I'm at the stage now of prepping for the GMAT exam and an MBA application. One of the biggest issues I'm facing is deciding who to ask to be my references. I am aware that I require two of them and ideally one being current line manager.
The problem is that I have just been given a promotion to a slightly different job and wage rise at work less than a week ago. I am not completely comfortable going to my boss a week later for a reference for an MBA application. However I appreciate i'll just need to get over this and do it anyway.
I am also a bit concerned that I've left all this too late. I was originally planning on changing job and applying for MBA in 2019. Since I've got the wage rise I've decided to stay here but now want to apply for 2018 intake.
I have two main questions over this;
1) How long this reference will take each referee to write? Essentially I want to know how big a favor i'm asking and how big a time commitment i'm asking them to make?
2) How long should I take to prepare for the GMAT exam plus write MBA applications (At least 3 schools)?
Appreciate any help on this.
The time required varies widely, but I'd give your recommenders at least 3 weeks to write the letters. It'd probably be preferable to grab coffee with the recommenders, explain how your application is going to be shaped and let them know the timeline. They might ask you to outline the letter - bullet points on what you need it to say, any specific stories you think would be helpful. Basically, you're trying to make this as easy as possible for them.
This again varies dramatically, but I'd give yourself a couple months for GMAT studying and a couple months for preparing applications. I'd book your gmat test date now for maybe early August because the score you get will inform the schools to which you can apply. However, I'd also highly recommend visiting the schools to which you are applying. It might be circumstantial, but I did not get admitted to any schools that I didn't visit. If you can't visit, I'd schedule time with an admissions advisor to let them know why can't make it.
One other piece of advice - think very carefully about your recommenders. You want these to be people that know you and are willing to vouch for you. In your case, it sounds like your former manager might be a better recommender than your new manager. Speaking from experience again, I did not get into schools where I had questionable recommenders (i.e. "big names") but I was admitted to all schools where I used managers that knew me better and were willing to put in the time.
Last thing - you want your best application to be the one you submit. Round 1 applications might be preferable all else equal, but Round 2 has similar odds and will give you more time to get GMAT, visits, recommenders, applications lined up.
Thanks for that advice. Much appreciated.
I am from the UK and visiting friends in NY this summer. So I am going to try to visit a few schools around the area during that time. I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to visit schools in the rest of the country which I intend to apply, however I might try to schedule in a flying visit as I agree it will add value.
I wish there was a centralised system among schools for recommendaton submissions
how do they expect my reference to write 6 good 500 word recommendations with each school asking a slightly different queston
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