Cancer Research

[barsoum.michael]

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I'm thinking if doing cancer research with a friend of mine. How good does that look for medica school?

 

[Hiyalol]

Any research can boost your application but also just doing it because it "looks good" won't get far because you need a goal, a purpose for starting a research group for cancer. Also you'll need results for med school to give any thought or even look at this group. No results (Articles published, extensive research, holding symposiums to display your research, etc.), then what was the point? Also on a side note, make sure you claim or patent your research to prevent it from being stolen. I had a friend that went through similar circumstances.

 

[barsoum.michael]

Thanks so much! @Hiyalol

 

[aspirantmed]

Any research can boost your application but also just doing it because it "looks good" won't get far because you need a goal, a purpose for starting a research group for cancer. Also you'll need results for med school to give any thought or even look at this group. No results (Articles published, extensive research, holding symposiums to display your research, etc.), then what was the point? Also on a side note, make sure you claim or patent your research to prevent it from being stolen. I had a friend that went through similar circumstances.

I'd disagree that research isn't valuable unless some tangible product comes of it. Of course, publications and the like are nice to have, but I'd argue that they're valuable because they show significant commitment to the task and mastery of the ability to engage in evidence-based reasoning, which is what medical schools are really looking for with research. If you can communicate through your essays and interviews that you've acquired this competency, even if you don't have a conference presentation or publication to show for it, then you're in good shape.

 

[Omppu27]

Just because you didn't get published, or even present in some cases, doesn't necessarily mean you didn't put in legit work in the lab. Sometimes experiments don't work out and the results aren't as expected... However, you could still try to get some research scholarships/fellowships which could strengthen your experience. Likewise, a solid letter from your PI can be a great add-on to your app.

 

[theseeker4]

Any research can boost your application but also just doing it because it "looks good" won't get far because you need a goal, a purpose for starting a research group for cancer. Also you'll need results for med school to give any thought or even look at this group. No results (Articles published, extensive research, holding symposiums to display your research, etc.), then what was the point? Also on a side note, make sure you claim or patent your research to prevent it from being stolen. I had a friend that went through similar circumstances.

Saying no results means what was the point is absolutely false. Medical schools value research experience because it develops the applicant, exposes them to scientific research, teaches them applications of the scientific method, etc. None of those things require a publication or presentation by the student. You do need to be able to intelligently discuss what you did, what the research was about, what the implications of the results were, etc. but having research experience without publications or the like is most definitely a positive on your medical school application, definitely NOT a "so what?" experience.

 

[barsoum.michael]

Also how much research should I do for top tier med schools such as JHU Harvard and other schools?

 

[Heplayer92]

For top tiers you, it's popular to have the experience of conducting your own research experiments, applying for grant money/research awards (for students), attending and presenting research at conferences... and a publication or two won't hurt =)

In all honesty, you'll have to try and find the right research lab and PI who will let you do all that stuff. Some people are totally capable of it, but don't get the opportunity to do it.

Just have a positive attitude, be willing to start out doing grunt work, and work your way up! All in all, it's what you take out of the experience that really matters, and how you articulate it to admissions.

Best of luck!

 

[Laureatebarrel]

You can see that info in MSAR, just a note. It lists % of students who got accepted with research experience.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

I'm thinking if doing cancer research with a friend of mine. How good does that look for medica school?

Also don't be an idiot who uses their name on SDN as a username

 

[Goro]

Any research is good.

I'm thinking if doing cancer research with a friend of mine. How good does that look for medica school?