LOR: Go with 4 or 5?

[gobigorgohome22]

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So I have collected 5 LORs on AMCAS:
- Committee letter (containing 1 science, 2 engineering, and 1 lab letter)
- PI letter
- Family medicine (MD letter)
- Pediatrician
- cardiologist

Most of the schools I am applying to do not have a maximum letters that they will accept so I was planning on sending the first 4 for sure. The cardiologist I have known for the shortest time out of all the other docs (50hrs). I dont know how strong her letter is going to be. I am afraid that the committee might just randomly pick one of the letters to read and it will be the cardiologist's letter (do they do that?). I dont want them to just read my weakest letter.

What do you guys think? Send them all or hold off on the cardiologist?

 

[armybound]

so you're asking if you should make the admissions committee read either 7 or 8 LORs because they don't explicitly state a maximum?

is there something unique and meaningful that the pediatrician says that the family medicine doctor doesn't? or that the PI letter adds to the "lab letter"?

 

[sector9]

I would send the committee letter and maybe the PI letter if it's different from the lab letter and forget about the rest unless some random school has a requirement for a physician letter

You do realize that a lot of schools aren't going to want anything more than the committee letter right?

 

[mvenus929]

Why the heck do you have so many MD letters? Why you do you have MD letters at all? I can understand having a DO letter if you were applying to DO schools, but otherwise, it's pretty pointless having letters from docs, especially if all you did was shadow them. If you worked for one of them, then sure, include that letter, because that's something that your other letters aren't going to bring to the table.

You shouldn't be asking adcoms to read more than 4, MAYBE 5 letters. For you, 4 of your letters are contained in the committee letter, so you should MAYBE include one of the others, if you think it'll really add something to your application.

 

[BABSstudent]

So I have collected 5 LORs on AMCAS:
- Committee letter (containing 1 science, 2 engineering, and 1 lab letter)
- PI letter
- Family medicine (MD letter)
- Pediatrician
- cardiologist

Most of the schools I am applying to do not have a maximum letters that they will accept so I was planning on sending the first 4 for sure. The cardiologist I have known for the shortest time out of all the other docs (50hrs). I dont know how strong her letter is going to be. I am afraid that the committee might just randomly pick one of the letters to read and it will be the cardiologist's letter (do they do that?). I dont want them to just read my weakest letter.

What do you guys think? Send them all or hold off on the cardiologist?

So you actually have 8 letters with a committee letter on top if it, so essentially 9 letters...

That's way too many.