{"id":42320,"date":"2026-06-02T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/?p=42320"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T13:00:24","slug":"informal-mba-recommendations-strategy-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/informal-mba-recommendations-strategy-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"The mbaMission Podcast: The Truth About Informal Business School Endorsements | Ep 105"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What role do informal letters of recommendation or back-channel endorsements play in MBA admissions decisions? In this episode of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mbaMission Podcast<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, host Harold Simansky is joined by mbaMission Senior Consultant Melissa Blakeslee, a former MBA admissions director, to unpack a topic that generates a lot of curiosity and quite a bit of confusion. Drawing on her firsthand experience evaluating MBA applications, Melissa provides crucial insight into when an informal recommendation can help on the margins\u2014and when a well-meaning but misguided endorsement can instead damage a candidate\u2019s chances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Truth About Informal Business School Endorsements | Ep 105\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KsuHesYOB5Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reality is that top business school admissions committees view the application process through a lens of equity. Not every applicant has access to powerful executives, world leaders, or prominent donors, so MBA programs place a heavy premium on fairness. Attempting to finagle an additional letter from a high-profile figure who does not know you personally would actually be a strategic misstep. Rather than moving the needle in your favor, it would signal a lack of self-awareness and poor judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-mbamission-podcast\/id1748825410?i=1000770744222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-41854\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/apple-podcasts-button-300x100.jpg\" alt=\"apple podcasts button\" width=\"300\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/apple-podcasts-button-300x100.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/apple-podcasts-button.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/43PJJqfObsp6piQ89d8VdV?si=e630166b46354333\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-41852\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/spotify-button-300x100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/spotify-button-300x100.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/spotify-button.jpg 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conversation highlights several essential strategies for informal recommendations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Prioritize Depth of Relationship over Title:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An endorsement is only meaningful if the person writing it genuinely knows you and your work and can speak to your fit with the program. A brief note from a recent graduate who is a close colleague carries far more weight than a generic paragraph from a CEO you met once in the office lunchroom.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ensure a Legitimate Connection to the School:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If a contact offers to reach out to a program on your behalf, they must have a deep, active relationship with that specific institution, such as being a heavily involved graduate or a major donor. A recommendation from someone with zero connection to the target school will simply be disregarded.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Time the Outreach Strategically:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you choose to pursue an informal endorsement, you should strive to make sure that it is submitted before your application is locked. Otherwise, the best time to deploy this type of support is when you have been placed on a school\u2019s waitlist or deferred for an interview. This gives the admissions committee a meaningful new piece of information that could help you move forward.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Melissa emphasizes that these additional recommendation letters are never a requirement for admission, noting, \u201cMost people do not have them. It is rare to have one, and it is even more rare to have one that actually is meaningful or impactful.\u201d When handled subtly and judiciously, however, a genuine endorsement can provide a helpful nudge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certain MBA programs actively invite this kind of external community input through formalized channels, such as Chicago Booth\u2019s \u201cShape the Class\u201d initiative. When these opportunities exist, applicants should absolutely take advantage of them, provided the relationship is genuine and the recommender can clearly articulate why you will be a successful classroom participant. Ultimately, admissions committees are interested in understanding who you are as an individual, not who you know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New episodes of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mbaMission Podcast<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are released every Tuesday on all major streaming platforms, with full video episodes available on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@mbaMission\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mbaMission\u2019s YouTube channel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are curious about how your story, experiences, and goals align with what top business schools are looking for, sign up for a free<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/consult\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 30-minute consultation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with Harold, Melissa, or another member of mbaMission\u2019s admissions team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What role do informal letters of recommendation or back-channel endorsements play in MBA admissions decisions? In this episode of The mbaMission Podcast, host Harold Simansky is joined by mbaMission Senior Consultant Melissa Blakeslee, a former MBA admissions director, to unpack a topic that generates a lot of curiosity and quite a bit of confusion. Drawing &hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/informal-mba-recommendations-strategy-lessons\/\">Read&nbsp;More&nbsp;&nbsp;<i class=\"fal fa-sm fa-angle-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":42321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[643,469],"tags":[667,668],"class_list":["post-42320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mbamission-podcast","category-recommendations","tag-informal-endorsements","tag-informal-letter-of-recommendation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Truth About Informal Business School Endorsements Ep 105<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how Melissa Blakeslee evaluated informal MBA recommendations as an admissions director and what applicants must know about endorsement strategy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/informal-mba-recommendations-strategy-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Truth About Informal Business School Endorsements Ep 105\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how Melissa Blakeslee evaluated informal MBA recommendations as an admissions director and what applicants must know about endorsement strategy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/informal-mba-recommendations-strategy-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"mbaMission - 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