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Extra Letters of Recommendation

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 12:00 am
by Aramark
For various reasons, I have asked 4 people to write letters of recommendation. It seems like some schools outright say that they have are willing to take more than 3 letters, some (read: UCLA) mention in the FAQ that it won't really help and seem to discourage it. If a school just says "Submit 3 letters of recommendation" and don't give much of an indication either way, are they likely to either reject/be annoyed by a 4th letter?

Re: Extra Letters of Recommendation

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:37 am
by MMDE
I'm not sure how true it is, but I remember reading somewhere that if they ask for 3 then submit 3 unless you think the fourth one is essential. Remember they have plenty of applications to read.

Re: Extra Letters of Recommendation

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 2:36 am
by MathCat
Generally it is not advised to submit more letters of recommendation than is asked for. It comes across as not being able to follow instructions.

Re: Extra Letters of Recommendation

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:49 pm
by ya
Multiple professors have told me that submitting extra letters helps if the committee is on the edge about your application. I plan on submitting more than 3.