, not just that you possess certain skills or had particular experiences. 

6. Using the wrong prefix to address the recipients of your letters.

As stated earlier, it is best not to assume your recipient’s prefix and instead omit it altogether. Your recipients will not appreciate being addressed incorrectly, and it could negatively impact your chance of being admitted.

7. Sending in a cover letter with grammar, punctuation, or syntactical errors .

A letter containing errors shows you didn’t take the time to proofread and shows poor attention to detail. Make sure you take the time to make sure your letter is perfected before you send it, or have someone else review it to catch any errors you may have missed.

MBA Cover Letter Example

Here is an example of a cover letter written by a successful applicant to the MIT Sloan MBA program. As you will see, this applicant used the narrative format to describe how they started a blockchain currency transfer in response to seeing first-hand the amount lost due to transfer fees.

The narrative format allowed this applicant to tell a story about a relevant experience that demonstrated to the admissions committee their strengths and accomplishments, and to a lesser extent, what they would bring to the program.

The introduction sets the scene and explains why the applicant chose to apply to MIT Sloan by relating what they’ve learned about the school and the way their skills meet the program’s goals.

They do this in a way that’s not pushy or boastful but rather have found a way to weave these facts into their narrative. The conclusion summarizes what was discussed in the cover letter, including restating the applicant’s interest in Sloan. Finally, the applicant ends the letter with their name and signature.

1. What should I put in my cover letter? Do I write about everything that’s on my resume?

Your cover letter should focus on key items from your resume that are the best representation of what your skills and abilities have enabled you to accomplish at this point in your career. It’s important to keep in mind that your letters of recommendation will provide far greater insight into your performance in specific roles, so you don’t need to describe those same roles at length in your cover letter since your recommenders will already be providing those details.

2. How do I know whether I should use a narrative format or bullet point format?

This decision will ultimately come down to which one will best help you tell your story. If you have two main things you want to discuss in your cover letter, the narrative format will enable you to provide more details about these items. It will also be the best way to use the available space since you don’t want to leave a noticeable amount of blank space in your letter. 

If you have three or four items you want to discuss in your letter, using the bullet format may be the more suitable choice for you. This will allow you to make shorter notes without having to worry about transitioning between sentences, which can eat up valuable space. The choice between formats is based on your preference and which one you believe will help you produce a convincing cover letter.

3. How do I know if my cover letter is tailored to the program enough?

The easiest way to tell whether your cover letter is tailored to a specific program enough is to ask yourself: “Could I send this letter to another school and get into their MBA program?” If the answer is yes, you will need to make some revisions to make the letter relevant to only that program.

Although you may wish to discuss similar aspects of your profile in many of your letters, you will need to make adjustments depending on the school’s mission, values, and the focus of the program.

For instance, if a program values innovation, such as MIT Sloan, your cover letter should emphasize your ability to think critically and creatively solve problems. If a program values ongoing learning, such as Berkeley Haas, you should highlight your curiosity and times when you’ve challenged yourself to learn a new skill.

4. What skills and experiences should I write about in my cover letter?

The aspects of your profile you choose to emphasize in your MBA cover letter will vary depending on the school. Paying close attention to the mission and values of each school you’re interested in will give you insight into who the school is looking to admit, and how to show that your skills and experiences align with their mission and values, demonstrating that you’re a good fit for the program.

The curriculum and learning outcomes established by the business school will show you more specifically what’s important to the school. Knowing details about these aspects will further help you to customize your cover letter.

5. How do I format my MBA cover letter?

Formatting varies by program, but typically you can expect to use a 10 to 12 point font size in a common font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri). Page margins should be set to one inch on all sides. Your header should contain your contact information and be consistent with the style of your resume.

6. How can I be sure my MBA cover letter is error-free?

There are a lot of different programs out there that will check for spelling and grammar errors. Most word processors have spelling and grammar check functions built into them, and running these a few times will help to catch basic errors. Reading your cover letter out loud will also allow you to pick up on errors as well as identify any spots where the sentence flow isn’t natural or where the meaning of what you wrote isn’t clear.

It is best to consult an expert to get a more holistic review of your cover letter to ensure it is error-free and that you have pitched yourself in the best way possible.

Writing a cover letter can be an intimidating process, but it doesn’t have to be. Doing research about the programs that interest you will help you understand the types of students who are admitted and which of your personal qualities you should emphasize in your letter. Each school has a unique mission, so it’s essential that every cover letter you send is customized to each specific program.

When writing your letter, be mindful of your format and show the committee the outcome of your experiences and how they prepared you for your future as an MBA student and graduate. Now that you know how to write a cover letter for MBA programs, you’re ready to begin writing your winning cover letter.

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How to Get the Perfect MBA Letter of Recommendation—With Examples

The ultimate guide to the MBA recommendation letter, including examples of letters that helped applicants earn admission to top 10 MBA programs.

Posted March 12, 2024

Featuring Alice S. , John K. , and Matt K.

How to Get into a Top 10 MBA Program

Wednesday, april 10.

11:00 PM UTC · 60 minutes

Table of Contents

All right—you've kicked off your MBA application process, chosen your schools, and are diving into the application itself. Now it's time to turn your attention to the recommendation letters.

Let's start with the basics:

What is the MBA Letter of Recommendation, and Why Is It So Important?

The reference letters are a critical part of your application. MBA admissions officers value them so highly because they represent a chance to learn about you from an independent third party.

This, of course, is what makes them so challenging—they're the one part of your application over which you don't have complete control. It's important, therefore, to choose your letter-writers wisely, prepare them adequately, follow up with them throughout the process, and thank them afterward.

Who Should I Ask to Write My MBA Recommendation Letters?

Who you choose to write your letters of recommendation is the most important decision in the process. A good choice, and a good letter, can make or break your application, so give this step the time and attention it deserves.

So how do you choose? We recommend compiling a list of all possible recommenders, then ranking them according to a set list of criteria, so you can make an informed decision.

Below are the six criteria to consider when choosing your MBA letter-writers:

1. School Requirement

First and foremost, does the recommender meet your targeted school's criteria? Each MBA program offers detailed instructions about who should write letters of recommendation, so make sure you're following those instructions. Some schools require that your recommender be your current direct supervisor; others mandate that one of your recommenders hail from an academic background. Check beforehand, and follow these guidelines.

2. Strength/Length of Relationship

How well does the recommender know you? How long have they known you? This is perhaps the single most important factor in choosing a recommender. Yes, it’s nice if your recommender is the President of a Fortune 500 company, and went to the same business school you’re applying to, but it’s much more important that they know you inside and out, and can speak about your personal and professional achievements from deep experience. A heartfelt letter from your previous supervisor at your Analyst job is far more valuable than a copied-and-pasted note on Jamie Dimon’s letterhead.

3. Level of Support

Is the recommender excited about you applying to business school, and are they open to collaboration? If so, they’re a good fit. If they’re skeptical or openly against you applying, or seem too busy to write a thoughtful letter, consider someone else. A negative or even a simply neutral letter can dramatically reduce your chances of admission.

4. Communication

Is the recommender articulate, both in person and in writing? Will they be able to compellingly answer the recommendation questions at your chosen schools, speak eloquently about your professional competencies, and present a clear image of you as a candidate? How well your recommender communicates will determine how effective their letter is, so make sure the person you choose knows their way around words.

Can the recommender speak about you from a perspective not found elsewhere in your application? Great letters of recommendation cover different angles of you, personally and professionally. It’s better to have one letter from work, for instance, and one from a local charity you support, than two from work. Diversify by choosing recommenders in different categories!

6. Seniority

Finally, is the recommender a senior executive, or do they have an MBA? Remember, this is absolutely not a requirement; this is the last criteria on the list, but all things equal, it’s nice if your recommender has an impressive title, and a bonus if they have an MBA from your dream school.

To help you evaluate all of your options, we recommend making a side-by-side comparison. To do that, use our helpful  Recommender Chart . Fill in the criteria for each recommender; as you go, you may also want to assign numeric values for each criterion, to facilitate your final decision.

*Note that if you’re a deferred MBA candidate, these same criteria apply to you—you’ll simply choose from a more limited set of options, likely personal mentors and managers from internships.

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What Are the Parts of the MBA Recommendation Letter?

So, you've picked the mentors/colleagues who will write your MBA letters of recommendation. Well done!

Next up is to actually ask for, and secure, fantastic letters. To do that, you'll first need to understand the two different types of letters.

They are as follows:

1. GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation (LOR)

Writing a different letter of recommendation for each school you're applying to would be a lengthy, difficult task. Thankfully, most top MBA programs use the Common Letter of Recommendation (LOR), published by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Download the Common LOR Sample Instructions here .

The Common LOR contains three sections:

1. Recommender Information —Basic details like title, role, and contact information

2. Leadership Assessment Grid — A series of questions where recommenders can rank their candidate on various behaviors and attributes in the following five categories:

• Cognitive abilities
• Personal qualities
• Achievement

3. Recommendation Questions — Longer form questions that comprise the bulk of the actual recommendation, as follows:

• Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (up to 50 words)
• How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (e.g., what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) (up to 500 words)
• Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (up to 500 words)
• Is there anything else we should know? (optional and no word limit)

GMAC Common LOR Schools:

• Asia School of Business, in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management
• Boston College, Carroll School of Management
• Boston University, Questrom School of Business
• Brandeis International Business School
• Carnegie Melon University, Tepper School of Business
• College of New Jersey
• College of William & Mary, Mason School of Business
• Cornell University, SC Johnson School of Business
• Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business
• Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
• Emory University, Goizueta Business School
• Fudan University School of Management
• Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
• Georgia Tech University, Scheller College of Business
• Harvard Business School
• Indian School of Business
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management
• New York University, Stern School of Business
• Northeastern University, D’Amore-McKim School of Business
• Notre Dame University, Mendoza School of Business
• Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business
• Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business
• Sabanci University, Sabanci School of Management
• Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business
• Simon Fraser University, Beedie School of Business
• Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business
• Stanford Graduate School of Business
• University of California at Davis, Graduate School of Management
• University of California at Irvine, Merage School of Business
• University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management
• University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• University of Florida, Warrington College of Business
• University of Georgia, Terry College of Business
• University of Kansas, School of Business
• University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
• University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
• University of Rochester, Simon Business School
• University of San Francisco School of Management
• University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
• University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management
• Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School
• Yale School of Management

Below, we provide you with a free recommender prep doc that you can send to your recommenders when recommending a LOR. This document works well for the Common letter of rec as well.

Specific Letters of Recommendation

Of the top MBA programs, there are three schools that do not accept the Common LOR. They're here below, along with the questions they ask:

University of Pennsylvania, Wharton:

• Please provide an example(s) that illustrate why you believe this candidate will find success in the Wharton MBA classroom.
• Please provide an example(s) that illustrate why you believe this candidate will find success throughout their career.
• (Optional) Is there anything else we should know?
• Two Assessments: Choose up to two traits that you feel best represent the candidate you are recommending

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business:

• Kellogg has a diverse student body and values students who are inclusive and encouraging of others with differing perspectives and backgrounds. Please tell us about a time when you witnessed the candidate living these values. (300 words)
• How does the candidate’s performance compare to those of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Please provide specific examples. (300 words)
• Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the candidate. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (250 words)

Columbia Business School:

• One letter of recommendation from a professor, mentor, internship supervisor or employer. We ask recommenders to consider the following when writing their recommendation (recommended limit - 1000 words): Please share how you feel the applicant will contribute to the Columbia Business School classroom and community.

How Do I Ask for an MBA Letter of Recommendation?

Now that you've decided on your recommenders, and are familiar with the different types of letters, it's time to make the ask.

So, how do you do that?

We recommend being as direct and honest with your recommenders as possible. Meet them in person, if you can, and tell them that you'll be applying to business schools this coming year, that you value their input tremendously, and that you'd be grateful for their support. We also recommend making your ask as early in the process as possible,  at least three months  before your application deadlines. This will give your recommenders a chance to write excellent supportive letters, and for you to pivot to other recommenders if, for whatever reason, your first choices fall through. Have more questions on application timing? Click here for  A Comprehensive MBA Application Timeline . To get the absolute best recommendation letters possible, we suggest bringing a short prep packet for each of your recommenders, to guide them through the process. This brings us to:

How Do I Get the Best Recommendation Letters Possible?

Before we get to the aforementioned recommender packet, let's cover a few basic things. All recommendations  must do the following things:

1. Be Authentic

This goes without saying, but any letter of recommendation submitted on your behalf must actually be written by your recommender. You are free to offer suggestions and guidance, in the form of the recommender packet, and even to review a draft of the recommendation letter (if you've indicated as much on your application), but you cannot write your own letters. Business schools take issues of integrity like this very seriously, and the surest way to get rejected is to cross the line here. It's better to have an imperfect but honest letter from a mentor or current supervisor than to get dinged because you wrote the letter yourself. Just don't do it.

2. Answer the Prompts

Okay, this sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many recommenders don’t actually answer the given questions. It's not enough to simply state that you're an amazing employee, or that you performed excellently in your last annual review. Business schools ask very specific questions, therefore a great letter of recommendation must provide very specific answers.

3. Be Hyper-Specific

A great letter must also be hyper-detailed. It’s not enough for your supervisor to claim that you’re the best employee she’s ever worked with. Without specifics, that statement is useless. Your recommender needs to share concrete professional and personal information, precise details about your performance, and specific examples of how you went above and beyond expectations. This level of specificity will alert the admissions committee that this recommender knows you well, and will give weight to their claims about your prospects as an MBA candidate.

4. Be Effusive

Finally, provided your recommender can, in fact, share concrete details about, yes一they should be extremely effusive. No admissions committee ever accepted a candidate who was merely “proficient” or “satisfactory.” The job of the letter of recommendation is to indicate to the admissions committee that you are a diamond in the rough: a candidate so exceptionally rare that they’d be crazy not to admit you.

The MBA Recommender Prep Packet

All right—you need to get specific, glowing praise from your recommender. How? By preparing your recommenders with a detailed packet. A strong recommender packet should do the following things:

• First and foremost, thank your recommender for agreeing to help you. They’re busy people, just like you, and writing a strong letter is a substantial time commitment
• Outline the schools you're applying to, and their respective deadlines. Juggling due dates is hard enough; make sure your recommender is crystal clear about the date by which they need to complete everything
• Explain the sections of the recommendation
• Offer suggested responses to each of the recommender questions, with specific examples. Anecdotes from your shared work experience are particularly helpful; we recommend the same STAR framework that you should use in your MBA resume and essays: situation, problem, action, results, and key learnings. The more detailed you are in your prep document, the more detailed your letter will be

To help you out, fill out this form to get our Free Recommender Prep Template , which comes with a specific example. Feel free to use the template to assist your recommenders, and check out the example as a means of inspiration, but of course, do not copy the material!

Sample MBA Recommendation Letters

As promised, we're including here a sample MBA recommendation letter. This set of answers earned this candidate a spot in the Chicago Booth Scholars Program (University of Chicago's deferred MBA program).

Question #1: Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization.

