Top med schools + research

any research is fine

just make sure you show them logevity and dedication towards whatever you do

byeh2004 said:

any research is fine

just make sure you show them logevity and dedication towards whatever you do

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I hear this a lot. But what's everyone's source/reasoning for holding that the subject of research is not so important for medical school admissions?

Babooshka said:

I hear this a lot. But what's everyone's source/reasoning for holding that the subject of research is not so important for medical school admissions?

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I think the proof is the number of people (including myself) in my class and school who have done research in areas besides science. People with non-science majors are admitted, so I don't see why the topic of your research would be that important (since research is an optional activity). I think it's more the thought process that you acquire and understanding the nature/process of research that's important, rather than the actual subject you study.

Hey what exactly consitiutes "research?" Is it simply working in a lab? Being published? Being a first author?

I adminstered some questionares in for some psych research.

SirTony76 said:

Hey what exactly consitiutes "research?" Is it simply working in a lab? Being published? Being a first author?

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I would say say that working in a lab (or equivalent) is what most people mean by research. Publishing is a bonus and will look good on your application, but from what I have seen, most applicants have not actually published. In other words, publishing is definitely not a requirement to say you have done research. Being a first author is pretty rare for undergraduate research -- I think it's pretty hard under the normal circumstances of undergrad research, to produce meaningful enough results for publication AND to be legitimately considered a first author (would definitely look impressive though!).

It is required for some schools, such as the U of U.

Babooshka said:

I hear this a lot. But what's everyone's source/reasoning for holding that the subject of research is not so important for medical school admissions?

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i was directly told this by an interviewer. after saying i had not done any research, she questioned me about my job (i work for a major advertising agency) and she asked about research done here, and said that absolutely qualified as research and she ended up being very interested in the research we do. they're looking for people who are comfortable with the procedures of research moreso than the actual context or findings of the research.