<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am wondering if the reputation of the professors who will be writing your LOR matters? As in, the graduate admission committee will put heavier emphasis if your professor/PI is famous internationally? If so, would it be bad to seek research experience who is probably an assistant prof or new PI?</p>
<p>The reputation of the professors is absolutely a factor, and a letter from a high-profile PI is an extremely useful asset.</p>
<p>At the same time, that doesn’t mean it’s bad to get research experience in the lab of someone who’s lower-profile. A great letter is a great letter. It’s just that a great letter from someone who’s widely recognizable and respected is extra credit.</p>
<p>Yes it matters, the chair of our admission committee bragged about one applicant whose letter of recommendation came from a nobel prize winner. You may discover in academia that people who postdoc and apprentice to well known people are assumed to have their qualities, like some sort of prestige lint roller.</p>
<p>haha…tats interesting. A nobel prize winner’s LOR is sure to get into any school of his/her choice. Well, I guess they kinda hope the brilliance of the professor will rub off the student somehow then.</p>
<p>I believe it’s more so that people believe brilliant people are more likely to be able to spot other brilliant people who may contribute greatly to their field.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a real boost if you get a letter from a famous researcher – but ONLY if that letter demonstrates that the PI knows you well and recommends you highly. Unfortunately, some famous researchers throw off letters like rice at a wedding. If the letter doesn’t say much, it has no impact at all.</p>
<p>Yes it does. I remember when I was younger, I had a prof write a letter for me and I had no idea how significant he was and the fact that he was an editor of a major journal…I just thought he was a cool prof in whose class I could have performed better, BUT still enjoyed it and was affected eough by him to seek a letter from him. People were shocked when I went to visit schools and mentioned his name…I had no idea at the time he was a big deal, but apparently his letter carried a lot of weight! lol.</p>
<p>What all the above said. I especially like the metaphor “prestige lint roller,” lol. But yes, who you are associated with in academia is very important and it starts at the undergraduate level. If you get a letter from a famous person in your field who knows you and recommends you highly, that carries a lot of weight. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad to seek research epxerience from a new PI or prof who does work that interests you. Everyone has to start somewhere.</p>