Parents Please Help! Is thicker better?

[justcruzen06]

<p>I'm a high school jr. from a large metropolitan high school. My gc has over 800 kids to deal with, so I need some expert advice. My parents are sort of clueless (in a supportive way, of course!)</p>

<p>In my application package I would like to include two additional references from mentors who have worked with me. I have won national awards for the work I have done in two different areas and these mentors can speak to that in detail and glowing terms. The mentors are themselves well-known.</p>

<p>Would this be overkill?</p>

[MotherOfTwo]

<p>Hi justcruzen,
My son who is currently a junior in college was in a position very similar to you when he applied three years ago. He included two additional letters with his applications, one from his supervisor at a summer internship and one from the director of a Governor's School he had attended. We saw these letters and they were very specific in describing what my son had accomplished and also his personal traits. They were also very well written. My son, like you, attended a huge high school with a GC who didn't know him well. Of course we will never know, but we feel that these extra letters may have been a big help in his admission success. Some schools (Stanford was one) specify that only one extra letter may be submitted. If this is the case for any of your schools, I suggest you follow their instructions. Good luck!</p>

[justcruzen06]

<p>Thanks so much Momoftwo!</p>

[mootmom]

<p>MotherOfTwo is correct: some schools specify two teacher letters (sometimes even specifying "one science/math, one humanities") and one GC letter, with a max of one extra letter. If this is the case, you would be wise to follow their instructions: an adcom told me they are instructed to throw away anything beyond that fourth one. Thicker is not better: go for quality, not quantity, which means you may have to choose which of the two mentors writes a supplemental rec for you, for any schools that limit your submissions.</p>