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Summer research at school want to attend?

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 12:03 pm
by elliott34
I'm doing research in a physics group at an ivy this summer, and I go to a top 25 LAC. If I get a good letter of rec from the PI/professor (who will get to know me over the summer) does that dramatically increase my chances of admission or is it just like any other rec letter?

Re: Summer research at school want to attend?

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 2:00 pm
by astrok
Yes it increases your chances. A rec letter from someone the admissions committee knows will generally hold more weight, assuming the letter is positive. Either way, it will probably not make up for other parts of your application being deficient. I know of students who have been denied admission to a University where they completed an REU.

Re: Summer research at school want to attend?

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 6:12 pm
by ticklecricket
I can attest to this, personally :cry:

But in what universe could this possibly hurt your chances? Good research experience will help your application at any school.

Re: Summer research at school want to attend?

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 7:45 pm
by TheBeast
If the letter is positive, it will help your application because the praise will be from someone that the admission committee knows. How much it improves your application depends on many factors, including how strong the rest of your application is, the quality of the research that you accomplished, how much weight the letter writer pulls in the department, whether you want to pursue your PhD under said letter writer and how much they want you as a student.

I know of cases where people got rejected from places where they did summer research to the other extreme where people made a good enough impression on their summer advisor that he/she fought to get them as a PhD student.