LOR from grad student?

[grazzle]

I worked on a project for a year under the supervision of a grad student at a neighboring university. I had no interaction with the PI on the project and he is really disinterested in me or writing a letter for me. The grad student was supposed to have her PhD by now, but her graduation has been delayed by a year.

My other two letters are from professors who I have done research with, so I'm hoping that will balance out this third letter. Is it a really stupid idea to have her write the letter? She can speak well about the work I did on that project (and it was a lot). Should I find a professor from some class in my major to write a letter instead? I don't have many options.

[fuzzylogician]

Even though the PI is not interested in writing you a letter, he might agree to co-signing the letter from the student. If not, the letter from the student can only have a limited contribution to your application. A student can't really talk about your potential to successfully complete a grad program, and can't compare you to other potential candidates. Whether getting this letter is better than getting a letter from another professor would depend on what that other letter would say. The grad student can talk about the project and your contribution to it, and that's certainly worth something. If the other letter is just a "did well in class", then you should take the letter from the student. If it's better than that, then it's probably better to have the letter from the professor.

[TheFez]

agreed.