<p>Interesting insights from Dee Leopold, who has run Harvard's B-school admissions area since 2006:</p>
<p>Essays: "I think people overestimate the role the essays play in the application. They're very, very helpful for the candidate, and they're a really good platform for starting a discussion in an interview, but we don't admit people because of an essay."</p>
<p>Recommendations: "We have a question that says, 'Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant.' If a person can answer that, they know the candidate well enough... The best recommendations have a lot of verbs. They say, "She did this," versus adjectives that simply describe you."</p>
<p>Read the whole interview:
Harvard</a> Business School? You'll Go Through Her First - WSJ.com</p>