MBA Support Letters Probably the best MBA Admissions Consulting firm in the world

MBA Support e-mails are short letters sent by an MBA student, alumnus or professor of a certain school to the admission committee of that school.

Level of impact on admission chances: 1 out of 5

Here is the briefing on MBA support e-mails, based on past meetings with admission committee representatives:

Tepper School of Business
  1. The support e-mail is written in an informal “internal memo style” to the admission committee or, preferably, to a specific admissions officer that is responsible for your region. It could also be addressed to the head of admissions.
  2. The support e-mail is written, among other reasons, because the writer is concerned that the school will have the best student body possible.
  3. The support e-mail honestly describes the length and nature of the relationship. The “superlatives” should be in accordance with the nature and length of the acquaintance. The support e-mail should be “gentle” in nature.
  4. Support e-mails are usually sent in the few weeks following the application submission date.
  5. We recommend up to two supporters per school.
  6. Do not feel discouraged if you have no e-mail supporters. Most candidates do not have any. Effective support e-mails could give you a small advantage in the admission process.
  7. Extraordinarily strong support e-mails may significantly enhance your candidacy. Ineffective support e-mails may hinder your candidacy (for example, lukewarm content, e-mails that “smell” from nepotism, e-mails that seem to originate from the candidate rather than from the supporter).
  8. Support e-mails must feel and be authentic. Therefore, they should be different for each “supporter” and each candidate.
  9. Harvard Business School seems to be exceptional among the b-schools in its approach towards support e-mails this season. HBS will probably be less influenced by such e-mails, at least during this season.
  10. LBS have a specific form for support letters, so the alumnus should contact the admissions office to ask for the form (which changes every year).

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Support letters should be sent to the main admissions office or to a specific admissions officer – visit this page to find Contact Info of Schools.

You can see below some examples of MBA support letters.

Hi [name of the specific admissions officer that is responsible for the Middle East. Or the head of admissions],

I am a 2012 Haas graduate and feel that I must share my personal impression of XXX, a prospective student for 2014, with the admissions committee. I first met XXX in 2006, when he was working at Intel in the same group as my wife. The group’s members regularly met during off-hours,  accompanied by their spouses, and this gave me the opportunity to meet and get to know him. I had already heard very good things about him from my wife, who considered him one of her most valued colleagues, and I was equally impressed with the conversations we had, finding him to be a bright, serious and strongly motivated individual. Over recent months, XXX and I have spoken several times regarding Haas’ program and how it matches his future goals. I see that he has done his homework in selecting the program that will be the best fit, and decided on Haas. Knowing XXX and all that he brings with him, I believe that he would be a fantastic addition to his class, and a great asset to the program.

All the best during the busy time you are having,

YYY

Subject: regarding MBA candidate XXX

To Whom this May Concern

My name is YYY, and I am an alumnus of the Stern MBA program, class of ZZZ.

I recently had the great pleasure to meet XXX, and to spend a number of hours getting to know her and hear about her plans for the future – and her great desire to attend Stern.

After five minutes with Noa it is impossible not to feel her energy, her charisma, her passion for everything she is doing in life and her enthusiasm to attend our school. I am very careful about recommending candidates for a Stern MBA. I believe our students are truly the best of the best, and contain a unique mixture of qualities that are hard to come by. After speaking with XXX and carefully assessing her motives, her reasoning, her commitment to our school, I can say without a doubt that she is a perfect fit for us.

XXX is extremely bright and personable, she is warm and eager to find herself among caring people who want to help each other and who see themselves as future leaders. She has carefully planned out her future, and she is highly goal oriented. I think she has chosen the right field for herself – consulting – as even within the few hours we spent talking, I could see her natural inclination for thinking of things from several angles, going deep into issues and most importantly – helping others to succeed.

She’s going to be a valuable addition for Stern’s next class, both in the knowledge she brings and the qualities she has to offer. I strongly urge you to give her deep consideration, and to take the next step of inviting Noa in for an interview so you can experience what I did and decide for yourselves.

With my best regards,

YYY

Dear [specific name of adcom person],

I’m XXXXXX, a current student at YYYYY. I wanted to write on behalf of AAA, who I’ve been corresponding with for the past 6 months, and finally got to meet on his visit to NY last week.

