Submitting Extra Recommendations – Stanford?

Applying to College
1

I am applying EA to Stanford. I’ve already gotten the standard school-recs (2 teachers, 1 counselor). However, a much more interesting side of me is made apparent by my non-classroom activities, which I would like to emphasize as well.

Two different people, from two different activities that I am deeply involved in, have offered to write me letters of recommendation. I have seen one of the letters, and it is a really, really good rec IMO. The other person hasn’t started yet, but if he writes it, I have no doubt that it will be quite good as well. The 2nd person is very articulate, knows me well, and expressed a desire to write the letter before I even mentioned it.

I know that Stanford says to include “only one extra recommendation,” but in reading various books (like “A is for Admissions,” about Dartmouth), I’ve gotten the impression that it’s not looked down upon to bend certain rules. What do you think? Assuming that the letters are strong and interesting, do you think submitting a 2nd non-teacher/counselor rec would do more harm than good?

FYI, Stanford says the following on their application:
“To the Applicant:
As we state in our admission literature, we discourage the submission of extra letters of recommendation beyond the required Secondary School Report and two teacher references. We recognize, however, that some students attend large high schools where guidance counselors may not have the opportunity to know each applicant well. Some candidates also may feel that someone in the community or another staff member at the high school may be able to share special insights that would not be reflected in the required references. For these and other reasons, we provide one optional reference form, which you may give to a recommender of your choice. We want to emphasize that it is optional, and you should not feel compelled to submit it.”

I’m not eager to submit more recs simply because my academics are sub par or anything… I’d just like to emphasize my involvement in certain activities beyond the classroom. The fact that I know both recs will be very personal and very strong is influencing me, no doubt. That said, if I don’t want recommender #2 to write his rec, I need to decide soon because I don’t want to waste his time!

Your opinions appreciated!!

2

<p>If the second extra letter adds something not covered anywhere else on the app, that you think is important, why not? Just be certain that it adds something new and significant.</p>

3

<p>Stanford has made it pretty clear - They only want ONE additional recommendation.</p>

<p>Send one. Save the other one to send if you are deferred. It will do more for you then.</p>

4

<p>As long as the 2 extras provide significantly different info, I think it should be okay. You wouldn't want to submit letters from, say, 3 math teachers all saying you're good at math. Why not call Stanford and ask?</p>

5

<p>When my son applied to Stanford several years ago, he had the exact same question as you do. He was told by Stanford admissions that if he submitted two extra recommendations, they would just throw one of them in the trash (randomly I guess). So the best thing to do is to choose the one which you would rather have them see, based on which will bring out something about you that won't come through from the rest of your application. Good luck.</p>

6

<p>Stanford will throw away any extra stuff without reading, so just choose one. They give you an opportunity to talk about different aspects of your life in several essays, so you can talk about the other activity there.</p>

7

<p>Do you guys honestly think that Stanford would rip up a letter of recommendation? The notion seems rather absurd to me.</p>

8

<p>Those are exactly the words the secretary told my son. If it is up to the clerical staff and that is what they are told to do, probably they would. They were also very strict about everything fitting on their forms and not sendind any additional pages. They also dont do interviews, so their admissions process is a little different than other comparable schools.</p>

9

<p>According to someone who attended a forum put on by the Stanford Admissions Committee (you can check on the old board for his or her report), the adcom looking at your packet spends maybe 20 minutes looking through your application. You don't want to distract them with anything extraneous that doesn't add much to your application.</p>