????克里斯托弗的推薦信到達(dá)某所頂尖商學(xué)院的招生辦公室時(shí)，它們幾乎堪稱完美。

????推薦人盛贊申請(qǐng)者的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)才能和團(tuán)隊(duì)技能，極力夸獎(jiǎng)他的首創(chuàng)精神、好奇心和積極性。推薦信中包含許多細(xì)致入微的事件敘述，襯托出申請(qǐng)者栩栩如生的形象。

????問(wèn)題是，他的推薦人從來(lái)沒(méi)有寫過(guò)這些褒獎(jiǎng)之詞。相反，這些信是申請(qǐng)者自己寫就的。

????克里斯托弗（本文作者更改了他的名字，以保護(hù)其隱私）并沒(méi)有為自己親手撰寫推薦信而道歉，他也不相信哪家商學(xué)院有什么好辦法改變這種行為。

????“誰(shuí)會(huì)知道?。俊笨死锼雇懈プ罱鼊倓倧囊凰痪用绹?guó)前三強(qiáng)的商學(xué)院畢業(yè)?！笆盏降纳暾?qǐng)書那么多，學(xué)校不會(huì)比較推薦信和申請(qǐng)書的寫作風(fēng)格。顯然，要是他們認(rèn)真比對(duì)的話，我也就上不了商學(xué)院了?！?/p>

????克里斯托弗的“手藝活”并不是一個(gè)孤立的案例。國(guó)際研究生入學(xué)顧問(wèn)協(xié)會(huì)（AIGAC）最近公布的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，38％的申請(qǐng)人被要求撰寫自己的推薦信。然而，大多數(shù)入學(xué)顧問(wèn)相信，真實(shí)數(shù)據(jù)要高得多——每10封攻讀MBA學(xué)位的推薦信中，有多達(dá)6封是申請(qǐng)者本人所寫。

????不過(guò)，即使這樣的調(diào)查結(jié)果也已經(jīng)讓許多招生主任驚訝不已了，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為各自的學(xué)校一直在對(duì)MBA申請(qǐng)者進(jìn)行相當(dāng)公允的第三方評(píng)估?！拔覀冎烙行┥暾?qǐng)者被要求撰寫自己的推薦信，但我從來(lái)沒(méi)有料到這種行為竟然如此普遍，”達(dá)特茅斯學(xué)院（Dartmouth College）塔克商學(xué)院（Tuck School of Business）招生主任唐娜?克拉克說(shuō)?！拔也唤橐鈱W(xué)生坐下來(lái)與推薦人交流，但我現(xiàn)在正嘗試著埋頭研究推薦信的真實(shí)性?！?/p>

????然而，在幾位MBA申請(qǐng)者和入學(xué)顧問(wèn)看來(lái)，真實(shí)性或許難以企及。美亞咨詢集團(tuán)（Amerasia Consulting Group）的亞當(dāng)?霍夫承認(rèn)：“商學(xué)院申請(qǐng)人經(jīng)常被推薦人告知，‘你自己寫吧，我署個(gè)名就行。’4年前頭一次涉足商學(xué)院咨詢領(lǐng)域時(shí)，我就被驚呆了。我簡(jiǎn)直不敢相信有這么多申請(qǐng)者自己在撰寫自己的推薦信，然后還把這些信件拿到入學(xué)顧問(wèn)面前，幫忙做進(jìn)一步的加工。”

????接受采訪時(shí)，克里斯托弗要求不要透露母校的名稱，因?yàn)椤耙坏┧麄冎肋@件事，就會(huì)拼命追查這個(gè)人是誰(shuí)的?！彪S后他對(duì)自己的行為進(jìn)行了一番辯護(hù)：頂頭上司的英語(yǔ)不夠流利，“根本就不知道推薦信的結(jié)構(gòu)，” 他這樣解釋道?！耙虼?，我用合乎體統(tǒng)的英文寫了一封信，而且讓它給人一種我是一位好員工的感覺(jué)。我的確是好員工，我并沒(méi)有美化自己，他也覺(jué)得這樣做沒(méi)什么問(wèn)題?！?/p>

????When the letters of recommendation for Christopher arrived in the admissions office of a top-ranked business school, they were just about perfect.

????The recommenders raved about the candidate's leadership abilities and team skills. They praised his initiative, curiosity and motivation. And they did so in unusually detailed anecdotes that allowed the applicant to come alive.

????Problem was, his recommenders had never written those favorable words. Instead, the letters were drafted by the applicant himself.

????Christopher, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, makes no apologies for writing his own recommendations nor does he believe that a school can do much about it.

????"Who's going to know?" Christopher recently graduated from one of the top three business schools in the U.S. "With the number of applications coming in, schools aren't going to compare writing styles between the recommendation letters and the applications. Obviously, if they did that, I wouldn't have been in business school."

????Christopher's handiwork is not an isolated case. A recently published survey by the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) found that 38% of applicants were asked to write their own recommendation letters. Most admission consultants, however, believe the number is much higher -- with as many as six out of 10 letters written by MBA applicants.

????Still, even the survey results surprised many admission directors because they believed their schools were getting fairly candid, third party assessments of MBA candidates. "We were aware of the fact that some applicants are asked to write their own recommendations, but I wouldn't have guessed it would be that high," says Dawna Clarke, director of admissions at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. "I don't have a problem with a student sitting down and talking to a recommender, but I am trying to wrap my head around the authenticity of the recommendations now."

????Authenticity, however, may be fairly elusive, according to several MBA applicants and admission consultants. "Business school applicants are often told by recommenders, 'You write it, and I'll sign it,'" concedes Adam Hoff, of Amerasia Consulting Group. "When I first got involved in the business school arena four years ago, I was stunned. I couldn't believe the number of people who were writing their own letters of recommendation and who then brought the letters back to a consultant to help them with it."

????Christopher, who asked that his alma mater not be named because "if they found out, there would be a witch hunt," explains that his direct supervisor was not fluent in English. "He had no clue how to construct a recommendation letter," he says in defense of his actions. "Because of that, I wrote the letter in proper English and made it sound like I'm a good employee, which I am. I didn't embellish, and he was fine with it."