About the recommendation letters

[He Zhu]

Hi guys,
I recently got one of my professors to agree to write me a rec, but since the relationship between us is that I basically took his course, went to office hours and answered questions during lecture (quite actively), but that's about it.
But also he wanted me to:
"draft a letter as if you were writing from my position, doesn't have to be full sentences, just bullet points", in order to give him some ideas of what to write about.
So I was wondering what kind of aspects would be valued with higher weight from both the admissions perspective (I'm applying for mostly MFE programs), and the professors perspective?

I'm not sure if some of the "characteristics" these programs are expecting(or looking for) their applicants to have are appropriate to put down in such a circumstance (It would be quite exaggerating for my professor to write down something that I did not or could not show just by taking his course, and I don't think he would like that).

 

[MRoss]

Anything you accomplished would be on your resume, no? Recommendation letters should vary. At least one of them should sell you as a solid PERSON; not quant. As in: On time, pleasant personality, always helping others, organizing math club meetings, etc. What you should write strongly depends on what your other letters say. I have seen the process up close. You do not want three letters saying the same thing.

 

[He Zhu]

I'm really not sure what my other two recs would say, since the other two professors didn't require me to give them insight on what to write. But the other two are from professors that I had worked with for some research project over the summer, so I guess that would be different in terms of content.
So I guess I should put only some personality traits rather than any skills or academic related abilities?

 

[Joe Lu]

In my opinion (strictly just an opinion), an admissions officer at an MFE program would be interested in:
1 - First, can you handle the workload and rigor of the mathematics / programming / etc? (It's no use to admit someone who might fail out). So a professor writing that your analytic abilities are exceptional (and high scores in 400+ level math classes) will relieve this concern
2 - Their rankings and reputation depend on their ability to place graduate into full-time jobs. (It's no use to admit someone who only takes exams / does homework, but won't fight hard to get that full-time offer) I think a previous manager at an internship would be able to vouch for you, in terms of your interest and passion for the financial industry.

Put another way: if you were the admissions director of the MFE program, what kind of students would you want?

 

[MRoss]

Put another way: if you were the admissions director of the MFE program, what kind of students would you want?

Marketable ones. Which is why your letters need some diversity.

Remember: Anyone even applying to MFE has near perfect scores (at least) on GRE and excellent GPAs and good grades on required coursework. Letters stating that you are smart are not that necessary. I agree recommendations from previous employers are the most powerful. Out of my two letters, two were from employers, one being the principal of a school I taught at.