I’ve known [ candidate ] personally since he was 6 years old, and professionally in his capacity as an Intern at [ energy company ]. In my 22 years of running this company, [ candidate ] ranks among the very highest Interns we’ve ever employed, and it is my privilege to wholeheartedly recommend him to your program. [ candidate ] graduated with distinction from the [ university ] petroleum engineering program. Now, I know that [ university ] doesn’t immediately conjure up associations of academic excellence, but in the world of petroleum engineering, the school is a known powerhouse, and graduating with distinction is a significant achievement, one not to be overlooked. [ candidate ] went on to further distinction after the [ university ] by enrolling in the Graduate Student at Large program at the University of Chicago Booth, where, he informed me, he earned an A minus in his microeconomics course (where he was enrolled alongside some of the country’s top MBA candidates). [ candidate ] has, in my estimation, demonstrated academic excellence throughout his education; I believe he’ll be a powerful contributor in the classroom of the Booth School of Business. [ candidate ] also demonstrated exceptional performance at [ energy company ]. First, I selected him as an Intern, over hundreds of other candidates, not because of his industry knowledge—there were, in fact, many others whose knowledge of natural gas far outstripped [ candidate ]—but because of his stated, earnest desire to have a positive impact within the company. [ candidate ], in his interview process, was clear that he wanted to see [ energy company ] take a firmer stance on environmentally sustainable practices, and I respected and valued his perspective. Then, when we hired him, he didn’t disappoint. We asked [ candidate ] to organize and digitize oil well documentation; essentially, that meant he needed to transcribe a series of well parameters and production data into our system. Not only did [ candidate ] complete the project ahead of time, but he built an interactive database that allowed us determine what methods produced the highest amount of gas—work I might have expected from an overachieving full-time Landman or Engineer, but not an Intern. In a nutshell, [ candidate ]’s work went well above and beyond what we’d hoped for and has helped us fine-tune our operations and oil recovery to this day. Finally, from my observations, [ candidate ] not only excels academically and in the workplace, but he also has tremendous vision for his future, and the future of our planet. I’ve had the opportunity to discuss his long-term goal of creating a geothermal venture that will ultimately make existing oil wells carbon neutral, and though he still has some kinks to iron out and obstacles to think through, as a veteran of this industry I can say with conviction that his idea is both novel and plausible, and something I’d like to see him succeed in creating.

Question #2: How does the applicant’s performance compare to other well-qualified individuals in similar roles?

It was, in fact, in these conversations about [ candidate ]’s geothermal venture that I offered my most significant constructive input. When [ candidate ] first came to me with his passion about renewable energy, his ideas were premature and lacked focus. Put simply, [ candidate ] had too many ideas, including (but not limited to) integrating solar panels on oil wells, bio-algae and hydroelectric integration into residential pool systems. The most important piece of constructive feedback I gave [ candidate ] was to narrow his focus, significantly, and develop a single idea that he believed had the greatest potential for positive impact. [ candidate ] took this advice to heart. In each of our subsequent conversations, he presented a more refined, focused idea. He quickly discarded less feasible ventures, for instance solar panels on oil wells and hydroelectric integration with residential pools, and settled on geothermal, which strongly aligns with his undergraduate training in petroleum engineering. [ candidate ] then, quite intelligently, came up with an idea for a business that would leverage his family’s extensive background in oil production, but which would nonetheless move our energy industry towards sustainability. Most recently, he’s identified a single operation, a site in [ location ], which will serve as the first test case for his venture, and plans to prototype his idea during the coming year. I’m proud of how much progress [ candidate ] has made in the time since our first conversation, and I look forward to continuing to mentor and guide him on his path in any way I can. Given his background, and his current trajectory, I strongly believe that [ candidate ] has the acuity, technical skills, and passion to make a real dent in global climate change. If you have any questions, I hope you’ll reach out so I can further endorse [ candidate ] for acceptance to your school. I believe he’ll be a meaningful contributor, and one day, an accomplished alum.

How to Time Your Letters of Recommendation

Lastly, a few tips on timing your letters of recommendation.

1. Start Early 一 At Least 3 Months Before Deadline

Writing a letter of recommendation takes time and effort. Out of respect for your recommender’s time, and to make sure you get the best letter possible, sit down with your letter writers at least three months before the submission deadline.

2. Touch Base 一 Six Weeks Before Submission

Touch base with your recommenders no later than six weeks before the deadline, just to make sure they’re on track. If your recommenders are willing to collaborate with you, they might offer to review a draft of their letter at this time. Feel free to offer suggestions, but remember: it’s their letter, so they’ll have the ultimate say.

3. Final Check-In 一 One Week Before

Finally, check in with your recommenders one week before application deadlines, in case they have any questions about the letter, or how to submit it. Encourage them to submit a day or two early, as well, so there are no surprises at the finish line.

Follow these steps, and you’ll be on your way to a great MBA recommendation letter, submitted ahead of schedule! Don’t forget to put in your email here for access to our free recommender prep template for some additional guidance.

Where Can I Start?

Applying to business schools can be a daunting ordeal. Thankfully, you don't need to do it alone. Below are some of our highest-rated MBA admissions coaches; browse all of them here .

Here are some other articles you may find useful as you put together your applications.

• MBA Recommender Questions and Criteria for the Top 10 Business Schools
• How to Write a Powerful MBA Essay
• How to Craft the Ultimate MBA Resume-With Examples
• How to Get Started on Your Letters of Recommendation for Graduate School
• Rejected From an MBA Program? Here's What to Do Next

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MBA Motivation Letter: How to Write One

Includes mba motivation letters sample.

Featured Expert: Aali Malik, MBA

Looking at an MBA motivation letter sample is a great start to being drafting your own motivation letter for your MBA application. The term MBA motivation letter is often considered interchangeable with MBA cover letter, and both of these are sometimes confused with the MBA personal statement, statement of purpose or letter of intent. But a well-written MBA motivation letter can be a focused and effective short letter that will strengthen your MBA application, especially if you want to convey your enthusiasm for getting your MBA or share with the admissions committee what is driving you to future success. For extra help in writing and refining your MBA motivation letter, you can get professional feedback from an MBA admission consulting service or MBA essay consultant. In this blog, we’ll explore what an MBA motivation letter is and how to write one. We’ve also provided some sample MBA motivation letters to guide you.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 8 min read

What is an mba motivation letter.

An MBA motivation letter is one of many different types of written documents an MBA applicant might include in their application to an MBA graduate program. MBA motivation letters are similar to a personal statement or MBA letter of intent , but there are some key differences. A good MBA motivation letter is designed to share with the reader what your future aspirations are, why you want to pursue an MBA at that school and why you are a top-choice applicant.

An MBA motivation letter is not the same as a personal statement, statement of purpose or letter of intent. It serves a similar function in an MBA application, but its content and structure are closer to than of a cover letter you might write for a job application. Your MBA application might also ask for an MBA cover letter sample , but this is a different document than a motivation letter. Motivation letters are typically written for graduate and undergraduate study programs, or unpaid job positions, for example volunteer work or internships. Motivation letters focus on what you can contribute and what your future career goals in business are. Your MBA cover letter serves as a sort of introduction to your entire application and lays out why you are a good fit for an MBA program or addresses any weaknesses in your application such as low GMAT scores.

An MBA motivation letter has a similar structure and format to a cover letter you might write for a job interview. It should be no longer than one page long, or around 400 words. It also needs to adhere to a formal letter format, which means it has to include your full name and contact information, the addressee’s name, title and contact information, and the date.

A formal letter uses a professional, straightforward tone and uses formal greetings and sign offs. You should also include a sincere thank you at the end of your letter to the person who will read it. As with cover letters, your MBA motivation letter will also include a brief introduction of yourself, 2 to 3 body paragraphs outlining your main points, and a closing paragraph before your thank you and sign off. So, a basic template of an MBA motivation letter would look just like an MBA cover letter.

Here we’ve included a few MBA motivation letter samples to guide you on how to write your own! For the purposes of these samples, we’ve left out contact information, names and dates you would include at the top of your letter.

MBA motivation letter sample #1

Dear Dr. Wexton,

I am taking this opportunity to write to you as part of my application to the [Business School] MBA program. I am recently graduated from [Undergraduate Program] and have decided to continue my education in graduate school. After careful thought, I have decided an MBA will best suit my career goals.

I was fortunate to not need to work during my undergraduate years, so I have not gained a great deal of work experience. I have worked several part-time positions and I am proud to be a dedicated volunteer for a number of university clubs and community programs. These experiences you can find in my resume and extracurriculars, which are included in my application package. Through these experiences, I have discovered where I would want to focus my work as a future businessperson.

Teamwork is an essential part of volunteering, and indeed in working with any team. I have been fortunate to work with many different teams, both large and small, and the interpersonal dynamics at play, the way a group of people can come together to create an effective whole, has always fascinated me. I feel my own traits of being detail-oriented, compassionate and open-minded have also helped me positively contribute to the teams I’ve been a part of. This has fostered an interest in working in a business consulting environment, specifically with a focus on team management and employee relationships. To show my commitment to this goal, I have also pursued a Scrum Master certification to add to my professional experience, as I do not have a long CV.

An MBA from your school will teach me to become the best team management specialist I can be, and I truly believe it will allow me to find the job positions and experience I need to further develop myself professionally. Thank you for your time and consideration of my application to this MBA program. I hope to hear back from the admissions committee soon.

Stacey Steadman

MBA motivation letter sample #2

Dear Professor Alvaro,

I am writing this letter today to express my interest in the MBA program at [Business School]. As part of my application, I wanted to write this motivation letter to explain my decision to pursue an MBA as a non-traditional applicant.

This year, I turned 43, and I truly hadn’t thought I would make the decision to go back to school and continue my education. My background is in the Arts, where I have worked for the past 15 years as a volunteer, a professional artist and the co-chair of the [Arts Foundation] in my city. I have enjoyed my time with the Arts immensely, and all of the positions I have held have been incredibly rewarding experiences. However, I have recently been offered an opportunity to launch an arts-related organization of my own, and I have found my knowledge of the business side of running things to be insufficient. After researching my options, I decided it was time to return to school to earn my MBA so I could provide myself the best tools and know-how for the job of running a large arts organization.

My dedication to the arts and my professional development makes this the clear next step for me. In researching MBA programs, I specifically chose your program for three reasons. The first is that [Business School] values creativity, sustainability and collaboration, all important values to both the arts community and myself, personally. The second reason I chose to apply to this program is that two of your instructors have backgrounds in the Arts as well, which tells me your program is diverse and well-rounded. The final reason I made the decision to apply for this MBA program is the curriculum focuses on a broad, solid understanding of business while recognizing the importance of maintaining relationships. I believe enrolling in this program will be an excellent decision for myself, my peers in the arts community and my team members who count on me.

Thank you very much for reading my letter and considering my candidacy as a non-traditional applicant to your MBA program. I truly believe a collaboration between us would be fruitful. I look forward to your reply.

Kind regards,

Susan Kloepki

MBA motivation letter sample #3

Dear Mr. Roberts,

I am interested in attending [Business School] to earn my Master’s in Business Administration. My motivation for pursuing a graduate degree and my interest in studying business come from my background as the oldest son of a single mother.

As the older brother of 3 siblings, I learned very early in life the importance of setting an example, collaboration and conflict management. Alongside my mother, I worked to help bring in income and care for my younger siblings. As a working high school student, I started to give greater thought to my future. I made the decision to apply to university and cultivate bigger career dreams. Despite any initial self-doubt, I was accepted to [University] and completed my degree in political science with honors. Coming from a family with a disadvantaged background, this was a proud accomplishment for me. It was also a valuable lesson in self-discipline and leadership, as I encountered the new challenges of being away from my family and committing myself to study. I continued to work part-time while earning my degree, and my interest in starting my own business was fostered.

After graduating, my decision to continue my education and pursue my MBA was cemented. I realized if I wanted to run my own business, I would need to learn the hard skills necessary to be a success. I feel I have a foundation already in the other integral skills such as leadership and collaboration. The MBA program at [Business School] I know values leadership, integrity and vision, and this is the reason I chose this program. I know my goals are ambitious and my vision is grand, but I have already proven to myself that I can rise to meet the challenge. I feel I am prepared to take on the next, and I am excited at the prospect of further developing as a leader, student of business, individual and older brother.

I am grateful to you for reading my letter and considering me for acceptance to the [Business School] MBA program. I hope to hear back soon from the admissions committee, and I look forward to enrolling in the fall.

An MBA motivation letter is a part of the MBA application, sometimes required and sometimes optional. It is a short, formal letter outlining why a candidate is applying to an MBA program and what skills they will bring to the program.

MBA motivation letters begin with a short introduction of who you are and why you are writing. This is to give the reader a snapshot of who you are as a person and why you are applying for an MBA program.

MBA motivation letters should include information on your career goals, why you are the best fit for an MBA program and any experiences you have which demonstrate your skills and strengths you can bring to the program. You can also mention how earning an MBA from a particular school will help you achieve your goals.

A motivation letter is typically no longer than one page, or around 400 words. 

Not always. Some MBA programs may ask for other written components as part of the application, or they may offer students the option of writing a motivation letter if they wish.

Although similar in length and structure, a cover letter is typically written as part of a job application, and a motivation letter is written for a school application or an unpaid position, such as an internship or volunteer work. An MBA motivation letter is written for a graduate MBA program. 

To write a good MBA motivation letter, keep your letter concise, formal and to the point. Eliminate unnecessary details or flowery language. Focus on one to three main points you want to make and try to stay within one page of writing. 

In general, an MBA motivation letter focuses on your big picture goals and future career aspirations. It may also discuss how your chosen MBA program will help you achieve these goals and why you are a good fit. Your MBA personal statement will share your past experiences and influences and how they have shaped your decision to apply to an MBA program. 

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Your MBA Applications Roadmap

MBA Cover Letter

A cover letter is often the first thing that an MBA admissions committee reads when they receive your application, so it’s important to make a good impression with it. Your cover letter should tie together all of the pieces of your application so the committee can get a sense of your overall qualifications for the program.

If there are any parts of your application that require an explanation, such as a gap in education or employment, this is your chance to let them know. Your cover letter should be brief and to-the-point, and leave the reader wanting to find out more about you from the other parts of your application.

A good cover letter won’t make up for a mediocre application packet, but it can get the reader on your side, looking for the positives in your application.

How Important is an MBA Cover Letter?

Each MBA program has its own requirements, and may or may not call for a cover letter. Some programs may ask you to answer essay questions or write a Statement of Purpose instead of or in addition to a cover letter. Always check your school’s admissions criteria to make sure your cover letter is the right length and style for your program.

For example, the Sloan School of Management at MIT asks for a cover letter of no more than 300 words in the form of “standard business correspondence.” It should have “one or more examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria” for the program. They also ask for a 1-minute Video Statement introducing yourself and explaining why you want to attend MIT. They don’t require a separate essay or Statement of Purpose.

The Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University doesn’t require a cover letter, but has guidelines if you choose to submit one. It should be no more than 1 page and should “include reasons why you are qualified for a place in the graduate degree program, how your participation will add value to the graduate degree program, or explain any other information useful to the admissions committee.”

Some schools in Europe have begun to require video essays instead of written cover letters, such as the SDA Bocconi School of Management. This allows the admissions team to recognize names and faces out of hundreds of applications.

So, how important your cover letter is depends on what other materials are requested. If your cover letter is the only space you have to introduce yourself, then use it wisely. This is especially important if you have an unusual resume or education that doesn’t fit neatly into the boxes of a typical MBA application.

But if your application includes one or more essays that already provide an overview of your resume and career goals, it may be less important. If your program doesn’t specify the criteria for a cover letter, then it’s best to keep it short and professional and let your resume and other materials provide the information the admissions team needs.

What They’ll Be Looking For

When the admissions committee reads your cover letter, they’ll be trying to get a sense of who you are as a candidate and if you’re likely to be a good fit for their program.

Think of it like the summary on the back of a book: you’ll need to read the whole book to get the whole story, but the summary lets you know what to expect and whether it’s likely to be a match for your interests and reading preferences.

Your cover letter serves a similar purpose. It gives the admissions team an idea of who you are, which is then expanded on by the other parts of your application. In a way, it’s about personalizing your application.

A good cover letter shows that you can follow directions and have done some research into the particular program you’re applying for. The admissions team wants to see that you understand what the program is about and what you can bring to it.

