<p>I have applied for grad school this year. I am worried about my letters of recommendation. I worked well with a prof and he has written a good letter for me but I am doing my project with another prof and he is not happy with the result of the project(he has told me a couple of times). I am wondering if he has written bad things in the letter. Is it usual that a prof writes bad things about a student in a LoR? or they don't say bad about you and don't say very good either?</p>
<p>Most professors will tell you if they are going to write a bad letter of recommendation so that you have the option of asking someone else. I am guessing, therefore, that it's the second - a generally positive letter that might contain some veiled reservations about your work quality. But I am only guessing. It's hard to tell without knowing more about your relationship.</p>
<p>Also, why did you ask him if you weren't certain that he would write a positive letter of recommendation?</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. Because he was my project advisor and he knows me well so I didn't have a better option. Admission committees really want to see a letter from the advisor.</p>
<p>Why were the results dissapointing to him? Is it because you ignored his advice at an early stage? Or just bacause the methodology you (both) chose just didn't work out? </p>
<p>If its the latter, you don't have anything to worry about - experiments fail to produce useful results every day. You accept it, revise your approach and start over. He may be personally unhappy the results didn't meet his expectations, but not with you as a person and a potential researcher.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, you sort of ran off on your own and ignored his advice, you could well have cause for concern. But as al15 wrote, most professors will let you know if they can't write an excellent letter. But... it does happen. </p>
<p>If your school has a credentials service, you can ask them to check the letter to see if it is appropriate (without revealing it's actual contents to you).</p>