Recommendation Letters Addressing Deficiencies in Application

[zra200]

Hello,

My personal circumstances are such that my GPA is lower than the typical PhD applicant in Finance programs. I have three degrees from top 10 schools (an MS in Applied Math with a concentration in Computational Finance, MBA in finance, and a BS in Finance and Accounting), but I've been working full-time to support myself, my education, and family at the same time since undergrad. I've gotten recommendation letters from senior professors that basically say "his GPA might be lower than the typical student but don't let that be an indication of his intelligence and research aptitude" and one from my manager at work who attests to my research abilities (I'm a quant research analyst and have been involved in working towards a publication). My question is, to what extent can a positive recommendation letter mitigate deficiencies in an applicant?

[possible_phd]

It probably depends on how strong the letter is and who wrote it, and it will also probably vary from school to school (the people on the adcoms) and year to year (the applicant pool).

If you're looking for an exact answer to your question, there isn't one; and if there were, we certainly wouldn't have it.

[zra200]

You're definitely right about that. With the large volume of applications that admissions committees are receiving, it probably makes it more difficult for those with deficiencies.

I guess I meant to ask if there were any stories of this that anyone on the TM message board can share.