How to put papers under-review in "Publications" Category?

[blinks]

I recently attended the AAMC Virtual Fair and the unanimous opinion among the representatives and medical students at the ~20 schools I chatted with said that papers that were submitted, under review or in-revision could (some even said should) be put under the "Publication" category.

One medical student said they used this format and sent an update whenever the paper was accepted/published, also telling me to NOT put the journal name:

Applicant name, et al. Title of Paper. Submitted/under-review/in-revision. 1st/2nd/3rd etc author.

However, when I look online, there definitely seems to be some split opinions regarding this practice. A lot of people (on SDN especially) seem to be very negative about doing this.

I hesitate a bit on the SDN advice though, as I know it is common practice for people to list pending papers when applying to residency and there were many troll-like comments in previous threads (someone said they could submit cheese to Science and it would have similar value to an applicant submitting their research paper to a journal? Be serious).

I probably will end up listing pending papers and updating schools if they get published during the cycle, will this backfire on me in any way? If there aren't any serious foreseen consequences, then I will proceed as others have since I don't want schools to miss this.

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[fightingillini122]

I would certainly listen to the advice of the experts as I am a current applicant. But for what it is worth, I listed my pending publication right in the description of my research in the AMCAS work/activities section (I marked this as most meaningful so I had plenty of characters to do so). This paper was later accepted for publication, and I wrote an update letter to all of my schools to inform them. I have been accepted and have had many interviews so it has not hindered me in any way by including in my research section. I went this route because I was slightly worried about misrepresenting myself if I put a pending pub in the "Publication" section. Again, please listen to the advice of the experts on this site.

 

[eigen]

It's pretty common for people to do this in my corner of academia, and some even have a section for "papers in progress" that's separated out from "publications". Most common is to put the citation as you normally would, then have at the end in bold/italics submitted/under review/accepted.

Putting the journal name when it's submitted or in prep is pretty meaningless, but when it's under review that's worth consideration, IMO.

I think as long as you're clear, it's no different than putting in estimated future hours on activities.

 

[blinks]

It's pretty common for people to do this in my corner of academia, and some even have a section for "papers in progress" that's separated out from "publications". Most common is to put the citation as you normally would, then have at the end in bold/italics submitted/under review/accepted.

Putting the journal name when it's submitted or in prep is pretty meaningless, but when it's under review that's worth consideration, IMO.

I think as long as you're clear, it's no different than putting in estimated future hours on activities.

Thanks! I'll definitely leave out any journal name, as I know it can be an eye-roll when overly-ambitious applicants submit to Nature just to have the name on their CV.

As a technical question, if I bold "under review" will it also show up as bolded when I submit my application to medical schools? Should I also bold my name in the list of authors?

 

[Doctor-S]

I would certainly listen to the advice of the experts as I am a current applicant. But for what it is worth, I listed my pending publication right in the description of my research in the AMCAS work/activities section (I marked this as most meaningful so I had plenty of characters to do so). This paper was later accepted for publication, and I wrote an update letter to all of my schools to inform them. I have been accepted and have had many interviews so it has not hindered me in any way by including in my research section. I went this route because I was slightly worried about misrepresenting myself if I put a pending pub in the "Publication" section. Again, please listen to the advice of the experts on this site.

Agree with @fightingillini122 about listing a manuscript in-review in Research section of AMCAS.

Although @blinks manuscript has been accepted for review, it has not yet been accepted for publication.

Referring you to @Catalystik's post:

It is preferred that you refrain from mentioning a manuscript in-preparation, or a submitted manuscript, or a manuscript in-review, as there is no guaranty it won't need major revisions, will be accepted by that journal, or will even eventually be published anywhere..

Wait until your manuscript is actually accepted for publication.

If it is accepted, you can send an update with its PubMed Identifier Number (PMID).

Hope this information is useful to you and best of success with your manuscript!

 

[Holland]

FWIW, I listed my publications and manuscripts in preparation/review all together in the Publications section but explicitly stated the status of each. I'm accepted and have multiple interviews so it can't have been fatal.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Are you applying MD/PhD? The Research Scientist forum may have more specific suggestions. The committees I have worked on don't put a lot of weight on abstracts or publications, especially any in preparation or under review. I don't see how it could bomb your application, but rarely will it lift you into a different category. But the category exists in AMCAS, so put in the most recent or significant.

 

[JukeBoxHeroo]

FWIW, I listed my publications and manuscripts in preparation/review all together in the Publications section but explicitly stated the status of each. I'm accepted and have multiple interviews so it can't have been fatal.

Second this. It makes sense in the publication category. I just put "UNDER REVIEW" at the beginning of the citation to make it clear I wasn't trying to make it seem like it was published when it wasn't. Honestly, as long as you are candid about the status, it doesn't matter where it goes. Just put it where it makes sense to you.

 

[GoSpursGo]

While yes theoretically there is a spot for publications that are in process on an academic CV, I just really do not believe it is useful for a med school application. As an academician when I have an in process publication that helps people know what I've been working on lately, and I usually have multiple manuscripts either under review or in preparation. As a pre-med, having a single 4th author pub that's submitted just doesn't seem impactful--at best I would feel like you're likely taking up a slot that could be better used on something else, and at worst it could come off as trying to embellish your research acumen.

If you're applying MD/PhD, then this may be worthwhile, but otherwise it seems like in progress manuscripts can just go under your research activity as part of the description.

 

[blinks]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the advice.

I think since there seems to be no downside with listing pending papers (under review) and others have confirmed that they have done it with no issue, I will also list it in that section.

The concerns brought up are well-taken, but I am more concerned that my papers will get lost as part of a longer, larger description.