This is also your opportunity to manage expectations. If your GMAT score is lower than the school’s average, or you don’t have a lot of work experience yet, you can highlight other strengths that you bring to the table.

That way, when the team turns the page to your resume or test scores, they won’t be surprised by what they find, and are more likely to give you a fair assessment.

You can also use your cover letter to mention anyone who has agreed to write a Letter of Recommendation for you, so the admissions team knows what other documents to look forward to in your application packet.

Tips for Writing an MBA Cover Letter

The length and format of your letter will depend on what your program requires, but there are several tips that apply to all cover letters. If you’ve ever written a cover letter to apply for a job , then you should have a general idea of what a cover letter looks like.

A typical cover letter has 3-4 paragraphs and is written on standard letter-sized paper in 12-point font and with 1-inch margins. The letter should include the date and recipient’s address at the top left and your name and signature at the bottom.

Here are a few more tips that apply specifically to cover letters for MBA programs:

Write a unique cover letter for each program

Don’t use the same cover letter for every application. Show the admissions team why you want to attend this particular program . Some of the information you include will be the same for each school, but the letters shouldn’t be identical.

Highlight any experience on your resume that aligns with the school’s focus or values. If there’s a particular course or professor you’re interested in, mention it. Also make note of any other connections you have to the school, such as a visit to campus or conversation with a recent graduate that influenced your decision to apply.

Address the letter to the right person

Avoid starting off your letter with a generic “To Whom It May Concern.” If the application instructions don’t say who to address the letter to, then look up the name of the Dean of Admissions or another faculty member who is likely to read your application.

Your letter should be more formal than an email. Addressing the letter properly shows that you understand the conventions of professional business correspondence. It may seem simple, but it’s an easy way for the admissions team to tell a serious candidate from someone who just put a cover letter together at the last minute.

Don’t forget to introduce yourself

Your cover letter should get the admissions team interested in you as a candidate, but it shouldn’t leave them guessing. Remember, this is your introduction, so let them know a bit about who you are and your work and educational background.

Instead of vague statements like “as you’ll see from the work experience on my resume,” mention your “5 years of employment in the financial services industry.” Specific names and numbers are more likely to get the reader’s attention.

Biographical details, such as your country of origin or the time that you spent studying abroad, are also useful to present a well-rounded picture.

Advocate for yourself (and back it up)

The cover letter is an opportunity to sell yourself as a qualified applicant, and that means explaining any inconsistencies in your application. Did you change your course of study in the middle of your degree? Did you take a year off of work to volunteer overseas?

Gaps or inconsistencies in your resume may make perfect sense once you explain them. Ideally, you’ll have a strong Letter of Recommendation to back up your claims. A shift in your career path or education may make more sense if you have a supervisor who is able to vouch for your abilities and on-the-job work experience.

That said, don’t exaggerate or make things up. A clever cover letter won’t get you into an MBA program if you don’t meet the minimum admission requirements.

MBA Cover Letter Example

Let’s take a look at an example to see what a standard cover letter should look like. This letter was submitted as part of an application for an MBA at West Coast University. The letter is only around 150 words in all, making it a very clear and concise example.

The letter starts off with a standard greeting “To Members of the Admissions Committee”. You can address your letter to an individual if you know the name of the Dean, but this is an effective introduction and is more specific than “To Whom It May Concern”.

Next, the applicant clearly states the purpose of the letter and goes on to reference a personal connection to the school in the form of an alumni interview. The information includes a specific name and date if the admissions committee wants to verify it.

“This letter expresses my interest in applying for admission to the School of Management’s Fall 2003 MBA Program. On December 21, 2002, I had the pleasure of interviewing with your alumnus, Mr. Stephen Meeker, a meeting that solidified my decision.”

Then, the applicant mentions what it is about the program that they’re drawn to. They show the research that they’ve done and highlight some of the program’s features:

“After comprehensive research into your program, I was pleased with your educational policies and the culturally diverse environment in which I can learn much from both professors and students of many nations.”

This paragraph is short, and could include a little bit more information on the specific focus of study or likely career path, but it gets the job done.

Next, they bring up their resume as evidence of their qualifications. Without going into too much detail up front, they mention a few skills and experiences that the admissions team can look out for in other sections of the application:

The enclosed resume provides my inclusive and accomplished background, including:

Seven years of experience in international banking.

Strong quantitative and analytical skills.

Fluency and solid communication capabilities in English, French, and Italian.

Inspirational leadership in a cross-cultural environment in France and Italy.

While they don’t mention much about their educational background, their skill in three different languages is likely to make them stand out from other applicants.

Finally, they go on to mention future steps they will take to further their investment in the program, including an upcoming visit to campus. They provide contact info so that they can easily be reached for the next step in the application process:

“I will be visiting West Coast University during the second week of February to audit classes and interact with the students. Should you require additional information, I can be reached at the number above.”

This is a relatively short cover letter, but it includes all of the important information in a clear and straightforward way. The applicant could have offered more details on their education, for example, but chose to highlight their overseas experience instead.

In general, a cover letter is less detailed than a personal essay or Statement of Purpose, so it’s best to stick to a single page and 3-4 paragraphs. If your program asks for a longer letter or a personal essay, you can go into more detail about your current employment or career goals, but don’t repeat the same info too many times in your application.

If you’re asked to submit a video introduction instead, you can cover the same points in your video as you would in your cover letter. Your video should appear casual and less formal than a cover letter, but it’s a good idea to make some notes and rehearse it a few times to make sure you don’t forget to include anything.

A cover letter isn’t the most in-depth part of your application, but it lets the admissions team know what to expect from you. Just like the preface to a book, it can set the tone of your application and influence whether the admissions team looks at the rest of your documents with a hopeful or a skeptical eye.

A good cover letter will help the admissions team see a real person, not just a resume and a GMAT score, when they consider your application.

If you’re not sure what to say in your cover letter, don’t worry. Whether your MBA program requires a standard cover letter, a personal essay, or a video, we can help you figure it out. We’ll make sure that you’re clear on the application requirements and submit the right type of cover letter for your program to increase your chances of success.

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Stories about your behaviors, impact, and personal qualities told by others play an essential role in our evaluation of your application.

Your letters of recommendation should provide specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate what you have done and how you have done it.

Required: Two letters of recommendation. One recommendation from your current direct supervisor (or next best alternative) at work, and one recommendation from someone else who has supervised you.

Both letters of recommendation must be submitted by the deadline of the round in which you apply. You must not have any involvement in the drafting, writing, translation, or submission of the letters, including having any outside party review or edit the letters before they are submitted.

First Recommendation

You must obtain at least one recommendation from your current direct supervisor. We understand, however, that you may be in a situation that prevents you from providing a recommendation from your current direct supervisor. For example, you may:

• Be self-employed
• Work for a family business in which a family member is your supervisor
• Have begun a new position where your direct supervisor does not know you well
• Have not notified your direct supervisor that you are applying to business school
• Be a student

If you are unable to provide a letter from your current direct supervisor, use your judgment in finding an alternative source for your recommendation: a previous supervisor, an indirect manager, a client, a member of your board of directors, or any other individual who supervises your work.

If you don't have full-time work experience, you may use a direct supervisor from a summer, part-time, or internship position. Alternatively, you may ask someone who managed you in an extracurricular, research, volunteer, or community activity.

Second Recommendation

The strongest recommendations typically come from your workplace. You may select a recommendation from your professional, community, or extracurricular experiences. Having two recommendations from the same organization is fine. We recognize that work environments are fluid, so we give you the option of choosing the individual who can best represent your potential impact.

Choosing Your Recommenders

We are impressed by what a recommendation letter says, not by the title or background of the individual who wrote it or the writing skills of the recommender. You should choose individuals who:

• Know you well through significant, direct involvement with you within the last three years
• Will provide detailed anecdotes and examples to support their assertions
• Are sufficiently enthused to spend time writing a thoughtful letter

If you are currently a full-time student, we encourage you to select recommenders who have supervised your extracurricular activities or work, such as internships or part-time jobs.

What We Ask Recommenders

Both of your recommenders will be asked to assess you on some character traits and competencies that contribute to successful leadership and to answer three questions .

A Few Words of Advice

More is not better.

While we know there are people excited about you who may want to submit unofficial letters of recommendation, additional letters are neither necessary nor encouraged. The overwhelming majority of successful applicants do not submit any additional materials. If someone submits an additional letter of recommendation, we cannot guarantee it will be considered.

Language for Recommendations

Your letters of recommendation must be submitted in English. For recommendations from non-native English speakers, we will ignore minor syntax or grammar errors or awkward phrasing. However, it may be to your advantage to have your recommender write the letter in his/her native language and then have it translated into English.

Their Words, Not Yours

Your recommenders must be the sole authors of your letters of recommendation. Drafting, writing, translating, or submitting your own recommendation, even if asked to do so by a recommender, is a violation of our application terms. You are responsible for informing your recommenders of this policy.

Submitting Letters of Recommendation

Your recommenders are required to submit their letters through our online form by the deadline of the round in which you apply. We strongly encourage you to notify your recommenders well in advance and ensure they adhere to the deadline date. You will be able to see the submission status of each letter (whether awaiting or received) and can ask Stanford to send each recommender a reminder approximately one week before the application deadline date.

Waiving Your FERPA Access Rights

Once you are a student in attendance, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 provides you with a right of access to your education record, including letters of recommendation if they are retained by the school. The law also permits you to waive that right of access to your letters of recommendation if you so choose. Waiving your right of access to your letters of recommendation is optional; your decision to waive or retain that right will have no bearing on the handling of your application.

The recommenders whom you notify will be able to see whether or not you have waived your FERPA right of access during the letter of recommendation submission process. You must waive or retain your right of access to your letters of recommendation (using the online application system) before you invite recommenders to submit information for you. Once you submit your application, you cannot change this information.

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Invent the future. Start with yours. Register your interest!

Smart. Open. Grounded. Inventive. Read our Ideas Made to Matter.

Which program is right for you?

Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, this full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world.

A rigorous, hands-on program that prepares adaptive problem solvers for premier finance careers.

A 12-month program focused on applying the tools of modern data science, optimization and machine learning to solve real-world business problems.

Earn your MBA and SM in engineering with this transformative two-year program.

Combine an international MBA with a deep dive into management science. A special opportunity for partner and affiliate schools only.

A doctoral program that produces outstanding scholars who are leading in their fields of research.

Bring a business perspective to your technical and quantitative expertise with a bachelor’s degree in management, business analytics, or finance.

A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.

An interdisciplinary program that combines engineering, management, and design, leading to a master’s degree in engineering and management.

Executive Programs

A full-time MBA program for mid-career leaders eager to dedicate one year of discovery for a lifetime of impact.

This 20-month MBA program equips experienced executives to enhance their impact on their organizations and the world.

Non-degree programs for senior executives and high-potential managers.

A non-degree, customizable program for mid-career professionals.

How to Apply to the MBA Program

What’s your story? What experiences have shaped who you are today? We want to know. We are on a quest to find curious, passionate, analytical candidates who will enhance the collaborative community here at MIT. Our goal is to create a vibrant learning environment rich in diverse ideas and life experiences. That's why we welcome applicants from all over the globe, and from all areas of study, including the humanities, the social and physical sciences, business, and engineering. Above all, we seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities, determined to make their mark in the world—people who value dignity and respect. Here’s how to get started!

Application Deadlines for August 2024 Entry

The Admissions Committee reviews all applications and will notify applicants of their decision on or before these deadlines. Please note that in the interest of confidentiality, we will only deliver official decisions via your online application.

All applications are due by 3:00 p.m. EST on the deadline date. The deadline is for both application materials and recommendation letters. All decisions will be released by end of day on the decision release day.

LGO applicants must apply in the LGO Round .

READ RECENT UPDATES FROM ADMISSIONS

MIT Sloan MBA Application Tips

A complete 2024 application entry requires:

Cover letter.

MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).

Please submit a  one-page  resume. This will help us easily track your academic and career path. Try to focus on your work results, not just your title or job description. Here are some pointers on formatting: 

• One page limit
• Times New Roman font
• Size 10 font
• Word or PDF formats only

Provide the following information in reverse chronological order:

Education: Please include relevant awards, scholarships and professional societies

Work Experience: Please include company name, title, results-oriented bullets that demonstrate your skill set, and dates

Additional information: Please include extracurricular activities/community service, technical skills/certifications, and special skills/interests, and languages spoken (if applicable)

Video Statement

Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you! Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

• No more than 1 minute (60 second) in length
• Single take (no editing) 
• Speaking directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

Note: While we ask you to introduce yourself to your future classmates in this video, the video will not be shared beyond the admissions committee and is for use in the application process only.

One Letter of Recommendation

A detailed recommendation can tell us a lot about you. Make sure you select an individual qualified to speak about your results as a professional and your potential as a leader. Some important details:

• MBA applicants must submit  one letter of recommendation .
• A recommendation from a professional contact is preferred, ideally a manager or supervisor.
• We do not accept recommendations from family members.
• Your letter of recommendation must be received by the deadline date for the round you are applying (see above for our deadlines.) It is your responsibility to remind your recommender to make sure it is submitted on time.

You will be instructed to add your recommender's contact information and they will be sent instructions on how to submit their letter. You should choose a recommender who can answer the following questions:

• How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
• How does the applicant stand out from others in a similar capacity?
• Please give an example of the applicant's impact on a person, group, or organization.
• Please give a representative example of how the applicant interacts with other people.
• Please tell us anything else you think we should know about this applicant.
• Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.

Additional References

We want to make sure we give you the best chance to show us your strengths, so please provide us with contact information for two additional professional references. If we still have questions after reading your application, we might reach out to one or both of these references. Similar to your recommender, these additional references should be able to speak to your professional and/or academic background. These two individuals should be different from your recommender.

Organizational Chart

To help us better understand your current role and the impact that you have on your team and department, please submit an organizational chart. We should be able to clearly understand the internal structure of your organization, where you sit in your organization, and your line of reporting.

Organizational charts should not be more than two pages and keep the following in mind:

• Give us as much detail as possible (names, titles, etc.) but it’s ok to redact names if you need to.
• Please circle your role in red so that your position is easily identifiable.
• Make sure we can easily identify where you are, to whom you report, and if applicable, who reports to you.
• If your recommender or references are on your organizational chart (they may not be, and that’s ok!), please highlight them for us.
• If you are a consultant, entrepreneur, or affiliated with the military review our  FAQs  for suggestions on how to approach the organizational chart.

Click here to view a sample organizational chart.

Transcripts

Please scan and upload your transcript(s) from all colleges and universities you attended or are currently attending. If you are currently earning a degree, please upload your most up-to-date transcript.  We review transcripts carefully, please double check that what you have uploaded is legible; if you can’t read it, neither can we!

Some important details:

• All applicants to the program must hold a four-year undergraduate degree or three-year equivalent undergraduate degree from outside of the U.S, by time of matriculation.
• Do not mail any hard copies of official academic records or transcripts.  
• If you received an undergraduate degree as part of a Master's program, please include an undergraduate entry in addition to your Master's degree.
• If your transcripts are not in English, please scan and upload both the original and the certified translation.
• We cannot accept “digitally signed” or encrypted transcripts. If you’re having difficulty uploading your document, this may be the reason. Print out your transcript, scan it, and upload the PDF.
• We do not accept transfer credits. Any MIT classes taken pre-matriculation cannot be counted toward your degree at MIT Sloan

Once admitted to the program you will be required to provide an official signed and sealed transcript from all schools attended. Any discrepancies between the scanned transcripts and official transcripts may result in a candidate’s rejection or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

Test Scores

Standardized tests, specifically the GMAT and GRE are a critical component of the application process and play an important role in our holistic evaluation process. The MIT Sloan Admissions Committee expects that you will submit a GMAT or GRE score to be reviewed as part of your application. Both the remote and in-person versions of these exams are accepted with no preference. If your current situation prevents you from being able to submit a test score, you may request a test waiver explaining the situation; the Admissions Committee will take your request under advisement and let you know if the waiver has been approved. If the waiver is approved, and you are admitted, the Admissions Committee reserves the right to offer conditional admission such as, but not limited to, receiving a certain score on the GMAT or GRE or taking a supplemental class. To request a test waiver, please start your application and navigate to the Test Scores section; you can submit your request there. Once submitted, you will receive a response by email as soon as possible.

