How many LORs???

[owain]

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hey guys

im from canada, and im not sure about this....but im trying to prepare...but how many letters of reference do we usually need for our secondaries??!
I heard it was usually 2 academic and 1 extracurricular....

thanks alot for ure help!!!


Owen

 

[dajimmers]

That's a usual minimum, though some schools may require only two (can't remember). I don't think I've encountered any that require any more than 3, but many/most allow you to submit up to 4-6. I personally have 5 (6 if a prof ever gets around to it) that I can send, and will send the max allowed to each school. If it's less than 5, I'll submit those that "fit" the school the best- Research letters to research schools, volunteer letters to clinical schools, etc.

 

[Notzfall]

The school I'm applying to says "3". One premed and two personal references. On the secondary application, it requests a list of selected advisors and there's only space for three. If I sent a fourth letter in, will they trash it since it's not on the "list", or will they read it?

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Keep in mind its quality not quantity. Having 2 really meaningful recommendations beats 5 average ones. If you send a ton, I dont think adcoms really have the time to read them. They'll probably skim through and get the gist. If you have five people writing fluff about you, it thins you out and doesnt give a good impression.