Hi, we have the usual MATH/ELA and principal recommendation letters. And since my DD has strong bond with his history teacher, we also included his letter as well. My best friend also wrote a personal recommendation letter and I wonder if submitting our 5th recommendation letter is over doing it. My DD grew up knowing him all his life and very dear to him but he also has a tutoring company and I wonder if the school will Google him and suspect something else. He didn’t tutor my son. My DD won’t be submitting his SSAT score so I thought more recommendation letters would help but not sure.
Submitting that 4th recommendation was overdoing it, particularly is the school discourages additional recs. At some point, the old adage comes into play - the thicker the file, the thicker the kid.
Submitting a recommendation letter written by your best friend is super over doing it. Lots of people have known kids their whole lives, schools don’t need to hear from parents’ friends.
It depends. I’m also applying to ten boarding schools, and have had the chance to meet with a ton of admission officials in person. It might just be the nature of the relationship we developed during the interview, but one admissions official basically told me that I could send in as many recommendations as I wanted, regardless of whom they were from. Yet, another admissions official from a separate school told me that I should only submit additional recommendations that are truly significant and show a different perspective from the rest of my recommendations.
Our kiddo applied last year and got admissions from some tiptop schools. The application was strong, and the kiddo was pretty good at interviews. There were more than the traditional amount of recommendation letters from coaches, teachers, and administrators in the applications. I believe it played an important role in the admission process.
I think the real question to ask is if what the additional rec provides is critical. A rec from a coach for an athletic recruit could help. A ref from a friend, probably not. A math teacher might know a kid is good at math. A coach for math competition might have additional, helpful insights.
You also run the risk of showing that you are going to be “that parent”. The one who, in spite of instructions, feels entitled/compelled to do it their way. The one to request a different roommate, to arrive outside the scheduled window, to want private lessons from a teacher not affiliated with the school, to tell the coach how to play their kid, etc. I’m not saying you are that person, but these schools have met lots of them and don’t want them. So while I fully understand the desire to provide as,much glowing information about your kid as possible, I would proceed with extreme caution and discretion.
Way over the top. Don’t submit any more recommendations than what is asked. Sending in a recommendation from a personal friend will not go over well. It will be counterproductive.