Should I mention this activity at all?

[thelullaby99]

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So in the summer of last year (2011), I was accepted by one of my prof to do research in her lab. Since I was the new kid in town, I got paired with another awesome pre-med and together we did a project that lasted a whole summer. This project was just us trying to perfect a certain kind of synthesis (improve yield), no pubs or posters or whatever. It kind of failed because we scaled down the whole thing, and products were so little we decided to keep trying.

Going into the Fall 2011, prof split us and we had to do the project independently. The thing is, it was my senior year and I got so swamped I managed to only try out the synthesis TWICE. Of course I made mistakes, and before I can successfully complete it, I graduated. Now I'm not even in the vicinity of the university labs anymore, and thus have to quit (no reliable transport). Besides I prioritized my volunteer and MCAT now, and the prof understood.

I'm about to apply for 2013 admission, and how should I approach this topic? Do I say, I have research experience? I'm not getting a letter from the prof because she said she won't write for someone who hasn't taken her classes. How should I explain the lack of a letter? Because I think my work was of no value at the lab. Any suggestions on how to delicately explain all this in my application is very welcome 😍

 

[LizzyM]

That's pretty low level research so it would not be a major issue to be lacking a LOR from the PI. Just list the summer work and at least you won't be dingged for lacking research entirely. Just be honest about what you did; don't try to make the research out to be more than it was.

 

[drno31]

I'm not getting a letter from the prof because she said she won't write for someone who hasn't taken her classes.

This is more of a red flag than the research not producing anything useful. Maybe this prof is trying to tell you nicely that a letter from her would have some negative information, because I've never heard of a research advisor not writing a letter of recommendation because the student didn't take one of the prof's formal classes. Letters that come from classroom achievement would seldom have the kind of individual assessment that comes from working together in the lab.

I don't know how you could explain not having a letter from this particular research advisor, but it would help to have strong letters from other professors.

 

[URHere]

Unless you are applying MD/PhD, I doubt anyone will notice or care that you are lacking a LOR from what was primarily a summer research experience. As long as you submit the required LORs you should be just fine.

I would still mention the experience in your application (although if you almost never came in during the academic year, I would list it only as a summer experience). At best, you'll interview with someone who likes synthesis and have a ready-made conversation. At worst, someone will read that particular line in your application and then forget all about it.

Also, for what it's worth, you shouldn't feel too bad about not succeeding in this project. I do chemistry full-time, and it still took me 5 months to get my most recent synthesis up to par. Arguably, you probably shouldn't have continued into fall, but it's really too late to do anything about that now.

 

[LizzyM]

This is more of a red flag than the research not producing anything useful. Maybe this prof is trying to tell you nicely that a letter from her would have some negative information, because I've never heard of a research advisor not writing a letter of recommendation because the student didn't take one of the prof's formal classes. Letters that come from classroom achievement would seldom have the kind of individual assessment that comes from working together in the lab.

I don't know how you could explain not having a letter from this particular research advisor, but it would help to have strong letters from other professors.

The vast majority of applicants who apply to the top 20 schools have had some little taste of research but they don't all have LORs and it isn't always a red flag. When those LORs are looked for are: 1) presentation or publication resulted, 2) applicant is MD/PhD, 3) PI was a superstar (Nobel, etc), 4) applicant was f/t employee after graduation or did a MS with the PI.

 

[thelullaby99]

She told me upfront, before beginning the research, that since I don't take her classes a letter would not be possible. She wanted to know about my academic ability, but I already took both organic that she taught (took them from different prof).

Anyway thanks for the response, esp. LizzyM. I am applying to a school that is research-heavy, and even though I would like to say I have 'some' experience, I feel a little bit uneasy about it.

 

[LizzyM]

She told me upfront, before beginning the research, that since I don't take her classes a letter would not be possible. She wanted to know about my academic ability, but I already took both organic that she taught (took them from different prof).

Anyway thanks for the response, esp. LizzyM. I am applying to a school that is research-heavy, and even though I would like to say I have 'some' experience, I feel a little bit uneasy about it.

You really need to put it on your application given that it took a considerable amount of time over a summer. Most applicants have "lab tech" or "lab assistant" experience doing research tasks similar to what you did but without a role in the testing of hypotheses and chosing the direction that the research will take. Don't sweat it.