<p>I worked for this prof for a year as a URA. I have a personal grudge against him which led to me leaving the position and losing contact. I think my reasons are justified, but no one else (admittance committee) knows that or probably cares. </p>
<p>So some programs I am applying for require a resume. WOuld it look bad if I have on the resume that I worked in his lab for a year, but not get an LOR from him? I also emphasized that research experience on my SOP. Would that strike them as weird that I'm not getting an LOR from him? </p>
<p>I'm getting my LORs from other professors. One who taught me a class and whom I will start doing research with in the coming semester and another I spent the past 8 months working on a project (more of a competition, than research project, but I did work with grad students) with.</p>
<p>yes it would, kind of like working at a company for a year in your field of study before grad school and not getting a rec from there, it suggests the rec would not be positive, and they’re left wondering why, filling in the blanks.</p>
<p>Sure, but it sounds like you’re leveraging the work you did under this particular professor to make a case in your application, don’t you think the adcoms will wonder why you didn’t have him recommend you? If you didn’t emphasize that particular experience, I don’t think they would care as much.</p>
<p>Edit: I just want to clarify that I can’t speak to how much it will “hurt” your application. But they will certainly take note and wonder what I pointed out.</p>
<p>Yeah, I see what you’re saying. Do these situations happen a lot? I imagine that people have had bad experiences before and it’s hard to say who’s fault it is. </p>
<p>I haven’t read any LORs before or none that I remember. Do professors generally state the name of the lab the student worked in in their LOR? Just want to see how the adcoms identify the professor with the experience.</p>
<p>“So and so” has worked in my laboratory for the past 3 years on an independent research project examining XYZ. (Insert more specifics of the research interwoven with praise and superlatives)</p>
<p>Yes. The committee will wonder why you didn’t get a letter from this person, especially if you don’t have any other research advisors as of yet who can give you one.</p>
<p>You say that you have a personal grudge against him. Is that grudge returned? Did you leave a positive impression with him, and do you think that he would write you a positive recommendation? Even if you disliked him, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he disliked you. He still might be able to write you a good recommendation.</p>
<p>If that’s not possible, then move on but no, I wouldn’t explain it in your application. Don’t unnecessarily bring more attention to it - just get recommendations from others and focus on strong ones.</p>
<p>Do professors automatically assume that? Not necessarily; it depends on the circumstances. If a student worked for 2 separate labs, for example - each for a year - and only got a letter from the most recent lab and two other professors, I wouldn’t think twice about it. If the letter was from the first lab and not the second, and was glowingly positive, then I might wonder why she didn’t get a letter from the more recent lab - but she’s got good reviews for her research work so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.</p>
<p>But if she only worked in one lab and doesn’t have a LOR from that one research advisor - all her letters are from only professors who taught her in classes - then I think professors will wonder. They won’t necessarily assume it’s negative, but it’s just that you’re more of an unknown quantity wrt your research skills. You don’t have an independent evaluator to vouch for you in that area.</p>