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Some universities say that "The minimum number of letters of recommendation are 2 but we highly encourage 3". If I know that I can get 2 good letters of recommendation but they "highly encourage 3", should I send in a third?

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    "Bad" or just not stellar? A letter that says you are a terrible person, have no work ethic, and are as dumb as a post, i.e. one that actively disparages you, could certainly kill your application. A mediocre letter is a somewhat different story.
    – Bill Barth
    Aug 4, 2015 at 21:27
  • I was thinking more of "not stellar". Just a so-so letter.
    – Steven
    Aug 4, 2015 at 23:24
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    Two and a half is more than two. :)
    – BobRodes
    Aug 5, 2015 at 1:52
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    @BobRodes That's almost certainly not the right way of looking at this.
    – xLeitix
    Aug 5, 2015 at 8:28
  • A mediocre third letter is generally worse than no third letter, (when a third letter is not required).
    – aparente001
    Aug 6, 2015 at 1:53

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Is it better to have 2 good letters or recommendation or 2 good and 1 bad letter?

Definitely, it's better to have two good letters. A bad letter is a very, very bad thing.

They're not counting -- they're reading for understanding.

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  • "They" will also wonder why there weren't 3 letters, since other applicants have 3... "Cherry-picking" faculty contacts suggests itself, etc.
    – paul garrett
    Aug 5, 2015 at 0:59
  • @paulgarrett "The minimum number of letters of recommendation are 2."
    – aparente001
    Aug 5, 2015 at 3:54
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    @paulgarrett Isn't selecting your letter writers by definition "cherry-picking"?
    – xLeitix
    Aug 5, 2015 at 8:29
  • @xLeitix, sure, selecting 3 is ... selecting... but only being able to come up with 2, instead of 3, is an indicator that one's fan base is 33% smaller, etc.
    – paul garrett
    Aug 5, 2015 at 12:16
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    @paulgarrett - How about putting your point of view in an Answer? (I am not really sure exactly what your point of view is....)
    – aparente001
    Aug 6, 2015 at 1:54
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If you can't feel assured that that third letter writer will write a positive letter, forget it. Don't risk having a negative or even so-so letter in your file.

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They may count, or not, depending. My department would count because every application had to qualify for submission for graduate fellowships (policy decision), where 3 means 3. (There was also a quota of "exceptions", they could spend an exception if the candidate was worth it). Not all departments will care. Not all faculty and disciplines have fallen victim to praise-inflation, so a simple letter stating that you did a competent job in your work could be good enough, especially if the writer is known for being conservative in praise.

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There are three different dimensions of the value of a recommendation letter that are relevant here:

  1. The quality ascribed by the writer to the recommendee.

  2. The certainty or itensity of that statement.

  3. The reputation of the letter writer himself/herself.

A letter that scores high in the first category, but is less persuasive on the other ones, should not be detrimental. A typical example would be "CANDIDATE attend my course on X, participated well and scored top grades in the exam." This won't get you far, but also shouldn't hold you back.

A letter that is not good because of the first criterion is problematic. A letter which scores very low on the first and very high on the third will probably kill of an application regardless of most other circumenstances.

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If only to clarify my comments to other answers: if the "instructions" say "minimum 2 letters, 3 strongly suggested", or similar, it means that the admissions committee reserves the right to consider situations with only 2 letters... but certainly not that it hardly matters. It matters. A solid 3rd letter is fine, and infinitely better than no third letter, for at least two reasons. One is the mere "strongly encouraged" message, which, if effectively disregarded, amounts to a "failed diagnostic". The other is the subtler issue about appraisal of a student's potential: as it happens, it seems possible to get one super-enthusiastic letter, and one more "pretty good", ... but it's hardly to bluff to a third that is "ok". Further, and perhaps surprisingly to students, the "second excellent letter" is very often not-so-sterling-after-all, and this unexpected loss can be compensated by hearing from a third, "disinterested but informed" party, that the student has good chops. So... everyone, including the student, wants that third letter.

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  • Thanks for clarifying your position. "A solid 3rd letter is fine, and infinitely better than no third letter" is a good point in response to a different question!
    – aparente001
    Aug 6, 2015 at 13:04

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