Concerns about google search

[karats]

Hi, so after the PSA another user posted I googled myself and one of the top few searches that came up is a PI (professor?) with the same last name as me at the medical center I do research at. He is in a field completely unrelated to mine. However my last name is not that common though I guess it's not terribly uncommon...

I am afraid since he has the same last name as me adcomms will think I got my research position through family connections which I did not. I emailed many, many PIs before one said yes to me.

What do I do? What will admissions committees think? I'm afraid it just looks so bad. I really wish I could somehow point out that I am not related to him. I don't even have any immediate family in medicine...

@gyngyn @LizzyM what do you suggest?

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[LizzyM]

It's not how you got your position but what you did with it that matters. Do you have a LOR from your PI? That should say how long you've known one another and it might mention how you met (that you contacted him looking for a research position). Don't worry about someone on campus with the same last name as you hurting your application.

 

[Donald Juan]

You are being very neurotic. I don't mean that to be hurtful, my intention is to put you at ease. The fact that you think some adcomm would put together some string of connections (that aren't real) and make multiple assumptions that you must be a silver spoon fed kid who never did any real research even though you have no actual connection to this person is ridiculous. Don't worry about this.