<p>What does this phrase mean. Someone mentioned that sending too many reccs is a bad thing and that in one admissions book, the “adcoms laughed when one student sent in too many reccs” I always thought that reccs make or break you when grades/ec’s/ are the same. Personally, if you send reccs from different activties rather than one particular subject (i,e,- 4 history teacher reccs)…thus in my case (3 teacher, 1 guidance counselor, 1 dance teacher Personal Letters -1 boss, 1 surgeon) does not diversify my character for adcoms to see?</p>
<p>Schools ask for the number of recs they want and need; don’t send any more than they request, unless there are very unusual personal circumstacnes that would justify it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They do. But the number of recs don’t determine whether it makes or breaks you. What they mean by that is that the CONTENT of the recs can make or break you. If you send them more recs than they require, they will have a negative opinion of you. DO NOT DO IT. Period. Final answer. The only way you can send more than the specifically require dnumber is if 1) they ask you for one or 2) they allow you to send an additional rec. it will be stated on the application if you can do this. If it’s not stated, then you CANNOT do it. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Recs can diversify your character but unfortunately you can’t send extra recs. If you’re an effective applicant, you will be able to show your character in your essays. Period.</p>
<p>You’ve asked about this several times. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>other inputs?</p>
<p>If you sent all of those recs you’d be committing admissions suicide.</p>
<p>I second that.</p>
<p>Quality > quantity. That’s why you must choose your recommendERS wisely.</p>
<p>In some cases, ONE very well chosen and targeted supplemental recommendation can be OK. But, it better add something IMPORTANT about you that can’t be found elsewhere in your application or the required recomendations. </p>
<p>An example might be: You worked in a biotech lab as a research assistant over the summer and your immediate supervisor is going to write about how your professionalism and dedication went well beyond other high school research assistants. That’s something that your teachers and GC probably couldn’t comment on and that might not be readily apparent from just your application.</p>
<p>BUT, if you also send supplemental recommendations from your supervisor’s supervisor, whom you talked to once for three seconds in the coffee room, or a couple of the PhD researchers in the lab that you never worked with directly because you think they’ll sound “impressive”…well, that’s overkill because it’s not adding anything new or important about you to your application file. </p>
<p>Other examples of overkill: Having that friend of your dad’s old high school buddy who graduated from University XYZ write a letter of recommendation for you — hey, he’s an alum, surely the admissions committee will be wowed by his speaking up for you. Or, hey, wouldn’t it be cool to have the mayor of your town or your congressman write a recommendation for you saying how you’ve always been a darn good citizen? And, perhaps an extra teacher recommendation reiterating what the required teacher recommendations most likely already say — well, that should really convince the admissions committee that the required teacher recommendations are telling the truth, right?</p>
<p>Wrong. All overkill because they aren’t adding anything new or important to your application file - they’re just “thickening it” Admissions people hate overkill. If you MUST send in a supplemental recommendation, make it count by picking the person who has something very specific and important to add to your file. Pick the person who has direct, one-on-one knowledge of you, not the person who sounds “most impressive.” I think most admissions people would rather see a letter from the janitor who directly supervised you on that job last summer painting classrooms in your high school, than the principal of your high school who is only vaguely aware of what you did working for the maintenance staff. Of course, the janitor still needs to be adding something important with his recommendation that the admissions committee isn’t going to learn elsewhere.</p>
<p>CRITICAL: read each school’s rules regarding recommendations carefully. If they say “NO supplemental recommendations beyond the ones we ask for” then believe them and follow the instructions to the letter. After all, colleges expect you to be able to read and understand instructions. :)</p>
<p>Finally, keep in mind that even if you do send in a supplemental recommendation, it may never be read or considered. So, as the oneo so wisely said, Choose the people who will write your required recommendation very, very carefully. If you do, only in very rare cases will it be necessary to add supplemental recommendations.</p>
<p>By the way, a few days ago, I wrote an entry for my blog on recommendations, including some good advice and links from expert admissions people. You can read it by clicking on my name to your left, then on see Carolyn’s homepage. Hope it helps a bit.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much teacher recs help. If you are applying to Harvard, chances are there won’t be many students about whom teachers write, “So-and-so was not a pleasure to have in class; he is rude, arrogant, and far below the mental capabilities of his classmates.” When you’re applying to top schools, all applicants are going to be great students; I think the personality that comes out in your essays put you over the edge when stats are similar rather than recs.</p>
<p>A few years back I got a call at my desk from an admissions officer at Stanford who had a question about a line I had written in a student’s recommendation. The committee wanted further clarification in order to come to a final decision. The student was ultimately admitted. On another occasion I received a personal note from an adcom at Brown. He wanted to thank me because I had written such a detailed and helpful letter. I think back to those two moments whenever I have my doubts about the importance of the recs I write. They’re not important all the time–maybe not even most of the time–but they definitely can be.</p>
<p>^ Just curious…what was the question they asked about the recommendation?</p>
<p>one question here. If i have a friend whom i’ve helped a lot in past years, is it a good idea to have him write one for me in addition to the required letters? It certainly gives a different perspective from teachers’ rec.</p>