How many LOR of rec's should I send?

[Revolver1045]

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I know some schools have a very low maximum amount of LOR, but for schools that have a large maximum, maybe 6 or more, would it be wise to send the full amount required? I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, if I have 10 letters of Rec, but I know forsure that 5 are really strong and the others are so so recommendations should I send only the strong LOR or send all of them? This is after taking into account the universities' individual LOR policy such as meeting individual requirements from a science faculty and non science faculty etc. My question is in regards to beyond the requirements if there is space for extra letters.

 

[mirimonster]

I know some schools have a very low maximum amount of LOR, but for schools that have a large maximum, maybe 6 or more, would it be wise to send the full amount required? I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, if I have 10 letters of Rec, but I know forsure that 5 are really strong and the others are so so recommendations should I send only the strong LOR or send all of them? This is after taking into account the universities' individual LOR policy such as meeting individual requirements from a science faculty and non science faculty etc. My question is in regards to beyond the requirements if there is space for extra letters.

Send the ones that are required + your strongest (I've read somewhere that 3 is the magic number, but we're all paranoid pre-meds, so I'd send all 5). There's no way they're going to read all 10 of them, so make sure they focus on the best ones. You don't want them to pick up two of the lame ones and then give up.

 

[weezynation]

I know some schools have a very low maximum amount of LOR, but for schools that have a large maximum, maybe 6 or more, would it be wise to send the full amount required? I guess what I'm really trying to ask is, if I have 10 letters of Rec, but I know forsure that 5 are really strong and the others are so so recommendations should I send only the strong LOR or send all of them? This is after taking into account the universities' individual LOR policy such as meeting individual requirements from a science faculty and non science faculty etc. My question is in regards to beyond the requirements if there is space for extra letters.

No matter how many letters you have, from what you just said you should never send more than 5. This is because you said the other 5 are "so-so." Quality over quantity. Why would you even send a "so-so" letter to a school? All it will do is detract from the quality of your application and on top of that, schools are going to be annoyed with you sending so many letters. Go to each school website, see what they require and send your letters accordingly. You can also call the schools to see if they find an issue with sending an additional letter or two.

 

[Revolver1045]

No matter how many letters you have, from what you just said you should never send more than 5. This is because you said the other 5 are "so-so." Quality over quantity. Why would you even send a "so-so" letter to a school? All it will do is detract from the quality of your application and on top of that, schools are going to be annoyed with you sending so many letters. Go to each school website, see what they require and send your letters accordingly. You can also call the schools to see if they find an issue with sending an additional letter or two.

You're right it would be stupid to send a so so letter. What I meant is that of my letters of rec, 5 of my letters authors have allowed me to read them and they are excellent. I have not read the other letters from the 5 other writers and I was just assuming worst case scenario that they wrote a so so or luke warm letter.

 

[itsneverlupus]

My pre-med advisor suggested no more than 2-3 extra letters, because you don't really want to inundate the adcom with letters and annoy them. To a certain extent, all LORs start to sound the same since they're all talking about the same person. That was just her opinion though, so I don't know what the right answer truly is.

 

[weezynation]

You're right it would be stupid to send a so so letter. What I meant is that of my letters of rec, 5 of my letters authors have allowed me to read them and they are excellent. I have not read the other letters from the 5 other writers and I was just assuming worst case scenario that they wrote a so so or luke warm letter.

Oh ok. Well like the other person above said, you definitely should not send 10. Check with each school and go from there. If you know those 5 are excellent since you read them and havent read the others, personally I would send those and not risk sending a letter that isnt a guaranteed amazing letter.

 

[Revolver1045]

Thanks for the input guys I appreciate it.