Hands down, this is the most commonly asked question during our outreach presentations both at home and on the road... so I'd like to tackle it here to reach the broadest possible audience.
Something will be lost without the visuals - in person, I do a combination of a wince and a sympathetic shrug because the answer is: "gee, I don't know - but I understand how anxious this issue makes you and I will try to help". Let me back into the question and tell you how we review the recommendations. All written applications are read by the Admissions Board. All the materials you submit are compiled into folders and circulated to Board members for their comments. Your three recommendations, of course, are included.
The first thing I do when I read a recommendation is to ascertain how the recommender knows the candidate. Have they worked closely? When? In what context? Then I move to the actual responses to the questions we pose. Has the recommender taken the time and care to answer the actual questions? The Board puts a great deal of thought into these questions and we value a direct response. This is different from asking for a standard format "letter of reference" which, in most cases, would be 100% praise.
We don't expect the ratings grid to be all at the extreme positive end of the scale. It's hard to imagine the value of a Harvard education for someone who is "perfect". We prefer our candidates to be "normal" with opportunities for growth and development.
We are very pleased with the wording of the question: "what constructive feedback have you given the applicant?" We are finding this yields responses that are more productive than language around "weaknesses" or "areas for improvement" which can be manipulated to look like strengths, i.e. "Sally simply doesn't know how to stop working at 100%". Actually, that would be a real weakness, but you can imagine that it is meant to have a positive spin.
When it comes to "who should I select as my recommender?", there is no right answer or prescription. Candidates simply must use common sense and trust that we on the Admissions Board are reasonable and understanding. There are many successful candidates who are unable to provide recommenders from current supervisors. Also there are many candidates who are new to companies or roles and the current supervisor would not be able to be very helpful. We get it. Make your best judgment call and stop worrying. If we are struggling with understanding why a strong candidate made a curious choice of recommenders, we'll ask you - either we'll pick up the phone or we'll ask you during the interview. It is also not uncommon for us to pick up the phone and call a recommender for clarification. A simple test might be that if a recommender doesn't know you well enough to answer the questions we pose, he/she is not a good choice.
College seniors: don't be hesitant to ask for recommendations from college professors with whom you have worked closely. We do not expect you to have the same relationships in the professional world as those who are applying from the work force.
Now that I've tried to reassure you that choosing recommenders shouldn't be stressful, here are a couple of categories that I'd have to call "not a good idea". I have rarely seen a helpful recommendation from a fifth grade piano teacher. Likewise, family members simply cannot be viewed as objective enough for this task. We are very eager to see candidates from family businesses, but you should find recommenders who can substantiate your role and contributions who are not your relatives. This year we will be, for the first time, openly discouraging of informal input from current HBS students which are submitted outside of the three required recommendations. Of course we value their opinions and are deeply appreciative of their efforts to find wonderful new admits to the MBA Program. However, it is not comfortable to send any signal that those who are not fortunate enough to count HBS students as friends or former colleagues are in any way disadvantaged in the admissions process.
As usual, I hope this level of candor is helpful.
