Unexpectedly short letter. Add another?

[EthCos]

One of my rec letters was positive, but kind of short. I expected this to be one of my strongest letters. Due to this I may add an extra letter (beyond the three accepted on the app system). This professor wrote an amazing internship rec letter, so I know this extra letter will be great. I will have to contact admissions to arrange to have the letter sent rather than submitted electronically. Should I mention the reason for the extra letter? I did everything right with this professor (good relationship, helped with research beyond class, would frequently discuss the field with him, etc.) and the brief letter was a total shock.  Also, do you think the trouble of adding a strong letter is worth it or will admissions committees be put off by the request?

[soporific]

Probably it would be a good idea to add an extra ref letter. Don't mention the reason, as the adcom might find it offsetting that you saw the rec letter at all.

 

However, if the website says a maximum of 3 ref letters is allowed, then your hands are tied.

[TakeruK]

I think if the application explicitly says that they will only accept 3 letters, then it would be unfair for them to accept a 4th letter from you but not everyone else. However, if you really feel that you will be rejected without the 4th letter, then you have nothing to lose by trying. But what do you mean by "kind of short" -- you don't have to be long winded to say great things. I'm assuming you were able to see it so as long as you feel your strongest points were included in the positive letter, then I'd wouldn't worry too much. 

[spacezeppelin]

Yeah...under no circumstances should you tell them your reasons for wanting to add a fourth. I'm pretty sure that every school asks students to waive their right to see the letters in the hopes that they actually will not see them.

 

Even if that isnt a really big problem for the school, it seems like a very bad idea to say you want to add a fourth letter because the one you got wasnt good enough.

 

Is there anyway you could just not submit the letter you got and replace it with a new one? If its actually isnt  good enough then maybe you would be better off scraping it. I had most of my letters mailed to me (the envelope was sealed with a signature across the back) then I sent them directly to the school so I could make sure they actually got there on time. If they were already sent or submitted electronically that might not work though.

Edited February 27, 2013 by spacezeppelin

[margarets]

One of my rec letters was positive, but kind of short. I expected this to be one of my strongest letters. Due to this I may add an extra letter (beyond the three accepted on the app system). This professor wrote an amazing internship rec letter, so I know this extra letter will be great. I will have to contact admissions to arrange to have the letter sent rather than submitted electronically. Should I mention the reason for the extra letter? I did everything right with this professor (good relationship, helped with research beyond class, would frequently discuss the field with him, etc.) and the brief letter was a total shock.  Also, do you think the trouble of adding a strong letter is worth it or will admissions committees be put off by the request?

 

Maybe that prof just has a very concise writing style.  If the content is good, I wouldn't worry about it.

[TakeruK]

I'm pretty sure that every school asks students to waive their right to see the letters in the hopes that they actually will not see them.

 

I'm not sure that schools are really worried whether or not the students will see what their LOR writers write about them. Instead, I think the schools are actually worried about the LOR writers feeling unable to be honest because the LOR writer knows that their student might see the letter. So, the schools add requirements like "sealed envelope" or asking students to waive their right to see the letter under the Freedom of Information (or whatever it's called) Act in order to guarantee to the LOR writer that their letter will be "safe" and confidential. However, if the LOR writer chooses to share their letter with the student, then obviously the quality/accuracy LOR writer's letter isn't going to be negatively impacted  by the fact that the student has seen it.

 

Thus, while I still would not recommend someone to ask to submit a 4th letter and cite the reason that the current letter "isn't good enough", I don't think it's a big deal if the school finds out that a student has seen one or more of their LORs, with the permission of the author.

[EthCos]

 

 

Edited February 28, 2013 by EthCos

[cunninlynguist]

Firstly, you should remove the recommendation from your post. It's helpful for us to read it but you don't want anyone involved in the process to stumble upon it.

 

Based on the content of the letter... you should explore your options. A fourth letter, particularly if you know it'll be as strong as you say, would be a marked improvement. This one isn't bad, but the length is quite unusual (looks like 150 words or so) and doesn't detail any specifics from their perspective or relay any anecdotes. While the tone is positive, the structure is that of a "did well in class" letter despite your research efforts.

[dat_nerd]

I second the recommendation to remove the letter from your post, as it contains several identifying details.

 

I suggest that you contact the admissions coordinator as soon as possible to ask about sending the fourth letter. So long as there isn't a maximum number of letters, I think it could only help your application.

[EthCos]

That's good advice thank you.

 

The application instructions state that "three letters are required", but nothing about a maximum. I suppose it can't hurt to inquire about a fourth.