We will accept self-reported test scores by the application deadline, and welcome either traditional or online version of exams. Test scores must be valid by the application deadline. Official scores should also be sent using the following school codes:

• To share your GMAT score, please enter Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MIT Sloan School of Management
• GRE School Code: 3791

For the 2023-24 admission cycle, we will accept all versions of the GMAT or GRE, including remote or in-person.

Relevant Coursework & Professional Certifications

We welcome applicants from many types of academic backgrounds and do not have any academic prerequisites. That being said, we want to understand what relevant coursework you have already completed in order to assess how prepared you are for our core MBA courses.

In the application, we ask you to tell us which courses (if any) in the following subject areas you have taken. We’ll also ask what grade you received in each course.

• Communications
• Linear Algebra
• Microeconomics
• Organizational Behavior
• Probability

Additionally, if you earned special certifications or took professional development courses in your spare time, please tell us about them! Feel free to submit academic evidence not already on your transcripts, such as: professional certifications CFA, CPA, ACCA, among others; non-degree coursework such as MITx MicroMasters, CORe, edX, MBA Math, or any other non-degree coursework you completed.

Optional Short Answer Question

Applicants are invited to expand on their background by responding to the following  optional  250 word short answer question:

How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, community, all help to shape aspects of your life experiences and perspective. Please use this opportunity if you would like to share more about your background.

This is an opportunity for you to share more about yourself with the Admissions Committee, should you choose to do so.

Application Fee

The non-refundable application fee of $250.00 USD must be paid online prior to submitting your application.

In addition to the list below, attendees of some recruitment events and conferences where MIT Sloan is present may qualify for an application fee waiver. If you are in attendance at one of these events, you will be notified at the conclusion of the event and the payment section of your application will reflect the waiver automatically.

Please note that we cannot grant retroactive fee waivers if the application fee has already been paid online. If you are submitting a request, please wait to hear back from us.

You may be eligible for a fee waiver if any of the following apply:

• Current Peace Corps Members
• Current Teach for America Members or Alumni
• Forte MBA Launch Participants
• Veteran or Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel
• Paying the application fee will result in insurmountable financial hardship

Participants from the following list of programs, conferences, and fellowships are also eligible for an application fee waiver:

MIT Sponsored Programs

• MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP General)
• MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP Biology/BCS/CBMM)
• On-Campus MIT ACCESS Program
• MIT Media Lab Open House Travel Grant Recipients
• MIT OME Laureates and Leaders
• MIT OME The Standard
• MIT Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS)
• Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Summer Institute

Fellowship Programs

• APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (APSA DFP)
• Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems Research Experience for Undergraduates (EBICS REU)
• Gates Millenium Scholars Program
• Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
• Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC)
• McNair Scholars Program
• Mellon Mays Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
• Morehouse College Dr. John H. Hopps Jr. Defense Research Scholars Program Hopps (HOPPS)
• National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
• Questbridge
• Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI)
• Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Program (RISE)
• The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM)
• University of Baltimore Maryland County Meyerhoff Scholars Program
• Woods Hole Partnership Education Program

Events and Conferences

• ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
• Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
• California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education
• Emerging Researches National Conference in STEM (ERN)
• FIU McNair Scholars Research Conference
• Georgia Tech Virtual Graduate Showcase
• Grace Hopper Celebration Conference
• Howard University Research Month
• Institute on Teaching and Mentoring (SREB)
• Ivy Plus Puerto Rico
• MC-STEMP Graduating Engineering Minorities (GEM) GRADLab
• National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
• National Organization of Minority Architects
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
• Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• Spelman College Research Day
• The National GEM Consortium

Instructions for Dual Degree Applicants & Reapplicants

Lgo applicants.

The LGO program at MIT Sloan allows you to pursue two degrees from the MIT School of Engineering (SoE) and the MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. To learn more about the LGO program and read about the application requirements please visit the LGO website .

LGO Applicants are automatically considered for LGO and MBA. You may not submit separate applications to LGO and MBA. If you are unsuccessful in gaining admission to LGO, you will still be considered for MBA.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Applicants

The MIT Sloan MBA program and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) offer a dual-degree program that can be completed in three years:

• One year in residence at one school
• A second year in residence at the second school
• A third year with one semester at each school

Applicants who wish to pursue the dual degree option must receive:

• Concurrent admission to the MIT Sloan MBA program and the Harvard Kennedy School; and
• Permission from MIT Sloan to pursue the dual degree option in three years

Applicants intending to pursue the dual degree option with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) should follow the MBA applicant instructions above. All applicants intending to apply for the dual degree program must be applying concurrently to HKS and MIT Sloan and submit their application to MIT Sloan in Round 2.

Concurrent applicants to MIT Sloan and HKS must notify MIT Sloan immediately if accepted into HKS so that we can review and approve you to pursue the dual degree program.

Reapplicants

For applicants who applied for entry in a previous year, we require that you complete and submit a new and complete application. We strongly encourage you to submit new application materials and emphasize what has changed since you last applied. Reapplicants may submit their applications in any round, and will have an opportunity to highlight changes since their previous application in a short-answer question. LGO reapplicants must submit their applications by the LGO deadline. You can find more information in our FAQs .

MIT Department of Urban Studies (DUSP) Applicants

This program allows students to pursue an MBA and a Master in City Planning (MCP) in three academic years.

• Concurrent admission to the MIT Sloan MBA program and DUSP; and

All applicants intending to apply for the dual degree program must be applying concurrently to DUSP and MIT Sloan and submit their application to MIT Sloan in Round 2.

The Interview Process

Interviews are by invitation only. They are a required step in the process. An invitation to interview signals that your application has reached an advanced stage of consideration, but it does not guarantee admission. Those invited to the interview will be asked to respond to two additional questions prior to the interview. Details for submitting your essay will be included in the interview invitation.

Interviews will be conducted virtually and will be scheduled in local Boston time. Please adjust your calendar to reflect the correct time if you are located outside of the Eastern Time Zone. 

Interview Tips with Dawna Levenson, Assistant Dean of Admissions

In this video, Dawna Levenson, Assistant Dean of Admissions, walks you through the interview process and shares some tips to help you prepare.

Application Guide 2023-2024

Thank you for taking the first step to join the yale som community..

Applying to MBA programs can be a daunting process. There are lots of tasks to prioritize, manage, and complete, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Our hope is that this Application Guide will provide useful insights and advice as you prepare for your Yale SOM application. Please use this Guide as a resource to help you think through the overall application process; specific instructions for each section of the application are found in the Yale SOM application itself. Between this Guide and the application instructions, you should have everything you need to complete the Yale SOM application. Good luck!

Bruce DelMonico  Assistant Dean for Admissions

How We View the Application Process

Before we dive into the Yale SOM application itself, it may help to step back and take a moment to share a little about how we as a school view the application process generally. We put a lot of thought into how our application is constructed. Our guiding principle is to be thoughtful and economical in the information we ask of you – to only ask questions that are relevant to evaluating your candidacy, while still giving you ample opportunity to share who you are and what matters to you.

We also very much subscribe to the idea of holistic review. We know that the admissions process is a partial and incomplete glimpse into who you are. No one can truly summarize themselves in such a succinct format—test scores alone don’t tell the whole story, nor do your transcript, work history, essay, recommendations, or extracurricular activities. We don’t believe that you can or should be defined by a limited set of reductive data points, which is why we look at all the information available to us across your entire application in a careful and nuanced way to get the best sense of your individual candidacy.

Finally, we work hard to make sure our application is not only thoughtful, economical, nuanced, and holistic, but also that it is structured to heighten consistency and reduce bias. You’ll notice, for example, that we limit the number of activities you can list in the Activities section of the application to two. We do this to level the playing field among applicants and limit the role “activity collecting” plays in the review process. This is one example of our attempts to create a fair and consistent application process.

We know that applying to MBA programs can be time-consuming and challenging. As you embark upon this process, we encourage you to approach it in the spirit of reflection and self-discovery, looking to know more about yourself at the end of the journey than you did when it began. This is the start of a lifelong process of personal and professional growth, and we’re excited to begin it with you!

Some Initial Considerations

We have three application deadlines (September 12, 2023; January 4, 2024; and April 9, 2024), and also accept applications through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management and QuestBridge Graduate School Match, using their respective deadlines. So, your first question may well be: which round should I apply in?

If you were a QuestBridge Scholar in college or align with the mission of the Consortium, you may want to consider applying to us through those organizations. Regardless of whether you apply through QuestBridge, the Consortium, or directly to Yale SOM, the advice we invariably give is that you should apply when you feel you have your strongest application prepared. This means that if you need more time – for example, to take (or re-take) a standardized test, or gain more work experience, or secure your recommendations – you should take the time to do so. We model the application cycle so that the same application has a comparable chance of being admitted regardless of the round in which you apply. Obviously there can be benefits to applying early (for example, you’ll get your decision sooner), and if you’re ready to apply in time for an earlier round there’s no need to wait until a later one to do so. But don’t feel as though you need to rush to submit your application if you could make it materially stronger by taking the time to improve it in a meaningful way.

Once you’ve settled on an application round, your next question might be some variation of: OK, what’s next? Below are a few considerations to help you start to get a handle on the application process. Also, if you haven’t done so yet, consider signing up for our MBA newsletter , which includes our Inbox Application Insights – a series of application advice delivered to you as you need it in the weeks leading up to our application deadline.

1. Standardized Test – We accept both GMAT and GRE (current and future versions). Explore both options to see which is best for you, and then give yourself a few months before the application deadline for unrushed study and test-taking – you want to give yourself ample time to feel prepared, and also to be able to re-take the test before the deadline if desired.

2. Transcripts – We don’t require official academic transcripts when you apply (only if you’re admitted and enroll), so you just need to make sure you have unofficial copies of all of your undergraduate and, as relevant, graduate transcripts (including transfer credits, summer school, study abroad, and others) that you can upload to your application.

3. Recommendations – We require two professional recommendations (for current college seniors who apply through the Silver Scholars Program it’s one professional and one academic recommendation). Your recommenders are usually busy people with many competing priorities, so be sure to give them time to write your recommendation. Ideally, you should identify who you want to write your recommendations and ask them to do so at least a month before the application deadline, so that they have plenty of time to get their recommendations to us.

4. Resume – In connection with securing your recommendations, you may want to work on updating your resume with an eye toward MBA applications. Your resume is a valuable summation of your academic and professional backgrounds and achievements. You’ll want to make sure it’s updated and captures your key accomplishments, and it can be helpful to do that at the same time you’re speaking to your recommenders about their recommendations. And even though we recommend you not share any of your written application materials (such as your essays) with your recommenders, you may want to show them your resume to help remind them of those accomplishments as they write on your behalf.

5. Essay – The essay may be one of the last things you complete before submitting your application. That’s OK, but be sure to spend time thinking about what you’ll write and working through the writing process far enough in advance of the deadline that you’re not scrambling to put your ideas into words as the deadline’s approaching. This isn’t a creative writing program, so you don’t need to spend an excessive amount of time stressing over the finer points of every linguistic turn of phrase, but as with the other elements of the application, you don’t want to feel rushed.

One final question you may have as you explore your MBA options is: how can I learn more? There are lots of ways to get more information from many different sources. We’ve put together a range of resources ourselves to you to help you learn more about Yale SOM and also navigate the MBA application process. We have a host of in-person and online events , Student Ambassadors , a blog series, and even the opportunity to visit campus should you find yourself in the Northeast United States. And, as noted above, our MBA newsletter contains lots of information about the school as well as a just-in-time series of tips and advice for you as you’re preparing your MBA application. And of course, if you still have questions, you can always contact us directly.

Inside the Application Itself

Your academic record, in combination with other elements of your application, helps us understand your preparation to thrive in the MBA classroom. But you’re more than just your GPA; we seek to understand all aspects of your academic path, from the courses you took to the ways in which your performance may have changed over the trajectory of your education. Although we ask some questions to understand your exposure to quantitative coursework, we welcome students from all academic backgrounds and disciplines; quantitative coursework is not a prerequisite for the program.

At this point, unless you’re a college senior applying to our Silver Scholars Program, your academic record is likely complete and your focus now is on sharing your transcripts with us as part of your application. The application instructions have more detailed information on the process for uploading your transcripts, but it’s worth noting a few things now as you start gathering materials:

First, we don’t need your official university transcripts at this point. To apply, you can submit either a copy of a physical transcript or a comprehensive electronic transcript; we’ll require your official transcript only when you enroll.

Second, in addition to your degree-granting institution’s transcript, we require transcripts for every course you took for degree credit – study abroad, transfer credits, community college courses, summer courses, etc. – at other institutions (unless those courses and grades are reflected in your degree-granting institution’s transcript). Missing and incomplete transcripts are the number one reason for delays in application review once we begin reading your file, so it makes sense to gather together all your transcripts now to make sure they’re complete and ready to upload when you apply.

Of note, although your academic record is largely fixed by now, sometimes applicants will take a one or more quantitative courses to help demonstrate their quantitative exposure and preparation if they didn’t have those courses as an undergraduate and their test scores do not give sufficient evidence of quantitative preparation. So, for example, if you didn’t have any quantitative exposure as an undergraduate and your standardized test quantitative subsection score does not sufficiently showcase your quantitative abilities (for example, it’s outside of our mid-80% range), you may want to take statistics or microeconomics (or both) to give more confidence about your quantitative preparation for the program. (Those courses are also worth taking if you haven’t done so before, even independent of the admissions process, because they are very helpful foundations for your MBA coursework.)

As with your entire application, we are very interested in the whole picture. What was the progression? Did you have an opportunity to take courses outside of your major? Were you working a job in undergrad to pay for your education? There are so many other factors that provide context and nuance to your academic record, and we very much want to understand that contextual information as we review your academics.

—Kate Botelho, Senior Associate Director of Admissions  

MBA applicants tend to put a lot of emphasis on test scores, but remember that they’re just one piece of a larger picture, and they’re used for a limited purpose: to give us some sense of your level of preparation for the core curriculum, which is all they’re validated to predict. And even for this limited purpose, they’re only one of several indicators – including your academic history and your Behavioral Assessment – that helps us determine your classroom readiness. We consider all parts of your application when considering your candidacy.

We accept both the GMAT and the GRE, including the online and newer, shorter versions of the exams. The Admissions Committee has no preference between the exams, and we’re well versed in evaluating scores from each. As you consider which one to take, it may make sense to try practice questions from each (or even an entire test!) to see which one resonates more with you. Much like the SAT and ACT for those of you who decided between those two tests when applying for college, the GMAT and GRE have some similarities and some differences, so you may feel more comfortable taking one over the other.

Once you decide which exam to take, give yourself time to study. Even in their shorter and more streamlined versions, these are exams that take time to prepare for. Usually you’ll want to spend two to three months studying and preparing, depending on the number of hours available to you each week. And you should try if possible to take the exam far enough in advance of the application deadline to be able to re-take it if necessary – it’s not uncommon for applicants to take the test more than once, although of course there’s no need to do so if you achieved a score you’re happy with on the first try! (If you do end up retaking a test after the application deadline, get your new score to us as soon as you can so that we can try to incorporate it into our review – you’ll be able to enter the new score on your applicant status page.)

