how many recommendations is too much?

[ramzax]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Currently, I could potentially have 7 good recommendations, but i'm not sure if that many is too much. Does anyone have experience with this matter?

 

[BlueElmo]

Currently, I could potentially have 7 good recommendations, but i'm not sure if that many is too much. Does anyone have experience with this matter?

From what I've read on school websites, most have a max of 4 or 5 letters.

 

[Appless]

6 is the max for many schools and honestly no one wants to read more then that, even 6 is a bit much. I would recomend getting your best 6 letters or cutting out ones that may be redundant or similar.

 

[BozoSparky]

I remember 4 being a good number.

How many great recommendations do you have?
...go with those!

 

[Pedsbro]

I remember 4 being a good number.

How many great recommendations do you have?
...go with those!

Agreed, 4 is the max you should actually send to the schools. Read each school's website to see what their minimum and maximum numbers of letters and what kind (from non-sci profs, science profs, etc)

 

[Brent8927]

There are a few schools out there that let you send as many letters as you want, but generally I think four is sufficient.

Things to keep in mind, at a school that allows as many LORs as you want:

1. It probably isn't that likely that all of them will actually be read, or read thoroughly, (if you do send so many), and hence, you should only send your strongest LORs since you wouldn't want your strongest letters to be the ones that get passed up.
2. Even if all of the LORs are read, it's probably much better to have four wonderful LORs than it is to have four wonderful LORs and two good letters.

Definitely keep all of those LORs on file (on Interfolio or wherever) but I'd recommend screening out the strongest letters and sending those. Hopefully you either know which professors would have written you the strongest LORs or perhaps they even showed them to you, in which case the decision is a bit easier.

 

[0Complications]

I remember 4 being a good number.

How many great recommendations do you have?
...go with those!

I agree with this. It is better to have four amazing letters than 6 or 7 mediocre ones. Not to mention that reading more than 4 letters could get annoying.

I would just use good judgment and pick the best 4 or 5. I decided on 4.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Pick the best 4-5

 

[DeadCactus]

I'd aim for 3 or 4. That's enough to cover the different perspectives of you that you'd want to convey (one academic, one research, one clinical, one community service).

I sent 5, but that's because my better ones did not fit the requirements. (eg had to have 3 science professors, but only 1 of my three best letters was from a professor)

Five is pushing it and more than that is just excessive...

 

[Lukkie]

11

 

[hanjg]

I have seven (well actually I have 2 done so far but sooner or later I hope to have seven) . My PI who is also a bio prof, a history prof, 2 other bio prof's, a chem prof (I'm a double major), and two docs. I'll mix and match based on what the med school wants. Only one school will get 6, the rest 5 and they will all go as a committee packet from the HPA. Most every school says they will accept the committee packet as it comes so I'm hoping nobody gets really bent out of shape.

 

[shnuffles]

How are you guys sending so many letters? I sent my committee letter and then one extra one this spring to the schools that I am waitlisted at...after reading this I feel like I should strive to get more? I'm sure I could get a couple other "excellent" letters but I thought that much more would be overkill?

 

[shemarty]

I sent 8 because I felt that all of them would add a unique perspective.

I called the schools to ask and they said that as long as they arrive in one packet, they'll accept them.

If you have 7 strong letters, use all of them, otherwise cut out the mediocre ones that don't add anything.

 

[vickpick]

UNC has a max of 3, couple of others i'm looking into have 4.... there are a couple mroe with 3 as their max....

so, I would say more than 4 is too much..

 

[vickpick]

I sent 8 because I felt that all of them would add a unique perspective.

I called the schools to ask and they said that as long as they arrive in one packet, they'll accept them.

If you have 7 strong letters, use all of them, otherwise cut out the mediocre ones that don't add anything.

how would u know if they're strong or mediocre?.. Is there a way they let u read em?

 

[shemarty]

how would u know if they're strong or mediocre?.. Is there a way they let u read em?

If you're asking a adviser that you've worked with closely over the course of the past 2 years, I bet you they've written you a really strong letter.

If you're asking a prof from a large science class that you got an A in, and you've only met that prof once or twice at office hours, I bet they've written you a good but not outstanding letter.

Usually you should have a pretty good sense about how well the LOR-writer knows you, and that generally correlates with how personalized and strong the letter ends up being.

 

[flip26]

how would u know if they're strong or mediocre?.. Is there a way they let u read em?

One writer told me that it was a strong rec (I had not asked - he volunteered that info to me).

Another showed me the letter and asked for any changes I wanted to make - it was extremely strong, no changes necessary.

My third letter is the wild card - I did very well in a tough 2 semester pre req sequence class with him, and knew him outside of class, too, but I am still waiting on the letter - I expect it will be a very good letter, but I don't know for sure.

As for how many is too many? I think that folks with 5+ letters have gone overboard, but maybe that is just me...I think it would be very hard to feel really good about every single letter, especially if you are getting 10+ letters like someone in this thread...and besides, no school wants to see more than about 3 or 4 letters anyway.

 

[neutropos]

Since most schools are participating in the AMCAS letter service this year, would the schools receive 5 letters at once if you had 5? I've heard that some schools will accept more letters if they arrive as one packet. What if you assign 5 letters to a school at once? Would they receive all 5 at once? Also, do they receive them electronically?

 

[aznb0y129]

I used 6 LORs + committee letter when I applied. That was probably pushing it.

 

[Rach83]

I know this thread is old news but I have a question and don't want to start a new thread if it can be easily answered.

I have 4 letters I'd like to send but some schools have a requirement of 3 on their websites. Some specify that additional letters are welcome, while others don't make mention of additional LORs. Is it safe to assume that if they don't specify anything beyond their 3 letter requirement, it's because they don't want more than that? Or is it best to take the time to email every school?😕
If anyone happens to know of a thread where people have compiled a list of schools that welcome extra LORs, please let me know!

 

[Richzz89]

What is the best combination of LOR's? It seems the overwhelming majority say 4 LOR's is sufficient. But what sort of combination would cover your bases?