Lacking a LOR from a PI

[WSHRocks]

Hello everyone,

I had a question specific to MD/PhD and LORs. Since the MD/PhD application is much more focused on the research that an applicant has done, if an applicant does not include a letter of recommendation from a PI with whom they did research, how would this be perceived by the committee? Would you have the chance to justify it?

This question relates to my own case as I have had a few research experiences from various labs, but one of the most recent ones, which I find might be quite impressive, happened while studying abroad. Unfortunately, I suspect that it is a common cultural affair that students asking for letters of recommendation usually write the letter out and have the faculty member doing the recommendation sign it. After having asked the PI there to write me a letter, he did just that; he requested me to write it and he would sign off on it. I'll note that I suspect this is normal or expected there, because I had another request of mine dealt with in the same way (although perhaps they were both uncomfortable with writing in this style in English).

I find it morally offensive to write my own letter, and I won't do it, but now it leaves me with the conundrum that schools might find a lack of LOR from this PI to be suspicious. To be honest, even if he/she had written it, English is not his/her first language, and letters of recommendation is NOT the kind of written/spoken English foreign PIs are likely accustomed to. Thankfully, it won't have been my most recent research (but second most recent), but I expect to have LORs from a current and a pre-abroad PI. How might I be able to approach this situation on the application and/or at the interview?

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[xhibernatorxd]

My situation was slightly different - I listed 3 research experiences: one from high school (very brief mention), one for the lab I worked at during undergrad, and one from a summer abroad experience (the summer as I was applying). I actually only had one research letter - the one from the lab I worked at in school. I lacked the other two, even though technically I could have asked for them, because I thought that HS experience was too insignificant, and it'd be really awkward to ask right in the middle of a research experience abroad. I've gotten interviews without these letters, so it seems like lacking these letters did not impact me much so far. It's never come up during interviews.

So I think it's OKAY not to have every single research letter...but this process makes everyone paranoid so I can't be sure. But anyhow, maybe you can just tell them though that you are not comfortable with writing your own letter, but instead write up a list of things that you did with them in the lab to jog their memory? Then you can help them out with the letter but leave the subjective parts to them.

 

[K31]

I find it morally offensive to write my own letter, and I won't do it, but now it leaves me with the conundrum that schools might find a lack of LOR from this PI to be suspicious. To be honest, even if he/she had written it, English is not his/her first language, and letters of recommendation is NOT the kind of written/spoken English foreign PIs are likely accustomed to. Thankfully, it won't have been my most recent research (but second most recent), but I expect to have LORs from a current and a pre-abroad PI. How might I be able to approach this situation on the application and/or at the interview?

Yeah, so I'm going to suggest you get over yourself and just write the damn letter. This is a common and accepted practice in medicine.

 

[miz]

Kind of a crappy situation, although I think you should probably rationalize it by his signing off on it. He has the option to change anything you've written that he disagrees with. (The real moral issue is checking the "I have not read this LOR" box.)
Whether you need it or not depends on how long you spent in this lab. if it was just say, a summer, forget it. You can say that you only spent a summer there and the language is not English. It's only a problem if it was your major research project, in which case you do need this letter. I would say any lab you write about in your research blurb needs a letter of rec.

 

[Neuronix]

Yeah, so I'm going to suggest you get over yourself and just write the damn letter. This is a common and accepted practice in medicine.

Seconded. I've written many of my own letters.