Problems with PI-- Advise needed

[IneedMoreTime]

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[brooklynblunder]

umm if he says to not put you as a ref in job applications it might hurt you for med schools. If you apply MSTP, it would hurt you to not have a ref

 

[rHinO1]

seems clear cut to me... if he said do not use him as a reference then a LOR is out of the question. Just b/c you "need" a letter of rec from him does not in any way mean that you desereve one or that he should write you one. Sorry... just being honest

 

[IneedMoreTime]

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[brooklynblunder]

is there anyway you could get a post-doc your worked closely to write you a really good one and him to co-sign it?

 

[d1ony5u5]

If I were you, I'd avoid asking him for a letter. He said not to ask him, and that is a pretty clear sign he is not willing to say many favorable things about you...

If you worked with this person for 2 years, it seems to me it would be ill-advised to apply to MD/PhD programs without a letter from him. Since you worked with him for 2 years, it's going to be a red flag if you try to apply without a rec from him (and we already concluded you shouldn't ask him for a letter).

Therefore, unless you are willing to put equal time somewhere else, and do well enough at that lab that the PI will be willing to write you a letter, I'd scrap the whole MD/PhD idea. You could still try applying internally, as in once you are a 1st year student somewhere.

All this boils down to the fact that for whatever reason your performance at his lab was poor. You want to distance yourself from that fact, either by working elsewhere for a good amount of time and showing that you can perform well, or by not drawing attention to the issue (I.E., downplaying the research aspect of your app).

Sorry, but having a PI tell you this is not good. It could kill your app if AdComs find out about it. It screams you are a liability.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

I have been working with this PI for 2 year now. He is smart, over 200 publications, well known in his field, but he can be a pain.
This semester I had many significant problems (cant discuss them here) and I spend less time in lab. I got an email from him saying that, I should not put him as a reference for job applications. After we spoke in his office, and made some modifications on credits, things look to work OK.
I am applying to med school next year. I will apply to a few MD-PhD too. I think i need a rec from him, but at the same time, I am afraid that it might hurt. (I can still get 2 great rec from PIs that I have worked during summers.
Everything happened 1month from graduation. If anyone had a similar problem please let me know how u handled it. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

PS: I can't wait to leave and start my new job as a RT.

I'm really sorry to hear that this was your experience with your PI. I honestly do not think it would be wise to ask him for a LOR, because he clearly will not write you a strong, SUPPORTIVE letter. If anything, he might write you a STRONG, negative letter. Keep that in mind!

I'm not sure what this "drama" you had was that prevented you from going into lab, but it seemed to also bother your PI..so unless he's a total douchebag, I don't know if your "drama" was significant in his eyes. (I don't mean to sound unsympathetic because being in your situation really is tough).

Good luck! I would say though that you should approach either other people in your lab that can write strong letters for you, or ask other people altogether. Even if a post-doc wrote it and the PI needed to co-sign it, he might not even be willing to do that...

 

[Bernoull]

Just make sure that if he writes an LOR, it's POSITIVE and SUPPORTIVE. He can agree to write something that could torpedo your application therefore explicitly ask him IF he can write a strong, positive LOR, IF NOT look elsewhere. Whether he's a Nobel laureate or not, it's better to get a strong letter from Researcher Joe Plumber VS a lackluster one from this guy/gal.


GL

 

[MilkmanAl]

Absolutely do not request a letter from him or list him as a reference. A negative letter will sink your app faster than Micheal Richards torpedoed his career. It's much better to have to explain why you don't have a letter from a certain person than to never get the chance, if you get my drift.

 

[brooklynblunder]

i think michael richards made a good return on curb your enthusiasm

 

[anfleisch]

Yea agree with above. Just list that you did the research without a letter. As long as you have a lot of other good letters, you can explain that you did your work and never had a close relationship as compared with your other letter writers, which you thought were sufficient.

 

[IneedMoreTime]

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