More than 3 Letters of Rec?

[AEFit]

I'll be applying in the upcoming cycle. I have 3 letters being written for me. 1 from an ochem prof, a bio prof, and a DPM I have shadowed. I have had others offer to write me letters however. I worked for an MD for two years as a back office medical assistant how could speak a great deal about my medical competence and interactions with patients etc. I was also offered a letter from a Sociology professor who I did Sociological research under. Will schools accept more than the three they require or is it just overkill at this point?
Thanks for any input!

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[footNankle]

I can't speak from experience but I'd imagine 4 or 5 letters is probably fine. Just don't bombard them with like 10 letters.

 

[YeastyMan]

I am going to submit 8 LOR
2 science, 1 non science, 1 MD doctor, 1 nurse practitioner, 1 DO, and 2 DPM

 

[AEFit]

I am going to submit 8 LOR
2 science, 1 non science, 1 MD doctor, 1 nurse practitioner, 1 DO, and 2 DPM

Yeasty just so you know I actually wrote all 9 schools about this. Have heard back from 4 so far I think and thus far they've all said you can but they don't really recommend it as it won't really help your chances but if you feel you need to then you can. DMU flat out told me not to send more than three. Just a heads up... I'll let you know if I hear back from any others.

 

[BIH91]

The school admins are pretty busy around application time and I'm sure they have better things to do than sift through that many LORs that basically say the same exact thing. Go with 3 or 4 tops.

 

[ldsrmdude]

Agreed, 8 is overkill. If they ask for 3, I would send 3.

 

[YeastyMan]

so two science 1 dpm?
Thanks for the heads up guys!

 

[AEFit]

so two science 1 dpm?
Thanks for the heads up guys!

I think 8 is a bit much but 4 probably wouldn't hurt. But like I said DMU asked me not to send more than three so if you're applying there I'd do the two science one DPM only.

 

[LittleMopeHead]

The number of recommendation letters doesn't give you a better chance of admission, but the quality of the letters make a huge difference. Three quality letters are all you need and they are better than 8 similar letters. Make sure they are all positive ones too. My academic adviser recommended that I ask for the letters and ask the person writing it "will it be a positive letter?". Doesn't hurt to ask. You never know, one letter with a red flag can change a lot of things around.

 

[footNankle]

so two science 1 dpm?
Thanks for the heads up guys!

Just FYI, some schools, such as DMU, only require one science letter. Totally agree with the above. It's the quality, not the quantity!