I am a strong candidate (potential AOA/find out in Spet) from a decent medical school who is interested in going to Manhattan to Columbia or Cornell. However my CV does not include any research that has been published and I have been told that this may be a weakness in my application. Is there any truth to this? how important is it to have a reference after your name to get into a top flight IM program? Any of you with any firsthand experience with any of these institutions?

Any help is appreciated.

Anyone?