In thinking about your test score and whether to re-take the exam, know that we look not just at your overall score but the subsections as well. We also consider your scores not just in isolation but in the context of your academic and professional backgrounds. In other words, a test score has no fixed weight within our application review, but is considered relative to other relevant aspects of your application in assessing your academic preparation. We don’t have any baseline or minimum scores – either for the total score or subsections – below which we won’t consider an applicant, but we do want to make sure the subsections aren’t too far out of alignment; that is, you should show some degree of competency in each subsection, even if your overall score is competitive (for example, a score in the 99th percentile in one subsection doesn’t counterbalance a score in the 9th percentile in another).

Importantly, as with your academic transcripts, you don’t need to submit official test scores when you apply to us. We accept self-reported scores when you apply and will only require official scores after you enroll.

Also, note that we do not require non-native English speakers to submit an English language test such as the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE. One of the reasons we introduced our video questions component years ago was to eliminate the English testing requirement and make the process simpler and less expensive for applicants.

When we say we have no preference between the GMAT and GRE, we really mean it. Take whatever exam you feel most comfortable with. I also recommend being a bit strategic. If you know you’ll want to apply for a joint degree, maybe the GRE would be best for you since you can likely use that score to apply to both programs. If you’ve tried taking one of the exams a couple of times and aren’t attaining the score you’re hoping for, maybe it would be a good idea to try the other exam to see if that’s a better test for you.

—Amy Voth, Senior Associate Director of Admissions  

In evaluating your candidacy for Yale SOM, we look at not just your potential to perform academically, but also your potential for professional success and impact. Your past professional experience – as evidenced through the Work Experience section of the application and your resume – is a way to highlight the positive impact you’ve had in your career so far, and in turn the likelihood that you’ll continue to have meaningful impact after Yale SOM.

Your resume is an opportunity to give us a concise overview of your professional experience, academic background, and any volunteer work, activities, or other interests that help to tell your story. Unless you have more than ten years of work experience, your resume should be limited to one page. (If you do have more than ten years of work experience, feel free to take the additional space needed to cover all of your individual experiences, even the ones that took place at the start of your career.) You’re welcome to use any resume format of your choosing, or you can use the Yale SOM resume template that’s provided in our application, which is what our students use when applying for internships and post-MBA jobs.

In the past, you may have used a resume designed to highlight your essential job functions and key responsibilities. The most helpful resume for your MBA application will mirror the type of resume you’ll use for applying to jobs coming out an MBA program: one that focuses on your accomplishments, achievements, and the value you add. In other words, this is not the time to be modest (although you’ll want to avoid exaggeration)! When describing your experiences, begin bullets with active verbs such as “led” or “created,” highlighting the impact and results you drove in each of your roles. In particular, you may want to highlight leadership experience, quantitative experience, and evidence of strategic thinking.

Speaking of quantitative, when possible, resume bullets should quantify results; be specific in highlighting the percentage sales increase, dollar cost savings, increased operational efficiency, and other quantifiable metrics. But when you can’t quantify, qualify. For example, sharing that you “Championed a quarterly learning seminar that increased collaboration between sales, marketing and finance” or “Developed a proposal to refocus traditional media spend on a social media strategy; recommendation was supported by senior leadership” give the Admissions Committee a clear sense of results that can’t necessarily be described in numbers.

If you work for a small company, a company that may not be well known outside of your region, or have started your own company, it’s helpful to include a brief description of that company on your resume to give the Admissions Committee some more information about your experience. The Work Experience section of the application also contains space for you to provide contextual information about your professional experience, including descriptions about your company, your role, your reasons for leaving, gaps in experience, and other information. Use this section to your advantage, because the more information you can provide, the more comfort the Admissions Committee will have about your professional trajectory.

It’s worth noting that while the Work Experience section of your application should only include full-time, post-undergraduate professional experience, feel free to include internships, work during college or part-time work in your resume.

Also of particular note, especially given the unsettled employment landscape of the past few years, we know that some of you have gaps in your employment history or may not currently be working. You might be concerned that the Admissions Committee will view these career disruptions negatively. We want to emphasize that we understand the tremendous professional upheavals of the last several years and will view work histories with those disruptions very much in mind. The best thing you can do is help us understand your career path, including gaps in employment, both on your resume and in the application. The application has space for you to explain your career transitions and gaps of greater than three months. Making sure your resume is clear, complete, and accurate is critical as well.

Your resume is a great place to ground your application. It’s a quick and easy way for the committee to see what you’ve been doing throughout your life and career in a chronological way. Simple stuff: Proof-read it and spell-check it

—Rebekah Melville, Managing Director of Financial Aid and Admissions Committee member

Most students who come to Yale SOM are looking to explore new possibilities for their careers, whether that means pivoting to a new industry or function, changing geographic focus, or accelerating on a current career path. You’re not expected to have it all figured out before coming to school. And in identifying your post-MBA goals, you don’t need to pretend that you’re more certain than you actual are. But it is important to have developed some ideas about your career interests and goals, and how to best position yourself to pursue those interests.

Whatever your post-MBA goals, we promise we won’t hold you to it! We don’t have quotas by industry, nor do we craft a class with a particular mix of industries in mind. In fact, we care more about your thought process around your career interests (including where they came from, how you’re thinking about them, what you’ve done already to explore them, and what you’ll do in the future to pursue them) than we do what the interests actually are. Hopefully you can breathe easier knowing that you don’t need to have the entire course of your professional life mapped out right now!

Recommendations are an important window into understanding your professional impact and how you lead and collaborate within an organizational setting. They’re a way for us to gain additional perspective on your candidacy from people who have worked with you and who know you well.

Unless you’re applying as an undergraduate student, your two recommendations should be professional in nature. Many candidates ask us who the best people are to write their recommendations. We strongly recommend that, if possible, one of your recommendations comes from a current supervisor. More generally, beyond their specific relation to you, your recommendations should come from people who know your work well and who are senior to you, not peers or subordinates. We care more about the quality of the recommendation than the title of the recommender, so you should be guided by the substance of the work relationship rather than the seniority of the position.

While we recommend that one of your recommendations comes from a current supervisor, we know that sometimes this is not possible. You will have an opportunity in the application to explain your choice of recommenders if neither of them is someone who currently supervises you. Maybe that person is a family member, or maybe you’re an entrepreneur, or maybe you haven’t told your supervisor you are considering leaving to earn your MBA. In these cases, we would suggest you look to your most recent former supervisor. For family businesses, think about vendors or suppliers. Entrepreneurs may consider getting recommendations from board members or VC funders.

In terms of securing your recommendations, we encourage you to reach out to your recommenders in advance and schedule some time to talk with them about your desire to earn an MBA – maybe even reflect together on some of the growth experiences you’ve had and how you expect to add value to an MBA community. It may be helpful for you to walk through your resume together, since it will likely contain – and may remind them of – the many accomplishments you achieved that can inform the substance of their recommendation.

We do suggest, however, that you not send your recommenders your essays or other written application materials because they may incorporate them into their recommendations. Seeing the same language in your essays and recommendations may raise concerns to us about the independence of the recommendations, even if you were only trying to be helpful to your recommenders.

Also, you can have no role in the drafting or submission of your recommendations. We know that your recommenders are busy, and they may ask your assistance in drafting a letter for their review. Please resist this pressure and ask someone else instead. An authentic letter coming from an individual who is familiar with your work will always be the better option than a letter that was not wholly written by an independent source, even if that person is your current supervisor.

Finally, we accept recommendation letters written in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. The Yale SOM Admissions Committee will be responsible for translating letters written in Spanish and Mandarin. Our hope is that this service will make it easier for you to find recommenders who know you well and will give you more options in your choice of recommenders.

We want to know what matters to you, and our essay question is designed to help us gain insight into your background, passions, motivations, responsibilities, ideals, identities, challenges, or aspirations, depending on where you take your response. To ensure that you’re able to write about something important to you, we offer you three essay prompts from which to choose:

1) Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. Why is this commitment meaningful to you and what actions have you taken to support it?

2) Describe the community that has been most meaningful to you. What is the most valuable thing you have gained from being a part of this community and what is the most important thing you have contributed to this community?

3) Describe the most significant challenge you have faced. How have you confronted this challenge and how has it shaped you as a person?

Choose the prompt that speaks most strongly to you and about which you have the most enthusiasm. In answering the prompt – whichever one it is – you should think about the life experiences that have been most meaningful to you and that you most want to communicate to the committee, and pick the question that will best allow you to express that aspect of yourself. We find that the most compelling essays are the ones that are truly most important to you, so make sure that’s your guide in choosing what to write about; don’t try to guess what we’re looking for or what you think we want to hear. Importantly, regardless of which prompt you choose, you’ll want to support your essay with concrete examples.

The word limit (though not necessarily the goal) is 500 words.

The Optional Information section is truly optional. It’s not an additional required essay – if no aspect of your application requires further explanation, you should leave this section blank. In most cases, we get all the information we need from the various components of your application and there is no need to complete this section.

However, if you think the Admissions Committee would benefit from a brief explanation regarding any aspect of your application, you may provide it in the Optional Information section. Your general approach should be that if there is something you feel is material to your candidacy that you are not able to include in another section of the application, put it here.

Here are some examples: Consider providing additional context if it will allow us to better understand your academic performance, promotions or recognitions, or other information that is not apparent from the rest of your application. If you’ve taken concrete steps to mitigate a weaker element of your application or have an accomplishment that does not fit anywhere else in the application, you might include that here. Note that you should use the specific prompts provided in the Work Experience section to address gaps in work experience or choice of recommender. And if you would like to provide additional details to expand on any information provided in the Background Information section, you’re encouraged to do so in the “Supplemental Detail” area within that section.

To get a fuller picture of you and your interests, we ask about the commitments outside of the classroom and your day-to-day employment that are most meaningful to you. When it comes to activities, more isn’t always better. We ask for no more than two activities per timeframe because we want you to focus on what’s most significant, and where you’ve engaged most deeply. We know that for some of you, the activities you pursue outside of school or work can be what’s most aligned with your true interests and passions. On the other hand, we also recognize that different jobs, courses of study, and life circumstances can limit your capacity to take on additional activities. Wherever you are within this range, this section presents another opportunity to share something that matters to you.

We encourage you to think broadly about the activities in which you have engaged. This could include extracurricular activities, sports, volunteer work, research/academic activities, employment or work-study during school, familial roles or responsibilities, professional affiliations, or hobbies.

We’ve worked hard to create an application that gives you an opportunity to share who you are and what matters most to you, but recognize that an application process is an inherently artificial framework for learning about any individual. As recognized elsewhere, it gives us only a partial and incomplete glimpse into who you are. No single data point is determinative in this process, and in fact, the same data point can have different meaning based on the other elements of your application and the overall context surrounding your candidacy.

Because of these realities, the Admissions Committee seeks to gain the fullest understanding of you possible within the structure of the application process. Elements of your personal background may provide crucial insights into the choices and opportunities that have shaped your academic, professional, and personal experiences. We welcome whatever aspects of this background you’re comfortable sharing with us. And, as noted elsewhere, if you would like to provide additional details to expand on any information provided in the Background Information section, you’re encouraged to do so in the “Supplemental Detail” area within the section.

Yale SOM is committed to continuous innovation in the ways we identify future members of our community. The Behavioral Assessment might be the most unique of these innovations.

The Behavioral Assessment is an online exercise administered by ETS, the testing service behind the GRE. But unlike the GMAT or GRE, which are tests of certain cognitive abilities, the Behavioral Assessment is a non-cognitive instrument that measures a set of inter- and intrapersonal competencies that are associated with academic success in business school. We look at it alongside, and sometimes as a counterpoint to, traditional academic metrics. And much like any other piece of the application, the Behavioral Assessment will never be the deciding factor for admission, but will instead be used in combination with the rest of a candidate’s profile.

The exercise itself should take about 25 minutes to complete. You will receive 130 pairs of statements, one pair at a time, from which you’re asked to select the statement that best aligns with your own behaviors. The assessment is adaptive, so no two candidates will receive the exact same set of statements. No preparation is necessary to take the assessment, and no special knowledge is required.

I hope it will put applicants at ease to know that our use of this assessment is geared towards allowing the committee to take more chances on candidates whose traditional metrics may not be the best predictors of success. To truly fulfill Yale SOM’s mission of educating leaders for business and society, we need a community of students whose backgrounds, experiences, and interests are diverse and expansive. If we limit ourselves to applicants who perform best on traditional academic measures like GMAT, GRE, or undergraduate GPA, we may miss out on candidates with extraordinary professional experience or personal backgrounds that would add vital perspectives to the classroom. At the same time, it’s our responsibility to ensure we bring students into the program who will succeed in the classroom—we don’t want to set up students for failure. The Behavioral Assessment gives us an additional piece of information to use in assessing who will perform effectively in the curriculum, specifically by helping us predict who will perform better than their academic history would suggest. So, it will allow us to take more chances on candidates without the strongest academic or testing profiles, but who nonetheless have what it takes to succeed in the classroom and who undoubtedly will make significant contributions to our community because of their experience and perspective.

—Laurel Grodman, Assistant Dean for Admissions

Like the Behavioral Assessment, you’ll complete the video questions after you submit your application and pay the application fee. The video questions are not a substitute for the interview. Instead, they provide a unique way for us to assess your communication and English language skills, and enable us to create a more dynamic, multi-dimensional portrait of your candidacy.

Every candidate will receive a set of previously recorded questions asked by an admissions team member. The questions asked are similar to typical interview questions. There are no “trick questions”; we’re not trying to stump you. The responses do not require any specific knowledge or preparation beyond the practice tool you can use before answering the questions, and your responses will be used with a “light touch,” as we say – they won’t make or break your application.

Here are a few tips on the video exercise. First, know you’re going to be great! Our aim to set you up for success. After receiving each question, you’ll have 20-30 seconds to gather your thoughts and 60-90 seconds, depending on the question, for your response. Familiarize yourself with the 60-90 second time frame in which to deliver your response. You don’t want to feel rushed, and you don’t want to run out of time getting to the heart of your answer. Finally, be sure you have a good internet connection and a quiet, private space. You’d be surprised how many ‘bloopers’ we see in the video questions due to an unexpected colleague, partner, or pet joining your session!

—Kristen Mercuri, Director of Admissions

Interviews are offered by invitation on a rolling basis throughout each round. Don’t be concerned if your invitation to interview does not come until later in the round; it takes a considerable amount of time for the Admissions Committee to review all of the applications we receive, and we don’t begin our review until after each application deadline.

If you receive an invitation, it will be an offer to participate in a 30-minute interview conducted by a current second-year student, recent alum, or an Admissions Committee member. The interview is blind, meaning your interviewer will only know what they see on your resume and will not have reviewed the rest of your application. The questions are largely behavioral in nature – how you handled certain situations – as well as focused on your MBA and post-MBA plans. The best way to prepare is to review your Yale SOM application, resume, and essay to refresh yourself on what you wrote, and be ready with answers to typical behavioral interview questions.

It’s worth noting that even if you’re not invited to interview in the round in which you applied, it doesn’t mean you’ll be denied admission. It’s not uncommon to be placed on the waitlist without having been interviewed. We will review your candidacy again in the next round, in conjunction with the applicants who apply in that round. You may be offered an interview – and subsequently admitted – at any point in the cycle. So please be patient, and resist the urge to check in with the Admissions Office on your interview status!

Final Thoughts

Once you submit your application and complete the Behavioral Assessment and video questions, your application is complete and we’ll begin our review of your candidacy.

