很多同学都在发愁推荐信的事,有人不知道该找谁写推荐信,有人疑惑推荐人英文不好应该怎么办。小编搜罗了今年美国S16商学院的推荐信要求,整理了本篇文章,希望能对困惑中的小伙伴有一些帮助。 推荐信的重要性
为什么申请中要写推荐信呢?有两个重要作用。第一,对你其他的申请文书做一个补充,帮助学校更全面地了解你;第二个重要作用是证明,以其他人的角度证明你的优点确实如你所说。Stanford官网对于推荐信是这么说的:Stories about your behaviors, impact, and personal qualities told by others play an essential role in our evaluation of your application. Your letters of reference should provide specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate your ability and desire to make a difference in the world.
如何选择推荐人
最有用的评价来自那些能够肯定你的领导能力、成熟度、团队定位、分析能力和人际交往能力的人。
那些title高却不了解你的推荐人未必是最佳人选,你应该考虑这样的人:在过去的三年里,通过与你的直接接触,了解你;能够提供详细的例子来体现你能力、特质的人是否有足够的热情花时间写一封深思熟虑的信
Booth官网关于推荐人是这么说的:Whomever you choose to write your recommendation, make sure he or she knows you well and can offer specific examples of your performance and contributions to the organization. Avoid choosing people simply based on their title or status. We are more concerned with content and substance rather than reputation.
无论你选择谁来写你的推荐信,都要确保他/她很了解你,并且能够提供你的具体表现和对公司的贡献的例子。避免仅仅根据头衔或地位来选择推荐人,学校更关心的是内容和实质,而不是推荐人的title。
推荐信的内容
目前,大部分商学院采用了GMAC 通用推荐信 (The Common Letter of Recommendation),比如:MIT, Tuck, Ross, Cornell, CBS 等,其他学校虽然不一定都采用GMAC通用推荐信,但是推荐信的内容也涵盖了以下通用问题。
GMAC与一群顶尖商学院合作,帮助开发了这套推荐信的“常见”问题,目的是让推荐人更容易地写推荐信。GMAC通用推荐信(LOR)的目标是通过提供一组简单、常见的问题来节省推荐人的宝贵时间。这种方法允许推荐人对多个提交的信件使用相同的回答,从而减少了为不同学校回答几十个附加问题的需要。
第三部分:推荐问题
推荐人将被要求回答以下问题(填写):
Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (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?) (500 words)Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (500 words)Is there anything else we should know? (Optional)
另有一些没有完全采用GMAC通用推荐信的学校,可能会另加入一些学校“特制问题”,或者在回答推荐信问题时要有特别的倾向性。Wharton有一篇的问题是uestion 1: Please provide example(s) that illustrate why you believe this candidate will find success in the Wharton MBA classroom. (Word count: 300)请提供一些例子来说明为什么你认为这位候选人会在沃顿商学院的MBA课堂上取得成功。(字数:300)NYU有一篇的问题是:IQ+EQ is a core value of NYU Stern, and we seek exceptional individuals who possess both intellectual and interpersonal strengths. Emotional intelligence (EQ) skills such as self-awareness, empathy, communication and self-management are at the core of our community of leaders. Please provide one specific and compelling example to demonstrate the applicant\'s emotional intelligence.智商+情商是Stern的核心价值观。自我意识、同理心、沟通和自我管理等情商技能是我们领导者群体的核心。请提供一个具体而令人信服的例子来证明申请人的情商。
可见,推荐人可以按通用问题准备推荐信内容,但通用的推荐信并不能完全套用任何学校,还要根据不同学校对申请人不同的特质倾向来准备。
其他问题Q1.推荐人英文不好怎么办
大部分商学院是理解推荐人英文可能不好的状况,找专业翻译机构翻译论证一下给到学校,不过具体每个学校又会有特别情况。NYU:If your endorser cannot complete a endorsement in English, he or she will need to complete a paper endorsement, following the instructions above, and have it translated into English. A certified English translation through a translating service must be obtained and submitted in a sealed envelope with the original endorsement, endorsed across the seal.推荐人完成书面推荐信后,将其翻译成英文。通过翻译服务获得的经认证的英语译文必须装在一个密封的信封中,并附上原始的背书,并盖章。UCLA:If a recommender does not write in English, the uploaded document can be a certified translation of their comments.
如果推荐人不用英语的话,可以上传有翻译资质提供的内容翻译件。Yale: Yale SOM welcomes your recommenders to upload and submit letters of recommendation written in Chinese (Mandarin) or Spanish. Yale University will be responsible for providing a translation to English for review by the Office of Admissions.耶鲁大学管理学院欢迎您的推荐人上传和提交用中文(普通话)或西班牙语写的推荐信。耶鲁大学将负责为招生办公室提供英文翻译。
Q2.是否放弃查看推荐信的权限?
Stanford关于FERPA访问权限,这样说:Once you are an enrolled student, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) provides you with a right of access to your education record, including letters of reference if they are retained by the school. The law also permits you to waive that right of access to your letters of reference if you so choose. Waiving your right of access to your letters of reference 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 reference submission process. You must waive or retain your right of access to your letters of reference (using the online application system) before you invite recommenders to submit information for you.
根据1974年的《家庭教育权利和隐私法》(FERPA) 规定,学生有权查阅自己的教育记录,包括学校保留的推荐信;你也可以选择放弃这项查阅推荐信的权利。无论你选择保留或是放弃这项权利,都不会影响对你申请的处理。您的推荐人将能够看到您是否放弃了查看推荐信的权利。在你(使用网申系统)给推荐人发邀请函时,你必须勾选是放弃还是保留查阅推荐信的权利。
Q4.Deadline后还能提交吗?
每个学校要求不同,建议认真阅读官网要求。Stanford的要求是:Your recommenders are required to submit their letters through the online application by the deadline of the round in which you apply. You are responsible for ensuring the letters are submitted on time. You will be able to see the status of each letter (either notified, started, or submitted) and also will be able to ask Stanford to send each recommender a reminder approximately one week before the application deadline date.
你的推荐人必须在你的申请截止日期前通过网上申请递交他们的推荐信。你有责任确保信件按时递交。您将能够看到每封信的状态(无论是通知的、开始的还是提交的),还可以要求Stanford在申请截止日期前大约一周给每位推荐人发送提醒。Darden的要求是:If your application is incomplete at the deadline, we will reach out to you about any missing materials. We generally ask that recommendations for our full-time rounds be submitted by no later than a week after the application deadline, but it’s always helpful for you to keep us posted as you finalize your application. If one of your recommendations may arrive late, let us know. 如果你的申请在截止日期前没有完成,我们会联系你,告诉你任何遗漏的材料。我们通常要求在申请截止日期后的一周内提交推荐信,如果你的推荐信有可能会晚到,请告诉学校,随时向学校发送信息总是很有帮助的。