<p>How many recs should I send out? Is three overkill? I'm sort of worried that one isn't going to be "amazing"...so will adding one more help me or diminish the ones I've already sent?</p>
<p>Well was the one that isn't going to be amazing already sent? Send the two best ones if you can. Three isn't too many but if one of them isn't that good, it's sorta pointless.</p>
<p>first lesson is that you should always ask a teacher if they can write a strong letter for you or if they'd suggest you ask someone else. That would have elimated the letter that won't be "amazing" as you put it.</p>
<p>Second, I'd only send in 3 recs if the third can add some perspective missing from the first two.</p>
<p>Send 7. It's a lucky number.</p>
<p>Send the exact number that each college requires (which is probably two). The adcoms are totally immersed in reading for many weeks. They may not seriously penalized someone who has extra recs sent, but they will probably not read the extra ones. </p>
<p>Anyway, they first look at difficulty of curriculum, gpa/rank, standardized test scores, EC's, and essays. Then they give consideration to the recs. Unless the teacher says that you are the best students he/she has taught in the last 20 years, or that your fellow students look up to you in awe as if they think you are going to be President of the United States someday, or that he/she knows for a fact that you are a lying scumbag who can't possibly do college work; it probably won't matter that much.</p>
<p>I am sending 3. Two from two school teachers and another from another that has taught me for a long time (was in ESL for like 3 years) and knows me outside of school as well. For some colleges i might have to send 4 since they require a LA teacher and even though the teacher i asked likes me, i was never outstanding in the class. So I had two science teachers right recommendations on top of it.</p>
<p>I sent three.. two from teachers at my school and a really good one from a professor at the school that I am applying to EA (Cornell). I don't think it's overkill at all, as the professor taught me and can add soem perspective to my application as a prospective Cornell student.</p>
<p>three too. two from my school and one from my part-time calsses lecturer.</p>