So to some of the schools I applied to, I sent 4 letters. Is that considered too much, or just below the line of too much?? If it is too much should I call telling them to ignore one?
How many did these schools require? In general though, 4 is a bit too much unless asked for. It may seem like you are trying too hard to be liked by having 4 teachers write recs (hopefully saying all good things). It’s hard to see some of your best qualities when they are inundated with this or that about you 4 times.
Also, it’s assumed that all 4 teachers will mostly have the same things to say about you (unless you drastically change your personality from class to class). If you connected with one or two specific teachers, then they should have been your top picks. Did you really connect with all 4 teachers you got a rec letter from, or were they just extra or “just in case” picks?
It also may seem like you are trying to hide something and hope to cover it up with flourishing letters of rec. Regardless if you are or not, it may come across this way.
It may depend upon what types of recs they were. If 2 were teachers recs, 1 was an employer, and 1 was a coach or something it might be different b/c they see different sides of you. However, I mostly agree with camover.
@camover originally I had an english teacher and a math teacher rec. But then I got a 710 on my SAT Physics so i thought I should get my teacher to write how well I am doing in the class and how I have improved over the years. So I sent 4 letters to two of the schools, one lf them is 2 teachers, a volunteer supervisor, and a parent of a child I tutor at this organization. The other one is 3 teachers and the parent.
TBH, i just put my english teacher rec in because I heard its good to have an english and a math/science teacher rec,
What is your major? It’s always best to get a letter of rec from a teacher in your intended field of study AND one that you’ve connected with or has seen you grow and can attest to your character. If you didn’t really connect with your English teacher and just asked them for one, they may not have a lot to say about you which comes off poorly to admissions. If all they can say is, “nice kid” or"does their work", that doesn’t really say enough about you as a person as those statements could probably apply to most students.
I also think the letter by the parent was unnecessary. Although you have a personal connection, the parent can’t see what your achievements in the classroom are. Sure you could tell them, “I made all A’s” and they could work off that, but it doesn’t show your academic growth physically by reading your essays or grading your tests. Since you’re applying to college, academic achievement trumps the parent of a child you tutor.
If you’re applying to any more schools, just use 2 letters at the most or whatever a certain application requires (which is mostly only one or two). So, use your best judgment to find which teachers/supervisors wrote the best letters (based on their connection with you and their relevance) and pick from those.
I think you’re fine. If you had to choose one to forget, I’d agree with camover that it should be the parent’s letter.
Admissions directors receive upwards of ten recs sometimes (which was the horror story I heard at basically every school I visited) so you’re on the lower end of the scale anyway.
@camover i thought the letters were also used to talk about personal growth.
They are, but academic strengths should also be a prime focus. Colleges love leadership and volunteering, but they mostly admit you for your work in school. Honestly though, it depends on whether you applied to LACs or big universities. If you applied to LACs, then it’s probably not as much of an issue. LACs really like to know more about your personal growth. However, big universities will mostly focus on your stats and will give the parent rec letter less value than a teacher’s.