Page 1 of 1
How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:24 pm
by Shangrilala
Hi,
So some of the schools only require 1 letter, but should I still submit 2?
I think I read somewhere people recommend to submit 3, when they require 1 or 2 academic letters, should we still submit 3 academic letters?
Will it affect the decision?
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:32 pm
by S.Picquery
From the Dean of Admission at Yale:
If you DID submit two academic letters, you do NOT need to submit additional ones at this point. I'm sure some economist could graph this out for me, but there is an optimal number of LORs for Yale and it's somewhere around 2.4. This is because of the "meh" factor. If you submit two references that are stellar, and then one that is just "meh," you immediately bring down the impact of the two great ones. There are some students who manage to find three professors who knock it out of the park for them, but many fall into the "meh" trap. Unless you are absolutely certain that your third recommendation is going to be beyond amazing, just sit tight. And please don't send more than three . . . that's just overkill.
The original blog post
ETA: I know this is slightly different, but I think the sentiment will help.
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 2:27 pm
by floatie
I submitted two LORs (1 academic, 1 from a supervisor/mentor for a number of extracurriculars), and my cycle has gone just fine. Whether you submit 1 or 2, all that matters is that your letter(s) is/are good.
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:20 pm
by Rigo
I just submitted both of mine to every school whether two were required or not.
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:23 pm
by Shangrilala
Thank you guys
I guess I will just submit 2 then.
I thought I saw somewhere in this website that people recommend to submit 3, but maybe not here...
Anyways thanks!
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:43 pm
by goldenbear2020
According to Berkeley:
"3 letters of recommendation are ok, even 4 is fine, however 5 is probably pushing it.”
http://www.top-law-schools.com/tom-interview.html
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:53 pm
by Rigo
Who tf even gets 5 LOR's?
Re: How many LOR to assign when they require only 1?
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:57 pm
by S.Picquery
Rigo wrote:Who tf even gets 5 LOR's?
Gunners.