AAA has made a tremendous impression on me. Right off the bat, while consulting with me on YYYY school’s advantages compared to other schools, I could see he had done his homework and knew exactly why YYYYY would be a great fit for him. Further to our conversations, realizing AAA’s ambition is to tie together his financial knowledge with his love for entrepreneurship, it was clear to me he knew what he was talking about when he was claimed YYY was the place for him.

Meeting AAA in NY was as pleasant as were our conversations beforehand. He is an extremely bright fellow, but more important I felt he would be a great asset to his classmates.

I believe AAA and YYYY would be a wonderful fit. It would be a shame to lose him.

All the best,

XXX

Dear [specific name of adcom person],

I am a 2nd year MBA student. One of the applicants to our program this year is an extremely impressive individual that, for the sake of he quality of our student body, I feel we need to take a close look at. His name is AAA.

I met him a few months ago when he asked searching and insightful questions about our school to learn as much about us as he could. He is focused on entrepreneurship and value investing, and has already achieved significant accomplishments in that sector in Israel. There are very few individuals of AAA’s caliber, so dedicated, yet pleasant and really interesting to talk with.

Hope this helps,

XXXX

Dear [name],

I am a first year MBA student. A candidate named AAA contacted me recently. He received my contact info from a mutual friend and wanted to learn more about our MBA program. I wanted to send you a quick note regarding my conversations with him so you can have additional input for the admissions process.

AAA called me a few times with tons of questions regarding the program and how it will contribute to his plan for an entrepreneurial career in value investing. He seems really enthusiastic to join Wharton/Booth/NYU in particular, and feels that this is the right place for him and for who he is.

I was really impressed with the guy. Among other things, [something interesting about you]. He seems like a excellent fit with the Wharton/Booth/Stern culture and someone who would be successful here. From all the candidates I spoke with this year, I was most impressed with AAA and think it would be great if we can have him on board.

XXX

Dear Director,

I am writing you today to recommend XXX for admission into the University of Nebraska’s MBA Program.  I have known XXX for YYY years, and I have witnessed his work first hand in capacity zzz.

It should go without saying that XXX is a remarkable person who will contribute to our school I many ways. Above all, I feel that he demonstrates a great fit with our school spirit in [2 distinct ways]. [here an example illustrating one fit from above]

I have the deepest personal and professional respect for XXX, and sincerely believe he will bring his unique A, B, C, and D to the class of 201X and contribute to the classroom experience.  He has my highest endorsement.  If you have any questions about this recommendation or my endorsement of XXX, I would be happy to share more in person.

Kind regards and best wishes.

Aima Student MBA candidate 20XX 555-555-5555

Dear Admissions Officer,

I am writing to support the candidacy of Laura, a waitlisted applicant for the Kellogg class of 2021. Laura enthusiastically reached out to me last October to learn about Kellogg, and we have remained in touch since. I was very impressed with Laura from our first conversation. Her thoughtful questions ranged far beyond the curriculum, delving into our distinctive culture, experiential learning, and opportunities to drive community engagement.

In my opinion, Laura is a “must have” for the Kellogg community.

One thing that stood out during our conversations was how Laura quickly translated my Kellogg experiences into the many ways in which she could contribute on campus. She was excited, based on her extensive team leadership experiences across Asia for ExxonMobil, to help class-mates overcome the challenges inherent in leading multi-cultural teams. She wants to leverage her work at ExxonMobil organizing speaker series and interactive leadership workshops to support the Kellogg Women in Business Club.

I was impressed by Laura’s passion, and clear vision for a future career in business-facing operations strategy, and her well-researched understanding of how Kellogg was the ideal place to realize that vision. She enthusiastically discussed her plans to leverage multiple growth opportunities at Kellogg, such as the Consulting Club and Analytics Club, to reach her career goals.

Frankly, I have rarely come across an individual of Laura’s caliber; vibrant and driven to create impact, with unique global leadership experience and a passion for Kellogg. She definitely fits into the archetype of the Kellogg student. I am confident that she will be successful here, and it would be wonderful, and valuable to the Kellogg community, to have her on board.

Thank you,

Best regards,

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