Undergraduate Published Papers

[trafficlight]

Hooray! Today was the day I found out I'm getting published. It's a very intensive paper and I have been told by a few profs that it's not a typical undergrad research paper (it's a meta-analysis). I'm first author.

Of course I'm genuinely happy that I learned an overwhelming amount by conducting and writing up this research but equally as important- how much will this improve my chances of getting into a funded program? How important is this on an application?

Thanks

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[EmotRegulation]

Having a first author paper would set you apart from other applicants. The quality of the journal does matter, so it's less impressive if published in an undergraduate journal, and far more impressive if published in a nationally recognized peer-reviewed journal. Most applicants do not have publication experience, so it will stand out. But other things (statement, letters of rec, the rest of your CV) and applying to places that are good "fits" are still hugely important.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Provided this was accepted to a peer-reviewed journal, it will look very good on your application--even better if its in your area of interest. Congrats!

 

[trafficlight]

I have high confidence it's going to be published in a non-undergrad journal. My prof is very excited about the paper. How long does the acceptance process take? I know that's a pretty vague question but let's say it's a strong paper with no major changes needed, how long do applicants typically have to wait to hear back from a publisher?

 

[cara susanna]

Three months is usually how long people wait before contacting the editor.

Is the paper under review? Just FYI, you don't want to say that you're published until it's actually accepted. Even great papers often get rejected their first time around, and acceptance with revision decisions are really rare. The best you usually get is a revise and resubmit.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Three months is usually how long people wait before contacting the editor.

Is the paper under review? Just FYI, you don't want to say that you're published until it's actually accepted. Even great papers often get rejected their first time around, and acceptance with revision decisions are really rare. The best you usually get is a revise and resubmit.

Agreed. Sometimes, folks will list the paper as "Under Review" on their CV to at least indicate that it's been written and submitted. This generally becomes less impressive when you're at postdoc and beyond, but for undergrad, I don't see a problem with describing it as such (if, in face, it's been submitted somewhere).