Are these extra recs justified?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I am a senior who has applied to MIT early action. </p>

<p>Right now, my application has 6 recs. 4 of the 6 are as follows:</p>

<p>1) Required Math/science teacher
2) Required English/Humanities teacher
3) Required Guidance rec
4) Research scientist I worked with over the summer at a program that MIT greatly respects and recognizes</p>

<p>Now, I think there is no problem with the above four, as the 4th extra one shows a side of me that the other applications do not show, so it is useful. </p>

<p>Now, the last two recs come from distingiushed MIT members/faculty. One has known me since I was little, and another I met and worked with at a Summer Program. They both thought I was a very strong fit for MIT and really wanted to write on behalf. Of course, I said sure.</p>

<p>Now, I question this, as I am afraid that these extra recs that bring the total to six will flood my application. MIT warns not to do this. </p>

<p>Should I call or email and ask them to remove an application or two so that only the strongest and most important ones remain? Or is the total of 6 on the borderline and small enough to not hurt you?</p>

2

<p>Well I really don't know a good answer to your quesiton, but I will say this. If I were you, I would only send at most one of the last 2 you mentioend because they both have the same relationship with you (at least from what you've posted), that is, they are MIT alumni who know you pretty well and volunteered to write on your behalf. Given that you will alreayd be submitting 4 recs, I don't see why you'd need to submit 2 more from people who have the same relationship with you unless you really think that each would write something amazing that the other one couldn't.
But to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I would do in your situation, so take what I said with a grain of salt. :)</p>

3

<p>i only had the required 3. i suspect this is true of most other applicants. having double as many recommendations as the rest of your competition looks excessive.</p>

<p>/grain-of-salt</p>