Frustrated over ECs

[Medikit]

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I don't have a lot of EC's, I planned on doing a lot of them this summer. But as it turned out the research I was doing over the spring (and neglected somewhat due to the MCAT) has to be completed during the summer (They gave me an I, so now I have to turn in my transcript with an I 🙁 ). I've been working on this project the last three weeks. Today we were looking for enzyme activity and couldn't get any. The profs do not give me any indication of when it will be finished, they haven't told me whether I need to get enzyme activity or not to be finished. I want to be done, and I want to have my write-up finished so I can start looking at hospitals/clinics for volunteering. Next week I will start doing 8 hours a week tutoring underprivileged kids in a program that attempts to get them prepared for college. I'm really frustrated atm because I spent 4 hours today trying to get enzyme activity. Anyone have some advice/encouragement?

I originally signed up for the project because the professor asked me to do it and I thought this could only make a good LOR from him even better. Now I'm pretty sure I don't even want to ask him for a LOR.

Edit: Yeah, I'm an undergrad.

 

[Treg]

Research can be really frustrating. Spend some time sorting out the enzyme thing, because if you can independently get it to work, you will get a nice EC out of the prof, potentially.

I am volunteering at my local hospital for 2 hours a week, in a pediatric inpatient unit, while I am a full-time grad student. I think that if you sign up for a few things this summer it will be fine.

Good luck!

Treg

 

[stinkycheese]

I spent 20 hours/week during my junior and senior years doing research at an Ivy (which was not my home institution) under a PI that essentially left us alone to do our thing. Sounds great, but when we needed help he wasn't there, and we had to rely on each other and our two graduate students. It wa great for him because he got free labor 🙂 but not for us. I know how you feel. You are an undergrad, right? Then you need to tell your professor in a nice way, to cut the bull****. It is not your responsibility to make scientific breakthroughs, it is your responsibility to try to get meaningful results under a viable hypothesis, and once you've exhausted all reasonable efforts, to do a write-up that indicates your methods and success rates.

You shouldn't have to toil over this anymore than you already have.

Good luck!