We know that the process to get to this point is a long one, involving a lot of time, effort, money, and energy. Regardless of the outcome of your candidacy, you should congratulate yourself on getting to this point! Hopefully just completing this part of the process has yielded important benefits in terms of helping clarify the values, priorities, and aspirations that will guide you through business school and beyond.

Know that we will treat your application during the review process with the same care that you put into preparing it. The process itself is highly individualized: what makes someone stand out can be vastly different from candidate to candidate. Therefore, as you think about your application, the key is to remain your true self throughout the process. What the Admissions Committee is looking to learn about in your application is...you! We look forward to learning more about you, what makes you unique, and what special contributions you’ll bring to our community.

Virtual Campus Tour

Highlights from the mba admissions blog.

Introducing Our Community to Prospective Students in Beijing

During winter recess, Austin Cai ’25 hosted a panel discussion in his home city of Beijing, creating an opportunity for prospective students to get to know more about Yale SOM and what makes the community unique.

From the Assistant Dean for Admissions: Insights for Applicants

Bruce DelMonico shares advice on how to approach the application process—and what the Admissions Committee is really looking for. 

From the Assistant Dean for Admissions: Meet the Class of 2025

Bruce DelMonico shares details about the MBA program’s newest students.

Vikram Wagh ’04

Introduce yourself so that we can provide you with information about upcoming admissions events and get the latest news about our program.

Virtual Forté MBA Forum

Thursday, Apr 11 2024 at 11:00 am - 2:00 pm | Online

Yale School of Management Campus Visit

Thursday, Apr 18 2024 at 9:30 am - 3:00 pm | In-Person

Admissions Q&A

Thursday, Apr 25 2024 at 12:00 - 12:45 pm | Online

Master of Business Administration

Admissions 612-330-1101 [email protected]

How to Craft the Perfect MBA Recommendation Letter (Sample)

Asking for a letter of recommendation is always a daunting task—even more daunting when you’re the one tasked with writing it.

If you’re hoping to be accepted into a high-quality MBA program at a respected university, you’ll need letters of recommendation. Read this guide to know what to expect from someone who can write a letter of recommendation for you. Even better, share this guide with anyone you want to write a great letter of recommendation for you.

Navigating exactly how to write a letter of recommendation for business school—or any school for that matter—can be quite confusing.

Here we’ll provide you with a few MBA recommendation letter tips, provide specific examples and anecdotes, and help you craft the perfect recommendation letter for your applicant.

Skip to a section:

Crafting the Letter

• The Student’s Goals
• Directions for Submitting

An Overview of the Letter

• Example MBA Letter of Recommendation
• MBA Letters of Recommendation Templates

What is an MBA Recommendation Letter?

Before you get into the writing, you need to know the exact purpose of the letter of recommendation . Submitting a strong reference letter is a vital part of their application process.

Typically, when your student asks you to support them in this way, the ultimate goal is to have someone of a specific level of academic authority add credibility to the student’s application.

You are likely to have a strong relationship with the student who you will be writing for. This is necessary for you to communicate your support in a genuine manner.

In the letter of recommendation, you will need to focus on aspects of your student’s character that, based on your professional/academic relationship, you have observed to be most commendable in their discipline. Also use examples of their past work as a foundation for why they would excel in a Master of Business Administration program.

How do MBA Applicants Choose Reference Letter Writers?

The student’s choice of who they request a letter of reference from is entirely dependent on the relationships that student has fostered and how those relationships have affected their academic and professional career.

If you work or otherwise interact with this student often, you can bet you’ll be chosen to write a recommendation letter. This is especially important for those students who are not coming fresh out of their undergraduate experience, but who have reached the stage of accumulating work experience .

Typically, prospective MBA students need an average of two or more years of professional experience. This will have given them a significant amount of time to not only showcase skills they will need to excel in their MBA program but also identify relationships that will be most conducive to their future academic and professional success.

Now that you have a better understanding of why this student has selected you to write them a letter of recommendation, you can build on that information and relationship to construct it.

Before You Begin

Your student will need the letter of recommendation to match the tone and message of their personal statement in order to compose a cohesive application. What better way to achieve this than to have it written by someone who spends ample time with them?

With this in mind, the keywords for a letter of recommendation need to be directly related to:

• The student’s relevant experience : Have they demonstrated leadership, critical thinking, analytical, or communication skills? Take the time to observe them at work and be reminded of their most applicable traits to be highlighted in this recommendation letter.
• The influence of their work and academic experience on their future goals : Was there a particular course or work assignment they excelled in? How does that relate to their eligibility for the prospective MBA program?

Your natural relationship with the student will determine whether or not they request a letter of recommendation from you and the type of information that will need to be included in the business school letter of recommendation.

Below, we’re going to lay out an MBA recommendation letter template to guide you in constructing the perfect recommendation letter for your future MBA student.

Understand the Student’s Goals

To write the best possible letter of recommendation for a master’s in business leadership (or any type of MBA program), you need to tailor your information around the following subjects:

• Your applicant’s transcripts/academic credentials : Whether good or bad, examine your student’s academic record and find where their academic performance shined. Based on your experience with the applicant, how do their best course grades, extracurricular activities, or teaching assistant experience relate to their ability excel in the MBA program?
• Know the MBA applicant’s purpose or end goals : In the MBA recommendation letter samples below, you will see how to connect the student’s professional and academic history to their ultimate goals in their prospective MBA program.
• Identify points of the applicant’s history you can accentuate or relate to : This is directly related to the previous point. Remain aware of how the applicant’s past academic and professional experiences play into their eligibility as a prospective student and what aspects of their history can strengthen the overall student body of the institution in question.
• If necessary, ask about which universities the applicant is applying to : This will allow you to understand your audience. What qualifications is the institution looking for? What information is required in application packages, and how does that influence the content of your recommendation letter?
• Discuss points of interest with the applicant: What do they want to emphasize?
• Remain formal throughout the letter : Refrain from discussing casual anecdotes, as this will detract from the focus of the letter.

It may look like an overwhelming amount of information to consider but don’t worry; that is why we’re providing a MBA recommendation letter sample below to guide you. Your priority in this letter, and what you will see in the MBA recommendation sample, is to highlight the skills and qualifications of the applicant that you have directly observed and how that fulfills (or exceeds) the MBA program requirements.

Review the Directions for Submitting

Your student should provide you with any submission instructions you may need. Most likely, this recommendation letter will not be submitted through the student. You will have to submit the letter of recommendation directly to the university’s administrative staff.

Should you feel uninformed on the process of submission, despite the information provided by the applicant, you may want to ask the following questions:

• Should the recommendation letter be submitted directly through the university website or received by email?
• What are the submission requirements? (Is a standard business letterhead/format necessary?)
• Is the letter being sent by mail or fax?
• What is the deadline for submission?

Ideally, this is information you should have before you even begin the writing process.

Here are the individual sections of a proper letter of recommendation for an MBA program example. The letter of recommendation as a whole should fill one page and consist of an introduction, at least two body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The body of the recommendation letter should include:

• An explanation of how you, the recommender, know the MBA applicant
• A brief description of the applicant and their best qualities as they relate to the program and their future goals
• Specific examples of the applicant’s skill set; provide real-life, concrete examples of your student’s excellence

If you are struggling to find the proper tone of the letter of recommendation, you may want to review an MBA recommendation letter sample from a professor, manager, or other leadership figure to guide the language used in the letter.

Introduction

In any business school letter of recommendation template, the following aspects need to be included in the introduction:

Paragraph One

Once you get into the body of the recommendation letter, the balance of tone gets a little tricky. You will need to describe the candidate’s qualifications and positive attributes without being overly complimentary. Try your best to maintain a formal, objective tone, while still representing your personal relationship with the applicant.

In this portion of the letter, it is best to discuss your student’s problem-solving abilities within a professional setting, work ethic, leadership skills, and any stellar academic qualities the applicant may possess. Take a look at the executive MBA letter of recommendation samples below to get a feel for how this portion should be constructed.

Paragraph Two

Further into the body of the letter, ideally in the second paragraph, you need to go more in-depth regarding the applicant’s character. Provide specific examples of how they manage responsibilities and why this trait contributes to their eligibility for acceptance to the MBA program.

Keep in mind that the purpose of the letter is to honestly review why the applicant is the best choice for acceptance into the MBA program. That said, mild criticism (if applicable) can go a long way in terms of objectivity and credibility when coupled with your praise of the applicant.

For example, you can describe how the candidate responded to an adverse situation or criticism if their response was negative in nature. Make sure to follow this up with how they are improving on this trait.

In the conclusion of your letter, summarize why you are recommending the applicant for acceptance in the MBA program. Briefly reiterate your observations of the candidate throughout your relationship and their strongest qualifications for acceptance.

Finally, leave the university an invitation to contact you should they require further information, and finish the letter of recommendation with a formal sign off—your printed name and signature beneath it.

Letter of Recommendation for MBA Program Example

Here is an example of a strong letter of recommendation for an MBA program applicant.

Dear Augsburg University MBA Program:

I am writing this letter to recommend Jane Doe for the MBA program at Augsburg University. I have directly supervised Jane for the past three years at [Name of company]. In my time working with Jane I have personally witnessed her dedication and hard work for the organization. Jane is responsible for capital purchases, information technology equipment, and pediatric care equipment.

Jane’s interest and ability in learning news tasks have allowed her to be very knowledgeable in many of the procurement procedures that exist. She always volunteers for new assignments and demonstrates an ability to learn and retain information quickly and accurately. Jane is always willing to do what it takes to get the job done and truly lives up to the company ideals.

I believe Jane will be very successful in your MBA program and is well equipped to handle the challenges and learning experiences that Augsburg can provide for her. She is fully capable of balancing the workload between her job responsibilities and school. The knowledge she will gain from the MBA program will serve her well and will prepare her for promotional opportunities in the near future. I believe Jane is a great candidate for the MBA program and will be very successful in your program. 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

[Your name] 

More MBA Letter of Recommendation Templates

To further assist you in writing the recommendation letter, it is advised that you review MBA reference letter templates.

Below are some letter of recommendation samples for MBA programs that demonstrate an effective letter of recommendation format, and further, specific examples of how to write from different perspectives. A letter of recommendation for MBA programs from a professor will look different than one written by an employer or manager; however, it may be difficult to find an MBA recommendation letter sample from a professor.

• As an employer, you may face the opposite challenge of many writers in that you may be inclined to communicate a little too formally. This business school recommendation letter example will help you to relax your tone to produce the best letter of recommendation possible.
• This is a great example letter of recommendation for an MBA program. It is not often that peers, rather than employers, managers, or professors, are chosen to write reference letters. As a peer, this sample will guide you in balancing impartiality while highlighting the strengths of the applicant.

With these guidelines and MBA recommendation letter examples, you’re ready to write the perfect recommendation letter, such as a letter of recommendation for a master’s in business leadership, entrepreneurship, or other concentrations, and make your applicant shine.

With these resources available, there’s no reason you shouldn’t improve a worthy candidate’s chances of gaining admission with a powerful letter of recommendation.

If you’re an MBA applicant : Share these templates with the person you’re hoping will write a recommendation letter for you. These examples and insights will make it as easy as possible for the author, especially if they’re unfamiliar with writing a letter of recommendation.

Explore our MBA blog to learn about other specializations or find out more about the requirements for applying to Augsburg’s MBA degree program. Get started today!

Letters of Recommendation for MBA Applicants

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• Choosing A Business School
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MBA applicants need to present at least one recommendation letter to admissions committees, and most schools ask for two or three. Letters of recommendation are typically used to support or strengthen other aspects of the MBA application. For example, some applicants use recommendation letters to highlight their academic record or professional accomplishments, while others prefer to highlight  leadership or management experience .

Choosing a Letter Writer

When choosing someone to write your recommendation , it is very important to select someone who is familiar with you and your accomplishments. Many MBA applicants choose an employer or direct supervisor who can discuss their work ethic, leadership experience, or professional achievements. A letter writer who has seen you manage employees or overcome obstacles is also a good choice. Another option is a professor or a fellow student from your undergraduate days. Some applicants also choose someone who supervised their volunteer or community work.

Sample MBA Recommendation

Below is a sample recommendation for an MBA applicant. This letter was written by a supervisor for her direct assistant. The letter highlights the student's strong work performance and leadership ability. These traits are important for MBA applicants, who must be able to perform under pressure, work hard, and lead discussions, groups, and projects while enrolled in their program. The claims made in the letter are supported by very specific examples, which help reinforce the points the letter writer is trying to make. Finally, the recommender outlines the ways in which the subject could contribute to an MBA program.

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to recommend Becky James for your MBA program. Becky has worked as my assistant for the last three years. During that time, she has been moving toward her goal of enrolling in an MBA program by building her interpersonal skills, honing her leadership ability, and gaining hands-on experience in operations management.

As Becky's direct supervisor, I have seen her demonstrate strong critical thinking skills and the leadership capabilities necessary for success in the management field. She has helped our company achieve many goals through her valuable input as well as a persistent dedication to our organizational strategy. For example, just this year Becky helped to analyze our production schedule and suggested an effective plan to manage bottlenecks in our production process. Her contributions helped us achieve our goal of minimizing scheduled and unscheduled downtime. 

Becky may be my assistant, but she has risen to an unofficial leadership role. When team members in our department aren't sure what to do in a given situation, they often turn to Becky for her thoughtful advice and support on various projects. Becky never fails to assist them. She is kind, humble, and seems very comfortable in a leadership role. Several of her fellow employees have come into my office and expressed unsolicited compliments in regards to Becky's personality and performance.

I believe that Becky will be able to contribute to your program in a number of ways. Not only is she well-versed in the field of operations management, she also has a contagious enthusiasm that encourages those around her to work harder and achieve solutions for both personal and professional problems. She knows how to work well as part of a team and is able to model appropriate communication skills in almost any given situation.

For these reasons I highly recommend Becky James as a candidate for your MBA program. If you have any questions regarding Becky or this recommendation, please contact me.

Allen Barry, Operations Manager, Tri-State Widget Productions

• 4 Recommendation Letter Samples That Get It Right
• Sample Business School Recommendation Letter
• Sample Recommendation Letter for Graduate School
• What Should Be Included in a Recommendation Letter?
• Sample Recommendation Letters for College Applicants
• Meeting MBA Work Experience Requirements
• Details to Give Recommendation Letter Writers
• How to Write a Letter of Recommendation
• A Guide to Writing Recommendation Letters
• 3 Types of Recommendation Letters
• MBA Essay Tips
• How to Write and Format an MBA Essay
• How to Get a Recommendation Letter for Graduate School
• Get a Letter of Recommendation From an Online University
• 6 MBA Interview Mistakes to Avoid
• Sample Recommendation Letter: Business Program Recommendation

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What You Need to Apply

Applying for the wharton mba: application & admission requirements, below you will find full details on prerequisites, application fees, essay topics, gre/gmat test scores, references and other details you’ll need to satisfy the wharton mba admission requirements. however, the most detailed instructions are included in the application itself. remember, you must complete the online application to be considered for the mba program. if you’re looking for deadline information and an overview of the application process, please see application timelines and deadlines ., mba application checklist & prerequisite requirements.

A complete application will consist of the following items:

Background Information

Application fee.

• Transcripts (unofficial or official)
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• GMAT or GRE Score
• English Language Test Score

Essay Questions

Transcripts, letters of recommendation, english language test.

