Do I have too many Letters of Recommendation?

[Maverick626]

OK ladies and gents. I've looked in other threads but haven't gotten a clear enough answer.
My question: Do I have too many letters of recommendation?
My background: Currently an active Paramedic
My letters and their reasons:
Science professor - satisfy minimum requirements
Science and Research professor (Same person) - satisfy minimum requirements
Humanities professor - satisfy minimum requirements
2 Doctors - Satisfies clinical needs of some schools
Medical Director for my Agency - this is for my relevant work experience
Volunteer coordinator letter - strong letter and this is an agency I have volunteered with for more than a decade!
Personal letter - I assisted with an in-flight emergency and the husband of the patient wrote a letter for me. (He's the editor of a medical journal so I think that helps)

OK that's all of them. It makes 8 total. Medical apps are such a tricky thing that before I send these off today or tomorrow I would really appreciate some feedback!

Thanks in advance!

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[claduva94]

Do you really need two clinical letters? Personal letter probably won't carry much weight either. 5 is more than enough.

 

[Maverick626]

I don't know that I need 2 but given my background my pre-med adviser recommended having 2. I could definitely shorten that to one and drop the personal letter which would put me at 6 and feels like a better number.

 

[claduva94]

I don't know that I need 2 but given my background my pre-med adviser recommended having 2. I could definitely shorten that to one and drop the personal letter which would put me at 6 and feels like a better number.

Great! Also keep in mind that many schools limit you to 5. In that case you would have to choose which other letter to omit. If they don't require a clinical letter ADCOMS seem to suggest they aren't too beneficial, so if the other two letters are substantial that is the one I would drop.

 

[gyngyn]

I don't know that I need 2 but given my background my pre-med adviser recommended having 2. I could definitely shorten that to one and drop the personal letter which would put me at 6 and feels like a better number.

Check the instructions for each school. Many have limits on the number and type of LOR's. Be sure not to exceed the recommended number.

 

[Nexith]

I don't know that I need 2 but given my background my pre-med adviser recommended having 2. I could definitely shorten that to one and drop the personal letter which would put me at 6 and feels like a better number.

So I think 6 is a really good number to work with, because it gives you a safety cushion if for example one school wanted a very niche letter. That's what I did with my cycle last year. Here's a gist of my breakdown:

1 MD I shadowed, who I also did light research with
1 Science professor (1st major)
1 Humanities professor who was also my thesis adviser (2nd major)
1 Honors professor
1 Academic adviser who has acted as my personal mentor and wrote probably the strongest letter of the bunch
1 Employer for my job as a phlebotomist

So I had six in total but I don't think any school got the same combination of 4-5 letters, but I did use each of them at least once based on what the school asked for on their website and what I felt would be appropriate based on the school's mission statement etc.

 

[hoihaie]

since you have all of them, just send it all into amcas and then determine which school gets which letter and assign the letters accordingly. It never hurts to have more on hand than needed.

 

[Maverick626]

Check the instructions for each school. Many have limits on the number and type of LOR's. Be sure not to exceed the recommended number.

I checked the websites but got conflicting info. Which is why the number is so high. Some schools want different things and I am uploading a letter packet so need to decide how many and which letters go into the letter packet. I may just upload multiple packets to AMCAS at this point

 

[gyngyn]

I checked the websites but got conflicting info. Which is why the number is so high. Some schools want different things and I am uploading a letter packet so need to decide how many and which letters go into the letter packet. I may just upload multiple packets to AMCAS at this point

Can you not send them all to AMCAS and then designate the ones that meet the criteria of each school?

 

[Maverick626]

Can you not send them all to AMCAS and then designate the ones that meet the criteria of each school?

Unfortunately no. My school sends the uploaded letters as a packet. One single PDF file. They don't send each individual letter which I personally think is just silly considering the breadth of diversity among all the schools and what they are looking for.

 

[gyngyn]

Unfortunately no. My school sends the uploaded letters as a packet. One single PDF file. They don't send each individual letter which I personally think is just silly considering the breadth of diversity among all the schools and what they are looking for.

If this is how your school packages the committee letter it's out of your hands. I can tell you that more letters is not necessarily better.