Would it help to have 19 letters of recommendation?

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HoboCommander

HoboCommander

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I found out that when schools say that they only accept 5 letters max, they mean 5 PACKETS of letters. Several schools confirmed that they really have no limit as to low many LORs we can send them. So I'm thinking of asking more profs and I think I can get 19 LORs. Do you guys think this would this help me in any way?
 
haha not really...It would probably just piss off the schools.
 
Send that many only if the school is running low on firewood
 
Beware - the more letters you have, the greater the chances that one says something bad about you.
 
HoboCommander said:
I found out that when schools say that they only accept 5 letters max, they mean 5 PACKETS of letters. Several schools confirmed that they really have no limit as to low many LORs we can send them. So I'm thinking of asking more profs and I think I can get 19 LORs. Do you guys think this would this help me in any way?
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I think the point of diminishing returns is reached long before the number 19.

do 19 professors really even know you that well?
 
Depakote said:
I think the point of diminishing returns is reached long before the number 19.

do 19 professors really even know you that well?
Click to expand...

Yeah usually the professors just sneak out by morning leaving you unsatisified. They never get a chance to get to know you. 🙁
 
Im trying to think, if i even had 19 professors lol.
 
Please, for the sanity of your interviewers, don't ask them to read 19 letters.

I'd say that anything more than 6 is pushing it. You want strong letters, but even the strongest letters aren't going to do you any good if the interviewers are too overwhelmed to read them.
 
Depakote said:
do 19 professors really even know you that well?
Click to expand...

Actually only 16 of them are my professors, the rest are health professionals that I've worked with who can attest to my dedication to go to medical school.

The professors don't need to know me very well since I tell them what to write, and make it seem like they've known me personally for a long time. They just want to try their best to help, and I help them help me.
 
Ill tell you what. How about You try this out, and report back and let us know how it goes?
 
I'm pretty sure every AdCom will ether you immediately upon seeing 19 letters. I have five, and that's only to cover what I need: committee, research advisor, two science professors, one non-science professor.
 
I had 19 letters of recommendation, but 15 of them were just naked pictures of myself. Tastefully-done, of course. Except for one.

Posted via Mobile Device
 
TexasTriathlete said:
I had 19 letters of recommendation, but 15 of them were just naked pictures of myself. Tastefully-done, of course. Except for one.

Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...


I tried that.

The breakdown in the strategy was during interview day when they found out I was a mediocre-looking guy (my mommy says I'm handsome!), as opposed to an incredibly sexy redheaded girl.

Live and learn.
 
HoboCommander said:
I found out that when schools say that they only accept 5 letters max, they mean 5 PACKETS of letters. Several schools confirmed that they really have no limit as to low many LORs we can send them. So I'm thinking of asking more profs and I think I can get 19 LORs. Do you guys think this would this help me in any way?
Click to expand...
Send that many ONLY if they are absolutely TOP NOTCH. If they aren't, then the school's probably going to get pissed off.
 
Do it. I mean, if it doesn't work out... at least you set an AAMC record... that's way more memorable than being a doctor.
 
1 Up said:
Send that many ONLY if they are absolutely TOP NOTCH. If they aren't, then the school's probably going to get pissed off.
Click to expand...

I disagree - I think they'll probably get pissed off either way!
 
I wonder how many trash cans will have Hobo's application (+19 LORS) in it at the end of this cycle.
 
Rikkye said:
at least, he's standing out from thousands of applicants :zip:
Click to expand...
you mean standing outside of the medical schools while thousands of applicants start in the fall.


j/k! sry hobo, had to take another stab at it.
 
Sending 19 letters when schools are allowing a maximum of 5-6 is simply asking to be rejected outright...Just follow the directions and don't make the process harder than it already is.
 
I sent in LORs from my Orgo Prof, academic advisor, pre-med advisor, freshman year RA, the hot girl from econ lab, my mom, my dad, my kid brother, the Easter Bunny, Jerry Falwell, my congressman, my congressman's paige, and Jesus (the hispanic mechanic).

Think that'll get me in?
 
How ironic. I got a letter of recommendation from your mom also.

OH SNAP!
 
