If, for instance, the college requires minimum 2 but allows an extra, making a total of 3, is it better to stick with the required minimum (so less reading for them), or to submit as many as possible (to show I have multiple teachers who recommend me)? I have 4 academic teachers who I have a very good relationship with and all of them agreed to write a rec letter for me. Should I submit 2 or 3 letters?
All the adcoms we heard from said not to overload them with more LORs than recommended unless there was a super compelling reason.
Just because you can do something does not always mean that you should. My rule of thumb is that the extra essay should say something that is not covered by the other 2. It is highly unlikely that a 3rd teacher rec will say anything substantially different. Generally when people submit a supplemental rec, it is form a mentor, coach, dance instructor, etc.
In almost all cases, the AO will get what he needs from the requirements. Don’t send extra stuff just to say you sent extra stuff.
The point of teacher recs is not to show how many teachers like you; it’s to demonstrate different sides of you that the other teachers may not know.
If you have a compelling third recommendation that is fine, but don’t send one that will just restate what others have already said. In any event check the instructions carefully – for many schools a third recommendation would be a supplemental recommendation which would not come from a teacher but rather from a person who knows you outside of academics (ex. a boss, a coach, or someone along those lines)
I’m hijacking this thread for a moment. I was going to ask a similar, but slightly different question. If my S is submitting an arts supplement and plans to be involved in music (not as a major – maybe as a minor), would it be OK if the HS music director sent a recommendation? This would be in addition to the two recommendations from academic subject teachers. Is this the type of circumstance in which it makes sense to send a third? Thanks.
@happy1 But there’s a separate section for “other” rec letters (for coaches, art teachers, etc). If there’s a required 2 academic teacher rec letters but you can submit another academic teacher rec letter, is it still a general no? And since I can’t read any of the letters, how can I even judge whether the 3rd would be significant different?
A teacher is going to write from a different perspective than an employer or coach. If a third letter is allowed, and you want to submit one, make sure it’s from a different perspective. Additional teacher recs will not help you. I’ve heard it said, “The thicker the file, the thicker the kid.”
Yes, see my answer above, again assuming that the music director would add something that the academic teachers don’t. Which means more than simply saying “This kid plays music well” because if that’s all s/he’s saying, it’s pointless; that’s why the kid sends in an arts supplement.
For future reference - don’t. It’s a violation of the forum rules and is considered rude to the OP.
You have asked many questions here but at some point you are going to have to rely on your own judgement. You need to think if you have done anything differently in a class (ex. being more participatory), if you can provide a teacher of a subject that may add a different perspective (ex. if your first two recs are from STEM teachers maybe adding a third humanities teacher could add to the application) or something along those lines. None of us knows you, none of us has met your teachers, none of us can say if you might have had a third teacher who can provide a recommendation that might add something a bit different to your application. Also consider if you are sending a supplemental recommendation from a non-teacher and how may LORs you want to provide. There are a lot of “grey areas” in this process and at some point YOU just need to use your own judgement, make a decision and stop worrying about it.