ADCOMs, are you more impressed when an applicant has a publication in a wet lab or in clinical research?

[GoPenguinsGo]

I know a publication of any kind is an accomplishment, but Im curious as to which is seen as more prestigious (for lack of a better word). Assume impact level of journal and authorship level are equivalent in this scenario.

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[Goro]

Any publication is admirable

 

[Catalystik]

I know a publication of any kind is an accomplishment, but Im curious as to which is seen as more prestigious (for lack of a better word). Assume impact level of journal and authorship level are equivalent in this scenario.

It depends on your role in the research process.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

It depends on your role in the research process.

Pretend in the clinical research circumstance you did all the data collection/mining from the patients and wrote the manuscript. Pretend in the wet lab you did all the experimentation, background/hypothesis generation (as my PI calls it), and wrote the paper.

 

[Catalystik]

Pretend in the clinical research circumstance you did all the data collection/mining from the patients and wrote the manuscript. Pretend in the wet lab you did all the experimentation, background/hypothesis generation (as my PI calls it), and wrote the paper.

Hypothesis generation, research project design, and other creative input are rarely possible with clinical research projects at the undergrad level, but IMO are more likely to impress.

 

[LizzyM]

Two unicorns have applied to medical school. Which is more impressive?

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

Hypothesis generation, research project design, and other creative input are rarely possible with clinical research projects at the undergrad level, but IMO are more likely to impress.

Suppose one did all of these activities at the undergrad level on the wet lab side of things but no publication was generated - would this still be impressive? And should one talk about the hypothesis being tested etc. or more-so the general idea and their contributions?

 

[Catalystik]

1) Suppose one did all of these activities at the undergrad level on the wet lab side of things but no publication was generated - would this still be impressive? 2) And should one talk about the hypothesis being tested etc. or more-so the general idea and their contributions?

1) Yes.
2) Your strategy would depend on the sort of schools you're applying to and how much space you have at your disposal. I generally suggest an opening sentence that gives the gist of the project in layperson's terms. After that feel free to go into the discipline-specific jargon if you wish, and go on from there.

 

[GoPenguinsGo]

Two unicorns have applied to medical school. Which is more impressive?

The one with the bigger horn

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

There is relatively new type of research, computational research. My kid did independent computational research and even though he couldn't finish his first author level research by the time of applications or interviews, with very strong LOR from his PI (and near perfect stats and strong ECs) he secured few T10 admissions. So paper is not the answer for admissions as stated by adcoms several times (and I was skeptical).

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

There is relatively new type of research, computational research. My kid did independent computational research and even though he couldn't finish his first author level research by the time of applications or interviews, with very strong LOR from his PI (and near perfect stats and strong ECs) he secured few T10 admissions. So paper is not the answer for admissions as stated by adcoms several times (and I was skeptical).

Why would a parent be skeptical of their own child’s word as well as that of people involved in admissions...?

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Why would a parent be skeptical of their own child’s word as well as that of people involved in admissions...?

I wasn’t skeptical about my kid’s word. my thinking was a first author paper will move the needle at research heavy schools. He was supposed to finish his research and submit first author paper by beginning or junior year but due to delays not in his hands he couldn’t finish by application time.

 

[LizzyM]

I wasn’t skeptical about my kid’s word. my thinking was a first author paper will move the needle at research heavy schools. He was supposed to finish his research and submit first author paper by beginning or junior year but due to delays not in his hands he couldn’t finish by application time.

A publication can be helpful but it is not essential. Plenty of people get into research heavy schools without having a publication.