Thoughts on more than 3 letters of rec?

Graduate School
1

<p>I've been out of school for 2 years and was planning to get 2 letters of rec from my supervisors and 1 from an undergrad professor (for the standard required 3 LoRs). But get this - one of the schools I'm applying for recommends that 2 LoRs be from professors. I called the school to double check and she said there is a bias for letters from people who have PhDs, and that I should find one more professor and send all 4 letters (she says they'll read them). Another school says they "require three LoRs from faculty members." Great. Now I'm scrambling to find 1 or 2 more professors for these specific institutions. </p>

<p>This forum and common sense always told me the better LoR comes from someone who knows you (an extra supervisor in my case) over a professor who doesn't. If I get 1 more LoR from another professor though, should I use their letter for just these 2 schools that require more professor letters. Or should I use him for all my schools, effectively sending 4 LoRs to every school?</p>

2

<p>BUMP - Bad title for the thread- i meant “More than three letters of rec”</p>

3

<p>My daughter sent four letters to the programs that allowed them. Some are strict about having only three – and then you should adhere to the minimum-of-two-professors rule if you can. One extra letter might be the boost you need to distinguish yourself from other applicants.</p>

<p>BTW, I’m editing the title on the thread to reflect your original intent.</p>

4

<p>Perhaps, you could have one jointly written. That’s what I did and I got accepted.</p>

5

<p>Thanks a lot, and for the title change too.</p>

<p>I think I’m going to have to call each school this week to double check their policy. Ugh. That will mean I probably have to mix and match between my 4 letter writers. For schools that allow 3 only, I feel a little bad having to exclude one of my supervisors. I hope he doesn’t take it personally and write a worse letter!</p>