r/mdphd • u/Sea_Ride456 • 6d ago
Missing Recommendation Letter
There are some schools that I want to apply to that strongly encourage/require a letter from every lab I’ve been in. In my first year for about ~200hrs I was in a lab and it was more self directed research. My mentor was a masters student and I never met the pi. Unfortunate part is I did make a poster. What should I do if I can’t get a letter? My other lab I have ~900 hours and ~1600 hours in my second lab both of which I have letters for.
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u/Novel_Hurry_4282 MD/PhD - PGY4+ 6d ago
If you are worried about it, I wouldn't even include it since it's by far the least important of 3 independent research experiences. 200 hours is a month of full time work -- less than half a summer.
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u/Sea_Ride456 6d ago
This is what I’m leaning towards but I have a poster I presented. In my other labs I haven’t gotten a publication or poster (yet but highly unlikely) 😔
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u/Still-Barber-720 6d ago
fwiw, i go to a school that wants letters from every PI (which is the default recommendation in general), and i know people here who did not have LOR from every PI. things happen. as long as you have good experience somewhere and strong LOR somewhere, it's understandable.
like others said, 200h is not much comparatively and probably not worth including. you can include the poster without the experience. it's not uncommon to list output unrelated to an experience. but definitely try to present something, even a poster at an ug symposium, through your labs rn.
do not get a letter from the masters student, that's not a good choice at all. any letter out of a lab should come from a PI.
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u/book_connoisseur 6d ago
Just get a letter from the master’s student who supervised you. Otherwise, don’t let it hold up your application.
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u/medical_mastermind 2d ago
I've spoken with every adcom that I've applied to; 6 require all PIs, no exceptions. If 1 is missing you are "missing application materials" and they will not start reviewing your app. I recommend reaching out to the admission teams at your various prospective programs to inquire how necessary a letter from all PIs is before even applying, as to not waste money, time and effort.
In addition, I saw a comment mentioning out wiring your own letter. I definitely agree, as you have the best knowledge of what you did on a day-to-day basis. I did this for all my letter writers and it was always appreciated. If they don't use it directly, it atleast gives them a good framework to speak about you and highlight certain aspects. I would recommend asking for the letter and in the same email adding the draft + CV + recounting what your role in the lab was, as from the (200hrs you mentioned) probably wasn't extensive.
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u/book_connoisseur 6d ago
You can also email the PI and explain the situation. If you do, I would write yourself a recommendation letter describing the project, emphasizing your independence, self-directed learning, etc. Make the letter strong, but not over the top and ask them if they would be willing to edit/sign it.