EpiPEN said:
Yeah usually the professors just sneak out by morning leaving you unsatisified. They never get a chance to get to know you. 🙁
Click to expand...
thats how i like it
 
Dude, if you need that many people to tell you that you are good enough, then you must have some serious self-confidence, self-actualization, self-worthiness and all the self-.... issues.

Get a grip of yourself now, unless you want the adcoms to recommend you a shrink consult or the asylum in a worst case scenario. :wow::bang::poke::sendoff::beat:
 
HoboCommander said:
I found out that when schools say that they only accept 5 letters max, they mean 5 PACKETS of letters. Several schools confirmed that they really have no limit as to low many LORs we can send them. So I'm thinking of asking more profs and I think I can get 19 LORs. Do you guys think this would this help me in any way?
Click to expand...

Sending 19 LORs would guarantee that you would not get admitted to my med school. Sounds good. Do it.
 
If you thought it was a good idea in the first place, I doubt you would be posting about it here. Seems like you're trying to brag in a way...though, I don't think anyone here is at all envious or impressed. I wonder what the percentage of trolls admitted to med schools each year is...based on hobo, I doubt there are very many!
 
To be honest, I'd go for it... hell... this past application cycle, I used a letter from my advisor, two science profs, a research advisor, the president of the United States, my own doctor, my neighbor Earl, my roommate, the drunk bartender in town, my grandmother (who had just lovely things to say about me), Dr. Cox from scrubs, a migrant mexican farmworker, the U.N., a prostitute hanging out by planned parenthood, Sadaam Hussein's brother-in-law, three aliens, a bacterial phage (which I created), the Bearded Lady of Wood River, Illinois, a sex-store worker, and, of course, Santa Clause.

EDIT: Clockwork beat me to it, and his is way funnier...
 
No. Anything more than 7 means that you lack some common sense. And I'm being quite serious here. Realize that adcoms actually have to READ what those LORs have. 19 means you have no consideration about what they have to go through. I bet a few would chunk your application on that bit alone.
 
I got 6 letters and I thought that was a lot. I mean with 19 it's gonna get kinda redundant. I don't know that I could find 19 letter writers to write about my good qualities without most of them just repeating the same thing.
 
Haha you people are terrible. Fine I will cut down the number of recommendations to 11 by removing the ones not written in English (I took some classes in Cjoma).
 
HoboCommander said:
I found out that when schools say that they only accept 5 letters max, they mean 5 PACKETS of letters. Several schools confirmed that they really have no limit as to low many LORs we can send them. So I'm thinking of asking more profs and I think I can get 19 LORs. Do you guys think this would this help me in any way?
Click to expand...

The majority of schools vow, honestly, to read your entire application. They get thousands of applications every year. Having a professor you had a couple classes with or even just one class write a letter which will probably not be able to thoroughly attest to your actual scientific/medical ability will not help at all. There is a time when it is overkill. I think that it would end up hurting you, as the schools really would probably find it offensive, as again they have thousands of applications a year to review. There is no reason why you would even have to do this realistically. You should have a recommendation from your committee, from a top professor that you did a ton of work with (or maybe two or three), and then one or two from humanities professors attesting to your achievement during your time with them (try to pick maybe a professor you have had more than once). At least those are the things I was advised to do. Anything more than 5 is just plain overkill...and you certainly would not want to negatively affect your application.

Good luck.
 
HoboCommander said:
Actually only 16 of them are my professors, the rest are health professionals that I've worked with who can attest to my dedication to go to medical school.

The professors don't need to know me very well since I tell them what to write, and make it seem like they've known me personally for a long time. They just want to try their best to help, and I help them help me.
Click to expand...

Wow the honesty and class with which you want to represent yourself and portray yourself to medical schools is astounding.

And any recommendations that you have a personal hand in creating are worthless.

Again, though, it is astounding the lengths you'll take to get into medical school, and that is not a compliment in the least. That verges on not being dedicated to the medical field, but actually being drastically dishonest. How can you ask a professor to write something, no matter how much he/she would like to help, that they have no personal, first hand knowledge of. That's a lie by omission.
 
What's Cjoma? If I can't find it on Wiki, it doesn't exist.
 
This might be the funniest thread I've read in a while..
 
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