fakeo Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 So I RA'd for a prof for a relatively short period of time. I will not be asking her for a LOR. Should I still mention this RAship in my CV and in a brief paragraph in my SOP (to describe what I did in 3-4 lines)? Or will the adcoms find it weird that I have no letter from the prof I RA'd for? The prof didn't teach me any course, and I had no contact with her beyond this RAship. In other words, we didn't develop a close relationship, but she was satisfied with my work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Econhead Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 What was the extent of the RA possition? 1 month, meeting once a week, 5-10 hours a week total work? Are your worst of your three letters better than hers could be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBZ Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 To me (I am not an adcom), it would seem perfectly normal that an applicant goes with their 3 strongest letters, even if they worked with other professors. I see no harm in including this in your CV and/or SOP, clearly you are not planning to make this the star of your SOP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeo Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Thanks for the replies. The length of the RA position was long-ish (several months) with infrequent meetings (1-2/month). The amount of work is hard to estimate, as I worked at home and I didn't really time it. Yes, I think my other three letters would be stronger than hers. In particular, she indicated that she's willing to write me a letter but our working relationship was brief, so she'd suggest I look for someone else. My other three references on the other hand were all quite enthusiastic to help. Indeed, this is not gonna be the central theme of my SOP. I just want to mention it as a research experience and explain in 3-4 lines what it really entailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Econhead Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Thanks for the replies. The length of the RA position was long-ish (several months) with infrequent meetings (1-2/month). The amount of work is hard to estimate, as I worked at home and I didn't really time it. Yes, I think my other three letters would be stronger than hers. In particular, she indicated that she's willing to write me a letter but our working relationship was brief, so she'd suggest I look for someone else. My other three references on the other hand were all quite enthusiastic to help. Indeed, this is not gonna be the central theme of my SOP. I just want to mention it as a research experience and explain in 3-4 lines what it really entailed. Is this your only RA experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeo Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Is this your only RA experience? It's the only RA experience. However, I did write a Master's thesis, which I emphasize much more in my SOP, and which was definitely more serious and useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Econhead Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 It's the only RA experience. However, I did write a Master's thesis, which I emphasize much more in my SOP, and which was definitely more serious and useful. Given that you have done a Master's thesis, I agree with NBZ that I don't think that you have anything to worry about. I would still include it in your CV, and I don't think that it will be given much thought by the adcoms. If you were an undergrad, on the other hand, where Honors thesis can vary so much in quality (regardless of the grade), I think adcoms might read more into the fact that you were an RA but one of your three letters is not from that person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaysa Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Few adcoms are going to scrutinize your application enough to notice. I would not worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeo Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Alright. Thanks a lot to all of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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