I know an alumna (or a CEO or a senator). Should I ask her for a recommendation?

Additional recommendations that shed light on your abilities or personality can bolster your chances but only if written by someone who knows you well. VIP recommendations that say merely that Joey or Jill mowed the lawn and seemed like a nice kid don't help.

Jeff Lee, a freshman at Duke University in Durham, N.C., used a recommendation from his boss at a medical technology company in Rockville, Md., to spotlight the skills in market research and event planning that he had developed on the job. "Getting a recommendation from a boss shows what potential you might have in the workplace as opposed to what your capabilities are as a student," says Lee, who plans to major in economics.

An endorsement from an alumnus who is a friend or mentor can also be influential. "We want recommendations that say why a student would be successful at Juniata," says Michelle Bartol, dean of enrollment at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa. "Alumni can write those types of recommendations because they know the school."

Quantity, however, should not be confused with quality. Emory has instituted a three-recommendation limit. Most other schools say they rarely want more than four recommendations total–and definitely not the 14 that filled one applicant's folder at Wake Forest last spring.

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