Unfortunate PI LoR Situation

[dsg92]

Hello,

I'm getting worried about about a bad situation I found myself in. I worked for a PI from September 2010 to May 2011 (freshman year) and from January 2012 to November 2012 (including full time during the summer). I got As the first two semesters but my third semester with him I got a B. I thought about leaving but decided not to as it would not look great if someone noticed I left after a B. I stuck it out through the summer and another semester, getting an A and decided to leave after that. I did a total of 4 semesters of work with this dude and got on a paper in a small way (6th author) after the last semester with him.

When I recently asked him about possibly writing a LoR he was clearly not super enthusiastic. He was trying to politely say he wasn't interested.

How bad is this going to look? It will probably be my only research experience before I apply in 2014. I was so eager to get into research right away at the start of my freshman year. I never anticipated it would come back to possibly haunt me.

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[RocknRhoLim]

Hello,

I'm getting worried about about a bad situation I found myself in. I worked for a PI from September 2010 to May 2011 (freshman year) and from January 2012 to November 2012 (including full time during the summer). I got As the first two semesters but my third semester with him I got a B. I thought about leaving but decided not to as it would not look great if someone noticed I left after a B. I stuck it out through the summer and another semester, getting an A and decided to leave after that. I did a total of 4 semesters of work with this dude and got on a paper in a small way (6th author) after the last semester with him.

When I recently asked him about possibly writing a LoR he was clearly not super enthusiastic. He was trying to politely say he wasn't interested.

How bad is this going to look? It will probably be my only research experience before I apply in 2014. I was so eager to get into research right away at the start of my freshman year. I never anticipated it would come back to possibly haunt me.

Not sure why this is a bad situation but I would not ask him again for a letter. If it's clear he won't write a good one then it's a good thing you know now. If you have other letter writers it won't look bad at all. PIs are busy and no one will think it's weird you didn't get a letter from him. Just make sure you get 3-4 solid recc letters and move on. Don't feel like this is something that will haunt you though.

 

[dahassa]

Not sure why this is a bad situation but I would not ask him again for a letter. If it's clear he won't write a good one then it's a good thing you know now. If you have other letter writers it won't look bad at all. PIs are busy and no one will think it's weird you didn't get a letter from him. Just make sure you get 3-4 solid recc letters and move on. Don't feel like this is something that will haunt you though.

+1

It is not a deal breaker in anyway. Just get 3-4 other professors/advisors/employers/ect to write a rec for you. You want your recs to be as strong as possible. If your PI is acting sketchy about it, dump him and get some other people who will kill a LOR for you.

 

[487806]

I'm also worried about this. Does it look bad to put on your app that you did research for several semesters but could not get a good letter of rec from anyone in the lab? This goes for volunteering and shadowing too.

Unless you're applying to top schools, I.wouldn't worry about it.

 

[dsg92]

I guess either way I'll have to go on without his LoR next year and just hope for the best.

 

[DokterMom]

I guess either way I'll have to go on without his LoR next year and just hope for the best.

I can see two reasons why he wouldn't want to write you a strong LoR -

1) He's a lazy SOB who hates writing these things, or
2) He's just not all that into you...

Either way, you should probably quit his lab. If he asks you why, indicate you need to get some good work experience working for/with someone who will be able to write you a glowing reference (and does he have any suggestions for you as to how you can improve your performance?). If he's just being lazy, that might be enough to get him to change his mind, which would be ideal. If he's less impressed with you, you might get the feedback you need to shine for your next PI.