Is it bad to not have a PI letter?

[andybshaker]

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I did research last summer, but hardly interacted with the PI at all. Almost all of my interaction within the group was with the graduate student I was working with, and other graduate students doing similar projects. As a result, I don't think the PI would be able to write me more than a generic letter--since I will have at least 5 or so letters from science faculty, I do not really see a point in adding a potentially average letter. My question is, though, will admissions committees find it strange that I did research for a summer and didn't ask for a letter of recommendation? Will this hurt me? Thanks!

 

[AlteredScale]

I did research last summer, but hardly interacted with the PI at all. Almost all of my interaction within the group was with the graduate student I was working with, and other graduate students doing similar projects. As a result, I don't think the PI would be able to write me more than a generic letter--since I will have at least 5 or so letters from science faculty, I do not really see a point in adding a potentially average letter. My question is, though, will admissions committees find it strange that I did research for a summer and didn't ask for a letter of recommendation? Will this hurt me? Thanks!

Medical schools emphasizing research may look for letter from a PI. But you only did research for a summer so I don't think the letter will be of use unless your research was impactful (you presented it, poster, longshot authorship) in some sorts.

Beyond that I doubt most will get their jimmies rustled by not seeing a PI letter.

 

[Pacna]

I interview for my school, and I have never heard of anyone caring one way or the other on this. There's enough to look through in applications without matching LoRs to any given activity. Even if someone on the committee thinks it's strange that you don't have a letter from your PI, they'd just make a note that they wanted the interviewer to ask why. Definitely not worth worrying about (at least at my institution, but we're not research-focused).

 

[Goro]

It's not an issue. Heck, even NIH post-doctoral award apps are written in such a way as to let you know that there are a lot of grad students who didn't get along with their PIs.

I did research last summer, but hardly interacted with the PI at all. Almost all of my interaction within the group was with the graduate student I was working with, and other graduate students doing similar projects. As a result, I don't think the PI would be able to write me more than a generic letter--since I will have at least 5 or so letters from science faculty, I do not really see a point in adding a potentially average letter. My question is, though, will admissions committees find it strange that I did research for a summer and didn't ask for a letter of recommendation? Will this hurt me? Thanks!

 

[miamiheatfan]

I did research last summer, but hardly interacted with the PI at all. Almost all of my interaction within the group was with the graduate student I was working with, and other graduate students doing similar projects. As a result, I don't think the PI would be able to write me more than a generic letter--since I will have at least 5 or so letters from science faculty, I do not really see a point in adding a potentially average letter. My question is, though, will admissions committees find it strange that I did research for a summer and didn't ask for a letter of recommendation? Will this hurt me? Thanks!

At one of my interviews I was asked why I didn't have a research letter (I did I just didn't add it to the school at the time). But I did research for longer than a summer.

 

[kevinsword91]

I didn't have one from my PI mainly because she was fairly manipulative and I gave her a brutally honest evaluation at the end of the summer internship which I'm sure she saw. She also had the policy of having the student write the letter for her because "I don't know what you want the letter to say" and then edit it at her discretion. I didn't list that experience as one of my top three experiences on my primary application.

It was never an issue.

 

[Ismet]

If you're applying to a research-focused school, people might wonder why you don't have a PI letter. You don't have long term research so I don't think you should be concerned, but if you had a couple years of research and no letter, that would raise eyebrows at some schools.

It's actually fairly common practice for the grad student to write the letter and the PI to minimally edit and sign it. Is that an option for you?

 

[Australopithekus]

It's actually fairly common practice for the grad student to write the letter and the PI to minimally edit and sign it. Is that an option for you?

This. I've written a few letters for students and fired them off to my PI. Ask one of the grad students.

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

It's actually fairly common practice for the grad student to write the letter and the PI to minimally edit and sign it. Is that an option for you?

This is what has happened for me for literally all my PI LORs.