Do I have a chance without research experience?

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pharoahcairo said:
Hi, so I plan on applying in this cycle but I'm a bit worried about my lack of research experience. I've taken two lectures that focus on research where we even had to conduct a study ourselves and I obviously taken science labs. I haven't done any research outside of the classroom. Is this okay?

Here are my stats and stuff:
GPA 3.73
DAT: 19 AA, 17 Bio, 18 Reading, 21 PAT, 21 GenChem, 20 Ochem, 21 Qr (I don't have the time during the next year to retake this :/)

Extracurriculars:
Was on the board for a cultural club
shadowed 70 hrs at a dental school
took a pre dental course at a dental school
I'm taking a lab course at a dental school starting next week
I've also shadowed a bit at a local dental office
Click to expand...

Research looks good but it is not going to hold you back unless you are shooting for Ivy League.
 
pharoahcairo said:
Hi, so I plan on applying in this cycle but I'm a bit worried about my lack of research experience. I've taken two lectures that focus on research where we even had to conduct a study ourselves and I obviously taken science labs. I haven't done any research outside of the classroom. Is this okay?

Here are my stats and stuff:
GPA 3.73
DAT: 19 AA, 17 Bio, 18 Reading, 21 PAT, 21 GenChem, 20 Ochem, 21 Qr (I don't have the time during the next year to retake this :/)

Extracurriculars:
Was on the board for a cultural club
shadowed 70 hrs at a dental school
took a pre dental course at a dental school
I'm taking a lab course at a dental school starting next week
I've also shadowed a bit at a local dental office
Click to expand...
If you're not URM, idk if your extracurrics will make up for the 17 Bio and below avg DAT. If you apply broadly you'll probably get in somewhere though
 
No research. 5 Interviews, 1 acceptance , 1 waitlist. Much lower GPA than yours. You should be fine bud.
 
I have one acceptance and one waitlist with no research experience. You should be alright.
 
Last edited:
You don't need research. It could certainly help an application, but it's not a requirement. You'd be better off getting your BIO and RC section up in a re-take.

Michigan was #5 in NIH funding last year, and my zero hours of research experience didn't seem to faze them.
 
No Reasearch and you are OKAY!!i didn't have any experience, mostly because I didn't want to do research.

That Bio score might cause some hiccups in your app process. I would maybe consider retaking of you know you can get 20s on all sections
 
pharoahcairo said:
Well I have a super full schedule this next year because I'm struggling to finish on time. Do you think my bio grades in my actual courses might help?
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If you had an 18 I'd say no retake, but some schools (there is a post) auto reject if you have any scores 17.

Advice would be research which schools you apply too. Do well in your bio courses and show schools you can hold it down at school, and the DAT didn't truly reflect you bio score.

In my opinion, an A in bio is better than a 21+ bio. Why? Getting an A can be harder than just studying for the DAT as much as you can. Plus school work requires a good work ethic to maintain As in all classes.
 
The general consensus on SDN is that research isn't going to make or break an application. As others have noted, I think it's really only Ivy's that expect research.

IIRC, both my old pre-health advisor and an admissions speaker for a dental school both told me it didn't make a difference if I had research or not.

That said, if you have any genuine desire in research, you should check out your options! Research is one of the best things I did in UG.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Research is not required, but it does help. Your stats seem good though. I would consider getting involved in research next year. I say that because 1) for me, research has been one of the most enriching things I have done in undergrad and 2) it would help strengthen your resume JUST IN CASE for if you have to reapply
 
pharoahcairo said:
Hi, so I plan on applying in this cycle but I'm a bit worried about my lack of research experience. I've taken two lectures that focus on research where we even had to conduct a study ourselves and I obviously taken science labs. I haven't done any research outside of the classroom. Is this okay?

Here are my stats and stuff:
GPA 3.73
DAT: 19 AA, 17 Bio, 18 Reading, 21 PAT, 21 GenChem, 20 Ochem, 21 Qr (I don't have the time during the next year to retake this :/)

Extracurriculars:
Was on the board for a cultural club
shadowed 70 hrs at a dental school
took a pre dental course at a dental school
I'm taking a lab course at a dental school starting next week
I've also shadowed a bit at a local dental office
Click to expand...
I got a couple interviews and accepted my offer to University of Maryland in the fall. I did not do any research. Never had a big interest in it and don't think it's needed unless you are going for Med school. I had 300+ shadowing hours and a lot of extracurriculars and it looks like it was enough. Hope this helps.
 
What were you doing standing around for 70 hours shadowing at a dental school?
 
pharoahcairo said:
I understand. Most of my bio grades are B/B+/A- range. My chem and physics grades are all A's. I just tend to do better on physical science exams for some reason. I hope that my grades will show that I'm capable to doing decently in biology to override that poor DAT bio score. All of the schools I've looked at will accept 17 or higher.
Click to expand...

That's good! My physical sciences were better than my bio
 
Rekker said:
This ain't medicine!
Click to expand...
And thank heavens for that. I would have worked maybe 1.5x harder to "stand out" had I not made the switch later in college. Not to mention affirmative action hits you much harder in med than dent if you are white or asian.
 
Medin2017 said:
And thank heavens for that. I would have worked maybe 1.5x harder to "stand out" had I not made the switch later in college. Not to mention affirmative action hits you much harder in med than dent if you are white or asian.
Click to expand...
I still did research because it was fun. I don't think doing research qualifies as "standing out".
 
Rekker said:
I still did research because it was fun. I don't think doing research qualifies as "standing out".
Click to expand...
I did too, but I would have probably done a lot "more". I volunteered, but I would probably have to double or triple the amount to "stand out" among med students whereas it was a good amount as a predent. I researched, but I probably would have done it for longer than I did if I was applying to med.
 
Medin2017 said:
I did too, but I would have probably done a lot "more". I volunteered, but I would probably have to double or triple the amount to "stand out" among med students whereas it was a good amount as a predent. I researched, but I probably would have done it for longer than I did if I was applying to med.
Click to expand...
Are you applying this cycle?
 
You don't need research to get in, your GPA is great just apply and see what happens. And your ECs look good too.
 
Btw can you elaborate the lab course you are taking at a dental school? How did you get into that? Just curious
 
Zesta said:
Btw can you elaborate the lab course you are taking at a dental school? How did you get into that? Just curious
Click to expand...
Only some schools offer it. You have to contact the dental school near your area.
 
pharoahcairo said:
Lol thanks. Most of the grades that brought me down weren't even science course to be honest so I hope that also helps with my application.
Click to expand...

I think you'll be alright. After going through the whole process now, we tend to over stress and rightfully so, but things work out for a reason.
 
I've found from the people I've talked to that did and did not do research (I did) as well as asking the schools themselves, that research is great and can basically supplement volunteering hours. For me, I did a LOT of research but relatively little volunteering. I know others who didn't touch research but focused on volunteering and both made it.
 
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