<p>Hey guys, I sent an extra recommendation from my tennis coach with my 2 common app ones. I just recently did an internship and thought I should send an updated resume with a fourth recommendation from my internship boss. What do you guys think? </p>
<p>Is that going to annoy them? Or will they be okay with it?</p>
<p>Has he/she only known you for a few weeks? If so, I don't see how it could really be worth it. The point of an additional recommendation is to give the adcom a completely new and detailed perspective on you (with specific examples and stories backed up by facts) that they wouldn't otherwise have known. If you think the new boss would provide that kind of perspective, though, then it can't hurt you. Generally speaking, of course, the rest of the application carries much more weight than any additional recs.</p>
<p>i agree with posterx. it's a bit too much, and adcoms won't necessarily like it.</p>
<p>I think one extra rec is actually good if it helps illuminate you as a person, if the letter itself is very thoughtful and contains specific stories about you, and if it says something new that the rest of your application can't. To use a couple of examples, if you spent 8 years of after school time working with a famous scientist or composer and they can write in detail about what your work ethic and intellectual approach is like, or if you spent every summer since 8th grade working directly with the director of a nonprofit that taught undocumented immigrants how to read English and they can tell stories about how you have specifically worked with people. </p>
<p>Another reason for an additional recommendation is that, sometimes the perspective of your teachers can be a bit too narrow -- however, if they are, you really want to consider asking a different teacher in the first place, and/or making sure you spend extra time on your essay to make sure that it communicates to the adcom what makes you a great candidate. More important than an additional rec, usually, is picking the right teachers to write your letters.</p>
<p>But two extra letters can sometimes be too much -- like in the case of sending any additional materials, you would want to have a very well-considered reason for doing this. If you think that both additional letters are a very important part of your application, though, then send them (ideally together). If the letters are good, I don't think you will be penalized, because the admissions officers are geared to spend most of their time analyzing the required parts of your application anyways. But just keep in mind that one amazing letter is probably better than four very good ones.</p>