Is 6 Recs Overkill?

Applying to College
1

<p>For Stanford, I am getting recommendations from: the standard 2 teachers, my counselor, a club advisor, and for the supplements, my composition and piano teachers. I am confident that they first four will give different (but still strong) accounts of me, and the last two are needed for me to submit my supplement (but they will be good). </p>

<p>Do you guys think this might be overkill?</p>

2

<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/pdf/08-09_Applying_Guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/pdf/08-09_Applying_Guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think they only want two…</p>

<p>edit: Nvm, they only take two from teachers; supplementary ones are acceptable. Still… I dunno… Stanford seems prettyyyyy picky…</p>

3

<p>Every Stanford rep to whom I have talked has made it very clear that they do NOT want a huge application; they want an efficient one.</p>

<p>If you need 6 recs to make your application complete, you’re definitely not picking the best people. Anything REQUIRED for the art supplement is fine, but then DON’T have anything else beyond the 2 teachers and the GC. </p>

<p>This is my opinion, but it will almost definitely come off as cluttered and you will seem all over the place. They need to get a hold on who you are. If three recs can’t do that, then you have a problem.</p>

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<p>I doubt you actually need 6. 2 + counselor is standard, and then 1 supplemental one should be enough. adcoms won’t want to read 6 recs, and if they do, they’ll just spend less time on the rest of your app.</p>

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<p>Six recs is overkill. Two teacher recs and counselor rec is standard. Choose one of the other three – the one that be the most distinct and different than your teacher recs. </p>

<p>You are not a special case – most people can get six recs if needed. The admissions offices don’t want tons of paper. The saying goes: “The thicker the file, the thicker the kid”.</p>

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<p>I’ve never heard of anyone sending more than 3, but 2 is the standard amount.</p>

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<p>OMG, overkill.</p>

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<p>They will probably look at the ones that are on top. Probably the first two. then what the counselor wrote. then they wont read the rest. so ya…i wouldnt waste the stamps</p>

9

<p>Yes. 10 characters.</p>

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<p>Yup, just heard this from an AO from a selective college last week.</p>

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<p>^ in some cases though, adding that extra piece of paper is worth it, such as a resume elaborting on a very distinctive EC rather than just a 3 word blurb on the common app</p>

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<p>NY_D,
Please read in the context of this thread, ie. 6 LORs.</p>