Are Poster Presentations Important for Research?

[hedgedoge]

Hi y'all,

I'm applying in the 2018 cycle with hopes of applying to a top-tier medical school. I understand that most of them are heavily research-oriented. In order to be a competitive applicant to these schools, would I need to have at least a poster presentation?

I'm a bit worried because I've been doing research for 2 years and I still haven't been able to present a poster. I have another year left before I graduate, but I would want to spend it focusing on other things rather than doing more research (something I'm not passionate about). I would have a solid letter of rec from my P.I., but are medical schools looking for something more concrete from a research experience?

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[MCATISEZ]

From what I understand, it is not something that will make or break your application. I'm sure productive research experiences do help though.

 

[DameJulie]

According to what I see here, products of research (i.e. publication, presentation, posters) are secondary to the actual research experience (i.e. whether you can talk about it passionately in your app). Keep in mind that people get in top-tier schools w/o pub or even research experience.

I would say just apply with what you have, and your PI LOR will demonstrate your research ability.

 

[JustAPhD]

Evidence of productive research (posters, pubs) is always nice and beneficial, but not necessarily expected from an applicant. It's more important that you are able to speak intelligently about your experience and the science that you did. I'll take a student who can talk at length about their project over a student with 3 pubs who can't any day of the week.