Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post Reply
StewieVader
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:37 am

Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post by StewieVader » Wed Oct 31, 2012 4:08 am

I'm a senior undergraduate student from the Indian Institute of Technology. I'm having trouble getting a recommendation letter from a Professor I worked with this summer at a well-renowned research group in Europe.
My work resulted in a publication in the Physical Review Letters and my professor said he was very happy with my work and offered me a Ph.D in his group. He also agreed to write me a letter of recommendation for graduate schools in the US. However, when I asked him for one now he seems to be ignoring me.

I think I am in a real mess right now because I don't have much to show for research experience outside this internship and I intend to apply in the same field. On the other hand, the research group I worked in is really well known thanks to the reputation of the director (who I also interacted with).

I'm really confused on what to do now. I felt I had a reasonable chance at a top 10 school with a letter from him. I wonder if there is anything I can do to salvage the situation. Will the fact that I got my name on a publication with a really famous person (he ultimately made the decision on authorship) help me overcome the lack of an LOR? Should I explain the situation in some detail on my SOP?

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post by TakeruK » Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:05 pm

How long has it been since you last contacted the prof? If it's been over a week, then write a follow-up email asking if he got your first message etc. If you have already done that, then do you still have the contact information of other members in the group? Maybe you worked with other students in the same office -- can you contact them and ask if the prof is around? Sometimes the prof might be away for a few weeks and not check their email! If it gets even closer to the deadlines, then try making a phone call as well!

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post by twistor » Thu Nov 01, 2012 7:01 am

Some people are genuinely bad are responding to emails. Keep bothering him until you get a response.

bfollinprm
Posts: 1203
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:44 am

Re: Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post by bfollinprm » Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:17 am

If he/she's already indicated they'll write you a letter, you're within your rights to pester.

StewieVader
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:37 am

Re: Getting a publication but no LOR!!

Post by StewieVader » Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:56 pm

Maybe I forgot to mention it earlier, but they are trying to get me to come back for a Ph.D rather than doing it somewhere else. I'm also trying to keep that option open as a backup.

In the meantime, as a last resort, I think I might have to apply without a letter from them :cry: . Should I spend some time explaining why on my SOP?



Post Reply