• Contact information (e.g., mailing address and phone number)
• Date of birth
• Beginning with your high school, please complete the Education and Transcript section for all of your academic experiences, including your bachelor’s or bachelor’s-equivalent degree, study abroad, summer school, and post-baccalaureate classes. If you have more information than the three forms will allow, please use the Microsoft Excel  Multiple Transcript Template  to record your additional education.
• To ensure the quick processing of your application, we are no longer accepting mailed transcripts at the time of application. Instead, please submit your transcript(s) as a scanned document or use the Transcript Template  found here. Use the upload feature, provided at each school listing, to submit your self-reported transcript(s).
• If admitted, you will be required to provide official transcripts of all previous academic work to verify the information provided in the uploaded documents. If there are discrepancies between the self-reported academic work and official records, your offer of admission will be withdrawn. Offers of admission are not binding until academic records are verified.
• Beginning with your most recent position, please complete the Employment section with your full-time experience, including military and entrepreneurial experiences. You can also include any significant part-time or summer employment since the beginning of college.
• The Employment section allows you to list your four most recent employments; however, all employment experience is important to us. Feel free to use the optional essay to explain any gaps in employment.
• Please note that we will see all of your answer to the Reason for Leaving question, whether or not it is fully visible on your application when you print it using Adobe Acrobat PDF.  This field is fully visible in our review system.
• Family information
• If you have ever been convicted of or plead guilty or no contest to a felony or misdemeanor (excluding minor traffic violations), you must report this information. Failure to disclose this information may result in the withdrawal of any possible offers of admission. Answers will be reviewed by the Wharton MBA Admissions Review Officer. This information will not be provided to the admissions committee as part of the regular academic review process.

The application fee for Wharton’s MBA program is $275 and non-refundable. It can be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express), with your application.

Essays for the 2023-2024 Application Cycle

The Admissions Committee wants to get to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, candid and succinct. Most importantly, we suggest you be yourself. For additional essay writing resources, see the  essay tips article!

Essay 1 : How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

Essay 2 : Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

Required Essay for all Reapplicants:  Please use this space to share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected and grown since your previous application and discuss any relevant updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, and extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)

Optional Essay: Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee. This space can also be used to address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (500 words)

Please note:

• First-time MBA applicants and re-applicants are required to complete essays 1 and 2.

Transcripts of all academic work completed at the baccalaureate/undergraduate level and beyond, whether or not for credit or a degree, are required to apply for the MBA program. When submitting your transcripts, you can do one of the following:

• Upload unofficial transcripts OR
• Self-report grades on our Online Transcript Template

Please note: Official documents are required upon admission and matriculation .

The Letter of Recommendation component of our application will be broken into two sections:

• A selection of positive personality characteristics. Recommenders will be asked to choose two characteristics from a list of ten that best describe the candidate they are recommending.
• Please provide example(s) that illustrate why you believe this candidate will find success in the Wharton MBA classroom. (Word count: 300)
• Please provide example(s) that illustrate why you believe this candidate will find success throughout their career. (Word count: 300)

We require two letters of recommendations from individuals who are well acquainted with your performance in a work setting, preferably from a current or former supervisor.

The title or position of the recommender is not as important as his/her ability to comment knowledgeably and specifically about you. Submit recommendations from people who can speak directly about your aptitudes and capabilities.

We require all recommendations to be submitted electronically. After you have contacted your recommenders, please complete the form on the Recommendations page.

After selecting your recommenders, it is possible that you’ll need to alter this selection. If a recommender has not begun their recommendation, you can delete them and assign another recommender.  Please note that your new recommender will not appear on the recommendation page of your application, however we will see the new listing when you submit your application.

If you or a recommender have questions, please reach out to [email protected] .

All applicants must submit results of either the Graduate Management Admission Test (older version or Focus Edition, both now referred to as GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

We accept scores from tests taken at a test center or at home/online. All at-home tests are monitored by a human proctor online. Scores may be self-reported; when self-reporting your score(s) in the application please list your highest score first. Should you receive an offer of admission, official scores will then be requested for verification.

The GMAT code for the Wharton MBA Program is G56-97-73.  The GRE code is: 6802.

Results from one of the following tests is required for non-native English speakers with limited exposure to English:

• The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT)
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE)
• The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

All international applicants whose native language (language first learned and spoken at home) is not English, or who did not complete a degree from an institution where English was the language of instruction, are required to take the TOEFL, PTE, or IELTS. If you earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction, the test may be waived.

TOEFL –  The code for the Wharton MBA Program is: 2926.

PTE –  Report your scores directly to The Wharton MBA Program

Please upload a one-page resume. We are interested in your functional job skills, breadth and depth of experience, demonstrated leadership and management skills, and your potential for growth. We are more concerned with what you have learned in your positions than we are with the length of time you’ve been in the workplace.

• Only scan the important parts of your document. Do not scan pictures, graphics and unnecessary text.
• Save the scanned object as a .pdf file with the proper 3-letter extension. Please do not attempt to upload a document that is password-protected or that contains macros. This will cause the process to fail.
• Close the .pdf file.
• Check the size of your file. It should not exceed 10 MB.
• Upload your file using the buttons.
• Make sure scanned documents are clearly legible. Illegible documents will not be accepted and will delay the evaluation of your application.

Francis J. & William Polk Carey JD/MBA Program Requirements

The Carey JD/MBA Program is a joint-degree program and therefore shares admissions requirements with the Wharton MBA Program. In addition to the elements of the full-time MBA application, the Carey JD/MBA application includes a Law School section that requests additional information specific to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School JD program.

Note: You may not apply to the Carey JD/MBA Program and simultaneously apply individually to the Wharton MBA Program and/or the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School JD Program in the same application cycle. Once you have submitted an application for the Carey JD/MBA Program, you cannot switch to the other degree programs or vice versa.

For additional questions about the Carey JD/MBA Program, please contact [email protected]  or visit the Carey JD/MBA Program website .

Application Eligibility Requirements

All applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree to be eligible to enroll in the Juris Doctor (JD) program. Applicants who are admitted to the Carey JD/MBA Program are admitted for the fall semester on a full-time basis only. All applicants must take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is not required. If an applicant takes the LSAT, they must also take the GRE or the GMAT. Regardless of test format, all applicants must register with the LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS) and all test scores must be reported. (See Standardized Tests and LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS) information below.)

Regular Decision

If you submit and complete an application for Round 1 or Round 2, you will receive a decision according to the Wharton MBA Admissions decision release timeline. Regular Decision applicants who are taking the LSAT should take the LSAT no later than September of the application year for Round 1 and November of the application year for Round 2.

Early Decision (Binding)

The Carey JD/MBA Program’s Early Decision option is designed for applicants who have thoroughly researched their law school options and determined that the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is their first choice. Our Early Decision program is binding. Applicants who wish to be considered for early decision must commit to matriculate in the Carey JD/MBA Program if admitted. If admitted, you must withdraw your applications from all other law schools and refrain from initiating new applications. You may not submit an early decision application to more than one law school.

Note: Applications must be submitted through Wharton no later than September 6, 2023, for Early Decision Round 1 and no later than January 4, 2024, for Early Decision Round 2. Early Decision applicants who are taking the LSAT should take the LSAT no later than September of the application year for Round 1 consideration and no later than November of the application year for Round 2 consideration.

How to Apply

As an applicant to the Carey JD/MBA Program, you are required to submit your application through Wharton Round 1 or Round 2. Please do not fill out nor submit the Fall 2024 – First Year JD application through the LSAC Electronic Application service. Once you have submitted your application through Wharton, the MBA application process is conducted independently by each school but the evaluation and decision-making are conducted jointly. The Law School will begin processing Carey JD/MBA applications in early October.

You are strongly encouraged to answer the application essay questions in relation to the Carey JD/MBA Program as opposed to only the Wharton MBA Program.

Standardized Tests and LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS)

All applicants to the Carey JD/MBA Program must take the GRE or the GMAT. We will accept at-home GRE, GMAT, and LSAT scores. The LSAT is not required. If an applicant takes the LSAT, they must also take the GRE or the GMAT. We will accept LSAT results from any exam taken from June 2017 or thereafter for the class entering in fall 2023. GRE or GMAT test dates must align with the Wharton MBA test date requirements for the appropriate application round. If you take a test more than once or take more than one testing format, all scores will be considered and must be reported in the application form. All test scores should be submitted in the JD/MBA application as directed. In addition, you must request GRE and/or GMAT official score reports from ETS and/or GMAC to be sent directly to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s school code is 4122 for GRE score reporting and G56-RV-81 for GMAT score reporting. The Law School will not accept test-taker score reports directly from the applicant nor can we accept score reports transferred from Wharton.

Regardless of the testing format you choose to use, each applicant must also register with the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) and arrange to have all transcripts sent to LSAC from each college or university attended. When the Law School receives your application from Wharton, the Law School will request your CAS report, and LSAC will send it directly to the Law School. Please note that your CAS report will not be released by LSAC until all required transcripts have been received and processed by LSAC. In addition, if you have not or will not take the LSAT, please select the GRE/GMAT only checkbox in the LSAT section of the Test Information section.

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School requires that any international transcripts be submitted through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service for applicants who completed any post-secondary work outside the US (including its territories) or Canada. You must use this service for the evaluation of your international transcripts. The one exception to this requirement is if you completed the international work through a study-abroad, consortium, or exchange program sponsored by a US or Canadian institution, and the work is clearly indicated as such on the home campus transcript. This service is included in the Credential Assembly Service registration fee.

Recommendation Forms and Letters

You must submit two recommendation letters through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service. If you have obtained two letters of recommendation to be used for the Carey JD/MBA application, these letters can satisfy the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School requirement but you must have your recommenders submit duplicate copies of these two letters to LSAC. Your CAS report will not be released to us until at least two letters of recommendation are on file with LSAC and assigned to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. This service is included with your Credential Assembly Service registration. You and your recommender must use the letter of recommendation form available online through the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Service for each letter submitted to LSAC.  Please do not send letters directly to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.  Note that we will accept up to four letters of recommendation through LSAC; however, your application is deemed complete with two letters of recommendation.

Carey JD/MBA Interview

Carey JD/MBA interviews are granted by invitation only. If you are invited to interview, you are required to complete the Wharton Team Based Discussion as well as a Carey JD/MBA interview.

Application Status/Questions

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Admissions Office is committed to serving our applicants as efficiently and effectively as we can during the MBA application process. Please be advised that it may take approximately two weeks from the date that we receive the Carey JD/MBA application from Wharton to process and complete the applicant file. We will notify you of the date upon which we receive your application from Wharton and inform you of any missing documents upon receipt of your Credential Assembly Service report. We will also notify you of the date upon which your application is complete.

You can check the status of your application at any time using Application Status, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s online status checker. To access the online status checker, please visit https://www.law.upenn.edu/admissions/jd/ .

For additional Law School application instructions, please visit  https://www.law.upenn.edu/admissions/jd/how-to-apply.php .

Tuition and Financial Aid

For detailed information on Law School tuition and financial aid, please visit https://www.law.upenn.edu/admissions/financing/ .

Wharton/Lauder Institute Joint-Degree Applicants

The Lauder Institute offers a joint-degree MA in International Studies in tandem with the Wharton MBA or JD programs at Penn. The Lauder Institute shares MBA program requirements with the Wharton MBA program, and the application is reviewed in its entirety by both the Lauder and Wharton Admissions committees. Accepted Lauder MBA/MA students are admitted jointly into both programs, not independently into each. Lauder applications are accepted in all 3 application rounds.

In addition to the Wharton MBA application, Lauder requires that you complete a language assessment called the Oral Proficiency Interview(s), one Lauder essay, and answers to supplemental questions regarding international/cross-cultural experience. You will be prompted to submit these items in the online application.

For any questions you have about the Lauder/MBA application process, please contact the Lauder Admissions office at [email protected]

Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is required of all Lauder applicants and must be scheduled and completed with Language Testing International (LTI). To schedule an OPI, complete and submit LTI’s online application . When scheduling your OPI(s), please be sure to register as a Lauder applicant with LTI. There is no need to forward your scores to the Admissions Committee—Lauder OPI scores are available for the Admissions Committee to review through LTI’s online portal.

The OPI may be completed any time after July 1, 2023 to count for the current admissions cycle, but it must be completed by September 6, 2023 for Round 1 applicants or January 4, 2024 for Round 2 applicants. OPI ratings are valid for a single application cycle, and reapplicants to the Lauder program will need to retake the OPI(s). If you have any questions about scheduling the OPI please contact LTI by phone at +1-914-963-7110 (extension 115 or 127) or by email at [email protected] . Please consult with the Lauder admissions office if you have questions regarding the language requirements for Lauder.

For applicants to one of Lauder’s five Programs of Concentration : An OPI in the proposed language of study is required. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for the OPI range from Novice to Distinguished, and an Advanced rating is the expected level for admission to Lauder.

Educated native speakers of Romance languages* [such as French, Italian, Spanish] will be considered for the Latin America/Portuguese program without prior knowledge of Portuguese. These applicants should test in their native language and are required to submit a Superior-level OPI rating for that language. In addition, educated native speaker applicants who speak some Portuguese should take an OPI in Portuguese even if the expected rating is at or below Advanced.

Educated native speakers in Romance languages* [such as French, Portuguese, Spanish] will be considered for the Europe/Italian program without prior knowledge of Italian. These applicants should test in their native language and are required to submit a Superior-level OPI rating for that language. In addition, educated native speaker applicants who speak some Italian should take an OPI in Italian even if the expected rating is at or below Advanced.

* a person who speaks that particular language as a first language AND whose formal education was delivered in that language through high school.

For applicants to Lauder’s Global program: One OPI in a language other than English is required of all applicants to the Global program. Applicants to the Global Program must test at the Superior level. Applicants may test in their native language provided it is not English.

For applicants to Lauder’s General Track Africa Program  of Concentration:  Candidates applying to the General track Africa Program must demonstrate Superior-level proficiency on the OPI in any language other than English. Applicants may test in their native language provided it is not English.

Lauder Essay

Discuss why you are applying to the Lauder Institute, detailing specific reasons, experiences, and background for choosing your Program of Concentration, as well as your interest in further study in that Program. Applicants to Programs of Concentration involving language study (Africa-French; East and Southeast Asia; Europe; Latin America; South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa) should also discuss what they hope to gain from advanced language and cultural education, as well as describe how they have learned the language they will study (e.g. undergraduate courses, undergraduate major, etc.). Finally, please describe how you see yourself benefiting from, and contributing to, the Lauder community.   (800 words)

Lauder Interview

Lauder interviews are granted by invitation-only, based upon a full review of your submitted application. Typically, the Lauder interview is conducted remotely or on-campus with a current Lauder student. If you are invited to interview, you are required to complete the Wharton team-based discussion as well as a Lauder interview.

The Lauder Institute is committed to supporting candidates who are admitted to the Lauder Institute. In fact, nearly all of our students receive some kind of financial support for the graduate degree in International Studies. Please visit our website for more information on Lauder fellowships, tuition and financial aid .

Lauder applicants may also apply for the University of Pennsylvania’s Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships program .

Interviews for the MBA program are offered by invitation only. If you have been invited to interview, then you will participate in the Wharton MBA Team Based Discussion (TBD). Visit the Interview Process for more details and tips.

Admissions Decisions

After you apply to an MBA program, all decisions are released via Online Application System. Decisions released include:

Admission to the Wharton MBA

We offer clear admission to highly qualified candidates pending confirmation of official academic transcripts and test scores. Admissions are made on an individual basis & all applicants are measured against both the MBA admissions requirements & in the greater context of all applicants.

Conditional Admission

We offer conditional admission to candidates who clearly demonstrate significant potential for success both within the Wharton MBA program and post MBA, but whom we feel need additional preparation before beginning the Wharton MBA program. Conditional admission is typically based on the need for strengthening a candidate’s analytical background or improving English communication skills.

