gradcafecomments

But to answer your question, it depends on the applicant pool. If a lot of people have 3 strong recommendations it might be odd that you provide 2. However, that may not be the case. That's why we can only recommend to do your best with the application because whether or not it is a negative will depend completely on the application pool/what you are applying for and how competitive it is. I would generally say if your 2 recommendations are strong then no it is not negative. However if you have any weak points in other areas of your applications, then I strongly advise submitting a 3rd recommendation

I think it's good to submit the maximum amount. Even though your direct supervisor is at the same place, that person will provide a different view point than the other recommendation. Gaining more recommendations also showcases your ability to gain support from people... However, if they specifically say they only want 2 then don't provide them something they aren't looking for. If they say they will read 3, then hey submit another one.

I included the professors I'd like to work with. I even mentioned a recent research article of theirs and why we were a good fit... I listed coursework as well... I do agree with Sigaba a bit - but I would instead advise that you contact the people you would like to work with and specifically ask them if they will be on campus the year you enter and are open to working with students. If you know the focus of your research you can even mention it as well. It is advised to contact professors to each school you apply too... the fit is probably more important than GPA, just to give you a sense of how important it is for social science programs... so leaving out who you want to work with would be the equivalent of not mentioning your GPA.... People are not going to try and figure out who would match well with your research, you have to lay it all out there for them... remember, people are lazy and aren't going to look into things for your sake, so you have to take the initiative yourself Each year I see people that are awesome on paper but get into the awesome candidate but rejected due to lack of fit

I'm not sure if you are masters or doctoral level, but if you are trying to gain admissions into the doctoral level, the absolute best thing you can do is to publish a research article as a first author. There is absolutely nothing you can do more of to better your chances of admission than a 1st author publication in a highly regarded journal. It may sound like an absurd request, but publishing is the job description so if you want to prove you can do the job itself get something published... or publish an abstract/attend conferences/apply for and obtain research fellowships - anything that gives a strong indication you can produce research Doing the above for the masters level can't hurt as well, since masters students seek to publish their work as well....