<p>How many is too many? I'd like to do four and I think they all show an important side of me. One is a guidance counselor, one is from my NIAHD instructor, another from my US history teacher and a third from a teacher that I had freshman and junior year. Would that be okay? Surely it's not the forty that I heard someone sent one year.</p>
<p>ignore this, I already found the answer. :)</p>
<p>please share the answer, if you do not mind.</p>
<p>W&M only requires a letter of recommendation from the guidance counselor (completed via the Secondary School Report form that is part of the Common App). Additional recommendations are optional. We generally advise sending one additional recommendation and two at a maximum. Four total letters gets a bit excessive. We’d advise the required counselor letter and a recommendation from a teach of an academic subject. If you want to send one additional (like your NIAHD professor) that’s fine.</p>
<p>I understand four is a bit excessive but I think that the fourth one is necessary because the required one is not very personal. I like my guidance counselor but I don’t we know each other that well. The one from the NIAHD professor is good because it shows how I do in a college setting. The first academic subject is from my 11th grade history teacher and shows how I do in my favorite subject. The second academic subject is from my 9th and 11th grade English teacher and would show how I’ve grown in high school. To me, all these optional ones are important. I also read on another thread that there really is no actual cap except to not be insane- like sending forty!- when it comes to recommendations. I’m also applying early decision if that makes a difference (less reading?). I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was necessary. On my honor, I promise that I’ll only send the four, and no more. :)</p>
<p>Glad to hear you’re applying ED!</p>
<p>We certainly appreciate why you’ve selected the recommendations you have and we also understand that not everyone knows their counselor well but counselors can provide a prospective on you in your high school setting which is important to us.</p>
<p>While we appreciate that students want to put their best foot forward and we encourage them to do so, we’ll receive over 12,500 applications and if everyone sent four letters of recommendation we’d be hard pressed to get our work done in time so we encourage you to limit yourself to three letters. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that we do not take intended major into account when reviewing your application so a recommendation from someone who taught you in that favorite subject isn’t any more important than any other teacher recommendation if that helps.</p>
<p>You’ve won me over! I’ll just send three! 
I would not like to make the nice admissions people annoyed in any way. :)</p>
<p>Sounds like a great plan!</p>