Asking for a rec letter from internship

Applying to College
1

For some time this summer I have been interning at a university, doing research and working closely with a grad student. The grad student has a very high opinion of me and talks very highly of me to my PI. I think I will continue to return to the lab during the school year to hopefully complete my project and publish a paper on the work I have done.

The question is this: should I ask for a recommendation letter from the PI? The professor is very nice to me and I have spoken to him on several occasions, but he is a very hands off PI as his lab is very large so he is not aware of how I am in the lab or what exactly it is that I do, other than what he has heard from the grad student. Basically he knows that I am smart, but doesn’t know me very personally. I could also ask the grad student for a letter, but I don’t really know if I am allowed to.

In short, would the PI’s letter add anything to my application at all, if he does not work with me directly?

Some additional information: I also wanted to ask for an additional recommendation letter from my art teacher, as art has been a very large part of my high school career and I don’t believe my academic recommenders could speak to that.

I would appreciate any advice!

2

A LoR from a grad student – someone who is NOT a tenured professor at a university – will not help your application or move it forward in the process. In fact, submitting a LoR from a grad student might weaken your application because to an Admissions Officer it might seem you think the rest of your application is so weak that it cannot stand on it’s own.

The professor’s recommendation – even though s/he might have been hands off – should suffice. And in reality, if the professor is so hands off s/he is probably going to ask the grad student for their opinion of you, or even might ask them to write a draft of a letter. So, I would just ask the professor.