Washington / Foster MBA Recommendation Questions
The Michael G. Foster School of Business of the University of Washington MBA application requires at least two letters of recommendation, however, applicants may submit three. Preferably, recommenders should be professional contacts rather than academic or personal. Your recommenders will be asked to write about your strengths, discuss areas where you could improve, discuss your leadership abilities, interpersonal skills, motivation and initiative, and comment on your accomplishments, managerial potential, and other personal qualities. The Foster MBA recommendation questions for the 2024-2025 application can be seen below.
2024-2025 Washington / Foster MBA Recommendation Questions
Section 1 Applicant Information and Relationship
How long have you known the applicant?
How well do you know the applicant?
- Very well
- Moderately well
- Minimally
In what capacity do you know the applicant? Please select all that apply.
- Employee / Supervisor
- Colleague / Coworker
- Instructor / Professor
- Other
Evaluation
Please rank the applicant relative to their peer group.
- Truly Exceptional (top 1%)
- Outstanding (highest 10%)
- Good (75 – 90%)
- Above Average (60 – 74%)
- Average (41 – 59%)
- Below average (lowest 40%)
- Inadequate Opportunity to Observe
Letter of Recommendation (Upload)
In your letter of recommendation, consider addressing the below questions when describing the applicant. Your comments provide the committee with a balanced view from which to evaluate the candidate.
What are the applicant’s strengths?
Discuss areas where the applicant could improve.
Discuss the applicant’s leadership abilities, interpersonal skills, motivation, and initiative.
Comment on the applicant’s accomplishments, managerial potential and other personal qualities.
Overall Recommendation (Dropdown Menu)
- I highly recommend this applicant
- I recommend this applicant
- I recommend this applicant with reservations
- I DO NOT recommend this applicant for admission
MBA Applywire
I have primarily worked with venture funds and startups covering a range of tax advisory projects from M&A, due diligence, venture fund setup etc. I want to go beyond tax and step into strategy consulting roles, with a focus on fund strategy and portfolio acceleration in private equity.
Extracurricular : Involved with Rotaract for 2.5 years, taken part in multiple corporate responsibility initiatives at the firm , volunteer in pet rescue initiatives for the community
- South Asian (Non-Indian), Male, 25 year old
- Bachelor in Finance and Economics (1st in Class) Graduated May 2023
- Activities:
Debating (Coached National Debate Team to its best performance in the World Championship, 3x Asian Top 10 debater, won/competed in finals of Oxford Intervarsity, UCL Intervarsity, Durham-Oxford-Cambridge Open, and many more prestigious competitions, Mentored 100+ debaters across 15 countries and advised Debate Organizations in Australia and China).
Non Profit (Founding member of a student org; Conducted 5 city-wide projects on Food Security, Clothing for the poor in Winter, and Improving sanitation in slums that received national coverage)
- More on Work: My focus is on Growth Tech (Startups and fast scaling businesses) and Public Sector practice area. I have led the writing of a report we co-published with a client (my name is on the acknowledgement section). The client and Partners loved my work and have now staffed me in writing another report for the same client. Evals are highly positive and have endorsements from 2 Senior Partners in the org (who are happy to write my recc)
- What I am doing outside of work now: I had a merit scholarship offer from LBS for its MiM program upon graduation. I have been helping folks from my country get into top tier early career master's programs pro-bono (Most people here cannot afford Western Admissions consultants as the charges are exorbitant for us given the country is an LDC). Since joining work, I have continued to work as a selector for National Debate Team and I take pro-bono sessions for disadvantaged schools. I have also taken sessions at local consulting firms to teach them what I have learned from my MBB experience (I am the first from my country to make it to an MBB after a local undergrad; MBBs do not have offices in my country)
- Future Plan: Continue at MBB and specialize in Venture Capital/ Startups. I have a very good network with VCs and founders in my home country. I would love to raise a fund to help the startup ecosystem of my country in the future or work in the capacity of mentoring founders.
- Target: Full-rides to top schools such as HBS, Wharton, CBS, Sloan. Looking for tips to develop my profile for 2027 Fall entry. I believe that I have what it takes to make it to an M7 but would love to take the 2 years to solidify my profile so that I can be in the mix for a good scholarship
Interests: Martial Arts, Reading (I have read books from Wharton Professors such as Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, and Katy Milkman) Weightlifting, Marathon Running (I am aware this is super cliche haha)
Side-note: My GRE split is 166 Q (84%ile), 169 V (99%ile), and 5.5 AWA (98%ile). I can improve my Quant to 169-170 but I doubt the extra effort needed now will make a material difference. Would love to have your thoughts
Background in design. Graduate degree in design from Harvard. Transitioned public sector consulting and planning work.