What do you think is the ideal number to have?
the number that colleges ASK for: two, one or zero. There is no advantage to having more than two.
@T26E4 I’ve heard the same thing. I’ll have three in the fall - one from a core teacher, one from my counselor, and one from my choir director whom I’m very close with. I originally asked my director because I originally intended to apply to music schools, many of which required two recommendations from people in the music field. (I’m now changing my mind, but I still think the rec will be nice to have.)
At my school everyone receives a recommendation from his/her counselor. I don’t think I’ll submit this one to most colleges, though, as I don’t feel my counselor can say a lot about who I am.
You should have 2 teacher recommendations, preferably from core teachers, and the counselor recommendation is separate from the teacher recommendations and usually required to my knowledge at most colleges.
2 teacher recommendations and if one person can talk about a different aspect then you could possibly add a 3rd recommendation. No more than that. Admissions officers are not looking for more things to read.
It depends on the schools you are going to apply. My suggestion is to ask at least two teachers. Some schools ask for 3 LORs while others may allow additional ones. If you think the additional LOR may cover a different aspect of you, then it would be a good idea, otherwise, having multiple LORs saying the same thing may not help. Also, some schools may have specific requirements, for instance, teachers from two different core subjects. There are also schools don’t care about the subjects, and some schools do not even want LOR at all. My D’s strategy was to ask 3-4 teachers and then assign them to different schools depending on the requirements. A couple teachers actually set a limit on the number of letter for each student (one would only do three). In that case, you will need to contact more than 2 teachers.
If you’re aiming for Ivy, then one mentor rec, one teacher rec, and one counselor rec.
Look at the requirements for the specific school. Most will ask for two teacher recommendations (preferably from separate subject areas) and a counselor recommendation, and will give you the option to submit extra recommendations. If you feel an outside recommendation (from a coach, religious leader, mentor, professor, etc…) demonstrates some important aspect of your personality that your teacher/counselor recommendations don’t have, then by all means, include it in your app. But I wouldn’t advise going over one extra recommendation, and I would really consider whether you need it in your app.