No letter from PI

[jodanledres]

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I have 5 strong letters. 3 academic, 2 extra curricular. I have a year of research but didn't ask for a letter from my PI because we don't interact much other than short meetings once a week. I work mostly with the grad students and my PI is never really in the lab hence he doesn't really know me well and therefore I don't see how I could get an exceptional letter from him. With that in mind and knowing how busy he is, I didn't ask for a letter. Some of my professors mentioned what I'm doing in research in their letter.

Anyway, apologies if this seems trivial but does this look bad not getting a letter from one's PI? Should I ask for a letter anyway?


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[DrHart]

Assuming you aren't applying MD/PhD, it's totally fine

 

[ciucia53]

If you're applying to research-heavy schools, it would definitely help to have a letter from your PI. Similarly, if research is one of the activities you consider to be your most meaningful, it would also be helpful to have a letter from your PI. Otherwise... you're fine.

 

[aldol16]

So first off, if your PI agrees to write you a letter, they feel confident enough about you to write the letter. If they want to know more about you, they'll solicit information/input from your direct mentors - graduate students and post-docs. There does exist an art in choosing letters of recommendation. You want each letter to add another meaningful dimension to your application. If your application is focused on, say, volunteering, then it is good to have a letter from the volunteer supervisor because that kind of corroborates what you're doing and provides insight into it. If your application is focused on research, then not having a research from a PI whose lab you have worked in extensively will stick out.

 

[jodanledres]

Thanks! Lots of great input.


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