All lab experiences or some?

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GummyBeh

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Was directed here from *~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~* by @Neuronix and @Catalystik.

I've worked in four labs, for significant periods of time. The first one was back in high school and first year of college so well over 10 years ago for 2-3 years... but I've lost contact with the people there, and the field is entirely different from what I'm in now.

The second one, I worked at the for a year and half and did reasonably good/interesting work-- super interesting work actually, I could talk about it for hours. However, I was unable to get any publication out of it (to be fair, anyone rarely published there) and my relationship with the PI went south after a bunch of things, including unwillingness to write a letter of reference for whatever reason. After that and for other reasons, I decided to leave that field entirely.

In the third and fourth labs in a different field (around 3.5 years so far), I have done excellent work, have publications to show for it, excellent LORs and overall a brilliant experience. The work in the fourth lab-- my graduate work-- is what I'd like to continue on in my PhD.

My question is two-fold:

(1) Should I mention the first/second labs in my essays, work profile etc. I feel I did interesting work in both, and although my direction is entirely different now, I carry those experiences with me. At the same time, the work is so different from my current work that I don't want to seem like I have no idea what I'm doing.

(2) How big of an issue is the lack of LORs from the first two labs, I don't want to raise any red flags.

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Absolutely mention any research experience you have. No one expects you to be pigeonholed into any one research area at this point - it's more about your ability to demonstrate that you know how basic science research works and to convince people that you're committed to a future in research.

As for letters, some programs may request them for your early lab experiences, but if you have multiple letters from more recent PIs, I don't think most programs will care. I did not submit letters from two of my experiences back when I applied and no one mentioned it. Granted, mine were short-term summer programs so your situation may be a bit different.
 
Absolutely mention any research experience you have. No one expects you to be pigeonholed into any one research area at this point - it's more about your ability to demonstrate that you know how basic science research works and to convince people that you're committed to a future in research.

Thanks! Actually the issue is only the first two are basic science research. I was good in the lab but not extraordinary, and it just didn't work out. As I mention it's not possible for me to get letters even though in sum it's roughly ~4 years of experience. The second two are social science research/labs, which is what I'm planning to pursue my PhD in MD/PhD in.
 
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If you're going for a social science PhD, social science LORs are exactly what you want anyway.

If you want, you could even discuss your early research experiences in your essays and use them to explain why you want a social science degree as opposed to a basic science one. Programs allowing social science PhDs are rare, and something like that may help set you apart when it comes to admissions.
 
1. Yes.

2. It might be an issue for some, but no letter is better than a bad letter. If you apply with just the two social science lab letters, you should still talk about your experience with the basic labs in essays and in interviews as needed. I.e. Your basic science experience wouldn't be the focus of your interview, but you shouldn't shy away from talking about it. If anyone asks you why you didn't get letters from those experiences, just make up an excuse like you didn't know you should, it was such a long time ago, out of your current area, and you have so many letters already...
 
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