Number of LOR for Endo Residency?

[PaperPoint]

Hello all,

I plan to apply for Endo this cycle and was looking at the letter of recommendation requirements. It looks like most programs ask for 3 individual letters + Dean's Letter. Some programs are okay with less, some programs don't even mention the number required.
Is it okay to submit 4 or even 5 individual letters, or would this be frowned upon? Would they even read any letters beyond the third one?

I do realize that quality of the letters (from board-certified endodontist, pre-doc endo director, etc) are much more important but I was wondering if there was an appropriate number of letters. Thank you for your help!

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[PerioDont]

Hello all,

I plan to apply for Endo this cycle and was looking at the letter of recommendation requirements. It looks like most programs ask for 3 individual letters + Dean's Letter. Some programs are okay with less, some programs don't even mention the number required.
Is it okay to submit 4 or even 5 individual letters, or would this be frowned upon? Would they even read any letters beyond the third one?

I do realize that quality of the letters (from board-certified endodontist, pre-doc endo director, etc) are much more important but I was wondering if there was an appropriate number of letters. Thank you for your help!

Not a 100% sure if its the exact same for endo but this is what I got for my perio apps:

I got 5 letters of rec + institutional evaluation.

One from my chairman of perio dept. He is 'famous' in the perio world for research stuff, and I think his letter is why I got interviews certain places.

one from my oral path professor. he was the advisor for a student group I was president of

one from my oral surgeon. I worked with him on a textbook chapter together

one from my anatomy PhD professor. I was a TA for anatomy so I had a pretty major interaction with her

one from my employer. I worked at a non-profit part time during dental school past few years, so he knows me very well. I thought a non-dental showed a cool side as well.

then the Institutional evaluation thing that the dean of the school wrote for me.

I would say most important is choosing people who actually will write a good letter and know you pretty well. not a bad idea to give them some rough thoughts on things they could include from your resume etc. have a good convo with them about the 'theme' of your app.

Honestly I'm not sure how many they read or not but I don't think more can really harm you unless the letter is quite poor.

 

[cmsmith85]

Hello all,

I plan to apply for Endo this cycle and was looking at the letter of recommendation requirements. It looks like most programs ask for 3 individual letters + Dean's Letter. Some programs are okay with less, some programs don't even mention the number required.
Is it okay to submit 4 or even 5 individual letters, or would this be frowned upon? Would they even read any letters beyond the third one?

I do realize that quality of the letters (from board-certified endodontist, pre-doc endo director, etc) are much more important but I was wondering if there was an appropriate number of letters. Thank you for your help!

Like PerioDont said, the most important part is to have quality letters. If I remember correctly, Oregon required the most LORs out all the programs and that was 4 plus the Institutional Evaluation. For most programs 3 plus the IE is great. I got a LOR each from the head of the Endo, OS and Perio department at my alma mater and one from our clinical team leader.
I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine that they'd read all the letters written in your behalf. Again, just make sure you have a good relationship with those who are going to write your letters, and you'll be set.