Candidates can expect to remain on the waitlist until the previous round of decisions are released. There is no rank order to the waitlist, and we are unable to offer feedback to candidates while they remain on the list.

The committee welcomes important updates that you believe add significant value, growth, or development to  your application since submission.

International Applicants

Requirements for the MBA program are the same for both international students and U.S. citizens. Recognizing the special challenges that international students face, both Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania provide information and resources to help you navigate the MBA application process, and we assist international students with issues like obtaining a visa and relocating to a new country.

Academic Requirements

The MBA Admissions requirements are as follows: a college-level education equivalent to a four-year American undergraduate or baccalaureate degree (the same as a first university degree). Several universities around the world offer three-year undergraduate programs. If you received a bachelor’s degree upon completion of one of these undergraduate programs, you are eligible to apply to the MBA program. Many candidates from three-year programs have a master’s degree as well, but it is not required.

When applying, list all of the post-secondary educational institutions you have attended, including technical and professional schools. Use the full names of the institutions attended, and provide the titles of all diplomas or degrees earned.

Please submit only official academic records from educational institutions. Official records are defined as original documents issued by the institution that bear both the actual (not photocopied) signature of the registrar and the institutional seal. Records issued only once by institutions should be photocopied and certified as official copies by school officials or legal authorities, such as embassies or public notaries. Please do not send the original copy of an academic record that cannot be replaced.

If you have attended more than one institution, submit official records from each institution, except study-abroad programs that are listed on your official undergraduate transcripts. If academic records and diplomas are not issued in English by the institution, submit both the official record and an authorized English translation.

All translations should be complete and literal renditions of the original record. Records should show the date of enrollment, courses taken, units of credit or time allotted to each subject during each term or year, your marks or ratings in each subject, and, if available, your rank in the total class or group.

The institutional grading scale (or other standards of evaluation, including minimum passing and failing marks and the definitions of grades between them) should appear on official records, or you should provide them as an attachment. For more information on the general MBA Application process, see the ‘ Application Checklist ‘ section above.

English Language Examinations

• Pearson PTE

You may waive an English test if you have earned an undergraduate degree or master’s degree in an English-speaking country or from an institution at which English is the language of instruction. You must provide evidence to support the waiver. If your test score is more than two years old (from the date of the exam to the date of application arrival), you must retake the test.

How to take a test:

• The TOEFL iBT is offered at more than 3,000 authorized TOEFL iBT test centers or from the privacy of your own home and monitored online by a human proctor.
• The PTE is offered at 400+ test centers in 117 countries or at home.
• The IELTS is offered in test centers or at home.

Wharton only accepts official scores for English language tests.

Student Visas

Should an offer of admission be extended and accepted, you are eligible to apply for either an F-1 or J-1 visa. To meet the eligibility requirements for a student visa, you must show proof of equivalent academic documents (diplomas), results from the TOEFL or PTE examination, and financial resources to pursue your course of study. Detailed information regarding the requirements and application process to obtain a student visa is sent to admitted students in the spring.

Interdisciplinary Program Applicants

Interdisciplinary study is central to our curriculum, with a wide array of dual and joint-degree options. In general, a dual-degree requires one  less year than it would take to pursue the two degrees separately. Joint degrees are fully integrated with the Wharton MBA curriculum and use a shared application. We offer two joint-degree programs: The Lauder MBA/MA in International Studies and the Carey JD/MBA .

Two programs combine the Wharton MBA with graduate study at other institutions; others combine a Wharton MBA with University of Pennsylvania biotechnology, design, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, and social work masters degrees.

Applying for Interdisciplinary Programs

You must apply to both Wharton and the second school or program. This means that the appropriate standardized test scores (e.g., LSAT, GRE, or MCAT), a completed application form, your transcript(s), and your letters of recommendation must also be sent to the partner school.

Admission decisions are made independently by each school, and you may pursue a dual-degree program only if admitted to both schools. Unless otherwise indicated, you may apply to both programs simultaneously. However, if you are admitted to both programs and do not want to begin at Wharton, you will need to request a deferral and will be subject to our deferral policy.

If you are already enrolled in a program, you may apply to Wharton in the fall semester following commencement of study in the co-sponsoring school. If you are applying to a three-year program, you may apply in the fall of your second year. If you are enrolled in the MD, DMD, or VMD program, you may apply to Wharton to start during any August up to and including the August following the third year of enrollment in the medical program.

To satisfy the MBA program requirements of the dual-degree program, you must take at least 15 courses at Wharton. Courses taken at Wharton prior to admission and matriculation into the Wharton MBA program may not be applied toward the degree requirements of the MBA.

Applicants to the three-year Carey JD/MBA Program must apply via a shared application. Given the unique nature of the program, applicants may not, after receiving an offer of admission, decide to enroll in one school and not the other (i.e., an applicant may not choose to only attend Wharton and not Penn Law, or vice versa, after a joint decision has been rendered). Applicants are encouraged to apply prior to matriculation in the Law School. However, since the first year of the three-year JD/MBA program takes place at Penn Law, Penn Law students have the option of applying during their 1L year, during Round 1 or Round 2 of the Wharton MBA admissions timeline.

Also, the joint-degree Lauder Program application is reviewed in its entirety by both the Lauder and Wharton Admissions Committees, and you must apply via a shared application. Accepted MBA/MA students are admitted jointly into both programs, not independently into each.

Reapplication

If you applied to a program and were not admitted, we encourage you to reapply for the next academic year. Reapplications make up approximately 10% of our applicant pool in any given year. The most important thing is that you demonstrate through essays, subsequent career growth, and/or academic preparation that you are a stronger candidate. We recommend you review the MBA Prerequisites before re-submitting an application to ensure they have not changed since you last applied.

Reapplication Essays

If you are reapplying, you are required to complete the requisite application essays plus the optional essay. Please use this space to explain how you have reflected on the previous decision on your application and to discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, and extracurricular/volunteer engagements). You may also use this section to address any applicable extenuating circumstances. (250 words)

Get in Touch with MBA Admissions

How to Get a Great MBA Recommendation

B usiness school admissions can be competitive, and one way applicants can stand out is through strong recommendations. These endorsements can help humanize applicants and provide further context about a candidate.

"Letters of recommendation are an opportunity to add an external perspective to your application and to help bring your story to life from the point of view of someone who knows you well," Lindsay Loyd, executive director of MBA admissions at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business , wrote in an email. "Put yourself in the best position for success by being thoughtful about who you ask and by approaching them early."

More than 40 schools, including NYU and other highly ranked programs , use the Graduate Management Admission Council's Common Letter of Recommendation , which is a form rather than a formal letter like an applicant may send to undergraduate school. The multipage form has various categories of questions about an applicant's work ethic , cognitive ability and personality.

The common letter also includes a leadership assessment and three open-ended questions that ask recommenders to provide further detail about the applicant, such as the most important piece of constructive feedback they gave the applicant and how the applicant responded. Schools who don't use this form often use their own internal application but ask similar questions.

Soliciting and securing strong recommendations takes strategy and planning, experts say. Here are five ways MBA hopefuls can get a great recommendation that stands out.

Understand the Goal of a Recommendation

Recommendations are an opportunity to highlight strengths and enhance the application, says Yaa Boakye, an MBA student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in Illinois. Each part of the application, especially recommendations, should build on other parts.

“I look at the recommendation letters as extra word count,” she says. “It shouldn’t be repeating from the website, your resume or essays, it should be heavily focused on closing any gaps in the person reviewing your application’s mind.”

Most B-schools require at least two recommendations. Some require just one, but it’s best for applicants to line up at least two recommenders in case one falls through, says Susan Cera, MBA admissions director at Stratus Admissions Counseling.

“When you have the opportunity to submit two recommendations, you should pick two people who have seen your work on different projects or different types of work so they can highlight different strengths to the admissions committee," she says. "You don’t want two people talking about precisely the same projects in the same way. That’s a missed opportunity.”

Choose Someone Who Knows You Well

A good recommendation can significantly boost an MBA applicant's chances. The best letters tend to come from those who work closest with an applicant, such as a current direct supervisor or manager, experts say.

"It is much less important to worry about getting the most senior person with the most impressive title to write a recommendation," Loyd says. "It is much more important to get an endorsement from someone who knows your work well and can provide specific examples to illustrate your strengths."

Because most recommendations are generally strong with a good amount of detail, a vague or generic recommendation with surface-level answers will stand out, says Coni Zingarelli, executive director of recruiting, admissions and student financial services at Rice University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in Texas.

“The majority of letters will come in strongly," she says, "and that’s because students know they should be asking people who think well of them.”

The common letter provides an option for recommenders to select if they don't have enough information on the applicant to answer the question. Zingarelli has seen letters with such answers, and that makes the recommendation useless, she says.

“If someone knows you well and can give insight into you, your skills and abilities and the things that make you a great MBA candidate, you’re going to have a more robust and positive letter," she says.

Solicit Recommendations Early

Whether it's for undergraduate or graduate school admissions, experts routinely recommend completing important application tasks as early as possible. This is particularly true for parts of an application that require the assistance of someone else, such as a recommendation, Zingarelli says.

“It’s the one thing I can tell you on the review side that holds up the review of the application being complete," she says.

Procrastinating could result in "some unintended consequences" for both the recommender and applicant, Loyd says. A short turnaround time may prevent a recommender from writing a thoughtful and comprehensive letter that demonstrates deep knowledge of the applicant.

"For you as the applicant, the less time you allow your recommender means more self-inflicted anxiety and less time to explore alternatives if your first choice does not work out," she says.

Between four and six months prior to applying, applicants should have conversations with four to six people and gauge their interest in being a recommender, Cera says. That way if anyone falls through or can’t complete the form, it’s not a total surprise when you have to pivot to another person.

While the formal request might not come until closer to when an applicant plans to apply to business school, cultivating relationships with potential recommenders should start much earlier, Boakye says.

“The idea of starting is tied to a date in which the application is due," she says. "I actually argue the start date is the moment you work with someone, the moment you start volunteering somewhere, whatever the context or capacity. You need to build that up as soon as possible."

Don't Write the Recommendation

While those writing MBA recommendations will know an applicant better than most, experts say MBA hopefuls should still provide them with an achievement log that highlights awards, accomplishments or other noteworthy items that the recommender can speak to. Don't assume that they will thoroughly recall such things.

“Only you remember things in the level of detail that you do," Boakye says.

Providing information should be for background only, however, and applicants should tread carefully so as not to write the recommendation for them. It's typically easy for admissions officers to spot when this has happened, Loyd says.

"My best advice is to share your resume. It’s a great way to refresh your recommender on your highlight reel," Loyd says. "Then, be sure to have a live conversation with your recommender. This can be in person, over Zoom or the phone. In that conversation, you can provide some context for why you are pursuing an MBA, your post-MBA goals , and why a given program is the best fit for you. This context will help them write a stronger recommendation for you."

Follow Up But Don't Nag

Recommenders are typically business professionals with a busy schedule. Making the initial request early allows them time to complete the recommendation and gives applicants time to follow up as the deadline approaches.

This is an important step, and it's crucial that applicants navigate this process well and avoid being annoying or overbearing to those writing the recommendation. First, applicants should maintain contact with recommenders with periodic check-ins, providing necessary updates about projects completed or other noteworthy items.

“If you give your recommender three to six months and you do a lot of these milestones with checking in with them, having coffee, updating them, providing them more context, that letter is going to be so rich that there’s just no way, when someone is reading your letter, that they’re going to confuse you with someone who is slapping it together," Boakye says.

Because people have different communication preferences and working styles, applicants should ask recommenders how they prefer to be reminded, whether through email, text message, phone call or in person.

"In general, it’s probably best to create an overview of all the deliverables and due dates at the outset, then provide a reminder email one to two weeks before a given deadline," Loyd says. "When you get confirmation that a recommendation has been received by the program, don’t forget to follow up with a thank you to your recommender."

Searching for a business school? Get our  complete rankings  of Best Business Schools.

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What to Ask Law School Admissions Officers

Good questions to ask admissions officers are clear, open-ended and school-specific.

Ask Law School Admissions Officers This

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Admissions officers love to talk about what sets their school apart.

Admissions officers don’t like to think of themselves as stern gatekeepers. Rather, they see themselves more like magnets, seeking to attract the right students to their school. They love to talk about what sets their school apart, and they love to help applicants make the right choices. They want to encourage applicants to apply.

Thus, law school applicants should not fear speaking with admissions officers. They should welcome opportunities to do so by visiting a school or attending online or in-person events like information sessions.

If they have a chance to participate in a live interview, they should embrace the opportunity. Typically, interviewers allow applicants to ask at least a couple of questions about the school.

To make the most of these interactions, it’s important to prepare a few questions ahead. Here are some types of questions to ask law school admissions officers:

• Questions about the law school’s specific strengths and offerings.
• Positive, open-ended questions about the law school.
• Questions that show serious intent to attend.
• Questions specific to your personal situation.
• Questions about the admissions process.

Questions About the Law School’s Specific Strengths and Offerings

Before your interview, do your homework. Read the law school website thoroughly and learn about how the school presents itself and the programs and activities it offers.

Ask questions about law school offerings that match your interests, like specializations, programs and campus activities like legal journals . Not only do such questions provide helpful information and give the interviewer a chance to brag about the law school’s selling points, but they show genuine interest.

Learn from the mistake of a candidate with whom I recently conducted a practice interview. Having worked on immigration issues in college, she expressed interest in setting up a student group on this topic and asked about the process for establishing a new campus organization.

This might have been a good question – except the school already had a legal clinic on immigration law as well as a student group related to immigration law .

Even if her proposal would be unique, I advised her to rephrase her question to show familiarity with those offerings. She then sheepishly admitted she had asked a similar question at another law school interview without first exploring its current offerings online.

Positive, Open-Ended Questions About the Law School

There is no need to flatter a school by asking about how great it is, but it can be revealing to ask interviewers to talk about their school in their own words. Use a question word like “why,” “what” or “how” to keep the question open-ended.

For example: What sets the school apart from its peers? How does the school support students seeking jobs or clerkships ? What are the most common career paths followed by your graduates?

Questions That Show Serious Intent to Attend

If you learned that in six months you would have to move to Antarctica, you would likely have many questions. Where would you live? What would you do? How would you adjust?

Likewise, if you are taking the possibility of attending a certain law school seriously, you surely have concrete questions about spending three years there. Without needing to work out all the details in advance, you might like to ask questions about the campus culture or environment or student housing arrangements . What resources are available to help first-year students succeed?

Questions Specific to Your Personal Situation

If you are a minority applicant , an LGBTQ applicant , an older applicant , an applicant with disabilities, a veteran , a parent or another applicant with specific concerns, you might ask questions about how the law school welcomes and accommodates students like you.

Indeed, you might ask to be put in touch with a similarly situated student or alumnus for a direct perspective about what your experience at the school would be like.

Questions About the Admissions Process

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask more questions about the process. Admissions officers should be able to answer questions like: How do you evaluate candidates? How can I best position myself as a candidate? What is the usual timeline for admissions decisions ?

Coming up with good questions can be challenging, but it is also a key legal skill. The practice you get as an applicant might serve you well throughout your career, from law firm interviews to witness depositions. As most lawyers would agree, knowledge comes from asking the right questions.

Tips to Boost a Law School Application

Tags: law school , graduate schools , education , students

About Law Admissions Lowdown

Law Admissions Lowdown provides advice to prospective students about the law school application process, LSAT prep and potential career paths. Previously authored by contributors from Stratus Admissions Counseling, the blog is currently authored by Gabriel Kuris, founder of Top Law Coach , an admissions consultancy. Kuris is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has helped hundreds of applicants navigate the law school application process since 2003. Got a question? Email [email protected] .

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