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Skeletorr

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You’re fine. People go a year in a lab and don’t have anything to show for it nor a rec letter.
 
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Skeletorr said:
Two years ago, I received a stipend to do research at a nearby med school. It was over the summer, and although the PI was very nice, I had trouble adjusting to the lab. Long story short, my 2.5 month summer contract there was very unproductive. I had to salvage an old project that another student had started years ago, and I didn't have much to show for it at the end. Should I include the research activity (close to 400hrs), but not the letter? My other letters are quite strong, and I feel like this one could be lukewarm at best. I have a LOR from another PI that I did research with in undergrad, if that matters. Thanks!
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It's fine to list it. It's not going to be a problem omitting a PI letter from a 2-year ago activity (unless you apply to Harvard). I think you should mention the stipend if it was a competitive process to acquire it, but otherwise, don't waste the characters.
 
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Catalystik said:
It's fine to list it. It's not going to be a problem omitting a PI letter from a 2-year ago activity (unless you apply to Harvard). I think you should mention the stipend if it was a competitive process to acquire it, but otherwise, don't waste the characters.
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Harvard is on my list. Should I get the letter? Thanks
 
From Harvard Medical School>Admissions: Letters of Evaluation

All letters of evaluation must be submitted to AMCAS. Applicants are allowed up to six (6) letters of recommendation in support of their application. When considering the total number of letters to submit, please note the following:

  • At least two (2) letters should be from professors in the sciences with whom they have taken classes.
  • At least one (1) letter should be written by a professor who is not in the sciences.
  • We should receive letters from all research supervisors for applicants to the MD-PhD program as well as applicants to the MD program. Applicants may exceed the six (6)-letter maximum if the additional letters are from research supervisors.
  • If applicants wish to supplement a premedical advisory committee evaluation packet with additional letters of recommendation, they should count the packet as one (1) letter toward the six (6)-letter maximum.
  • We do not require letters of recommendation from employers, but if applicants have been out of school and working they should have a letter sent from their place of employment.
While we strongly recommend meeting the criteria listed above, these are not strict requirements. Ultimately, the letters applicants choose to include are up to their own discretion. Applicants should choose the letters of evaluation they believe will best support their application.
 
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Catalystik said:
From Harvard Medical School>Admissions: Letters of Evaluation

All letters of evaluation must be submitted to AMCAS. Applicants are allowed up to six (6) letters of recommendation in support of their application. When considering the total number of letters to submit, please note the following:

  • At least two (2) letters should be from professors in the sciences with whom they have taken classes.
  • At least one (1) letter should be written by a professor who is not in the sciences.
  • We should receive letters from all research supervisors for applicants to the MD-PhD program as well as applicants to the MD program. Applicants may exceed the six (6)-letter maximum if the additional letters are from research supervisors.
  • If applicants wish to supplement a premedical advisory committee evaluation packet with additional letters of recommendation, they should count the packet as one (1) letter toward the six (6)-letter maximum.
  • We do not require letters of recommendation from employers, but if applicants have been out of school and working they should have a letter sent from their place of employment.
While we strongly recommend meeting the criteria listed above, these are not strict requirements. Ultimately, the letters applicants choose to include are up to their own discretion. Applicants should choose the letters of evaluation they believe will best support their application.
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They don’t make this any easier. I think they’ll want to see the PIs letter, if I list the experience. Would it be in my best interests to leave out the activity altogether?
 
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Skeletorr said:
Unfortunately not very much. 1 semester of annotating a genome. My clinical (1000hrs) and volunteering experience (100s of hrs) are much better. So research is already a weak point in my app.
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If not through research, then through what substantive activity do you feel your application would be appealing to Harvard? You don't have to answer this question here, but if you don't have extraordinary achievements in some field of endeavor, it might be more reasonable to keep the summer research on your application so you have greater appeal to more reasonable target schools.
 
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Catalystik said:
If not through research, then through what substantive activity do you feel your application would be appealing to Harvard? You don't have to answer this question here, but if you don't have extraordinary achievements in some field of endeavor, it might be more reasonable to keep the summer research on your application so you have greater appeal to more reasonable target schools.
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Is it possible to have his PI upload the letter and only send it to HMS and none of the other schools?
 
Catalystik said:
If not through research, then through what substantive activity do you feel your application would be appealing to Harvard? You don't have to answer this question here, but if you don't have extraordinary achievements in some field of endeavor, it might be more reasonable to keep the summer research on your application so you have greater appeal to more reasonable target schools.
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If one does have a substantiative non-research experience, would a letter from every research PI be necessary? I have 2 PIs who I have worked with, but one I do not/likely won’t get a letter from (same type of ‘meh’ situation) but I do have a great application.

Harvard’s app does say ‘strong recommendation’ as opposed to ‘requirement.’
 
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MemeLord said:
If one does have a substantiative non-research experience, would a letter from every research PI be necessary? I have 2 PIs who I have worked with, but one I do not/likely won’t get a letter from (same type of ‘meh’ situation) but I do have a great application.

Harvard’s app does say ‘strong recommendation’ as opposed to ‘requirement.’
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From what I’ve gathered, Harvard really wants every single PI letter.
 
and 99 others said:
Is it possible to have his PI upload the letter and only send it to HMS and none of the other schools?
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Yes. See my final sentence in item #2 below.
MemeLord said:
1) If one does have a substantiative non-research experience, would a letter from every research PI be necessary? I have 2 PIs who I have worked with, but one I do not/likely won’t get a letter from (same type of ‘meh’ situation) but I do have a great application.

2) Harvard’s app does say ‘strong recommendation’ as opposed to ‘requirement.’
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1) I still think Yes.

2) I see the word "should" there and an exception to the six letter rule to get them all in, demonstrating how much they want those letters. If a PI just died, that might constitute a good excuse. But don't let me discourage anyone from making a Secondary fee donation to Harvard.
 
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and 99 others said:
Is it possible to have his PI upload the letter and only send it to HMS and none of the other schools?
Click to expand...
I think I’ll use this strategy. That way I can still list the activity, but only send HMS the LOR. They’re definitely a reach, but with no LOR I feel like I would be worse off.
 
Catalystik said:
Yes. See my final sentence in item #2 below.
1) I still think Yes.

2) I see the word "should" there and an exception to the six letter rule to get them all in, demonstrating how much they want those letters. If a PI just died, that might constitute a good excuse. But don't let me discourage anyone from making a Secondary fee donation to Harvard.
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Hmmm...Maybe I shouldn’t categorize it as research...I presented a poster, but it was just data analysis of protein simulations. Is that research?
 
Skeletorr said:
I can still list the activity, but only send HMS the LOR. They’re definitely a reach, but with no LOR I feel like I would be worse off.
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Maybe when you ask the PI for a letter to send Harvard, he/she will be nice and emphasize positive attributes, knowing its destination, for the greater glory of your university if you are accepted. One can dream?
 
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