Do residency directors consider your gap year activities?

[mariposas905]

I know research makes you competitive for top specialities and that, while medical school is more about studying, some extracurriculars and volunteering are also evaluated. However, does this research have to be done in med school only?

What if a candidate took gap years after UG to work at the NIH doing great research and then goes to medical school? Will the work done before med school be discounted by residencies (similar to how high school activities don't matter for med schools)?

 

[gonnif]

NIH Research as well as significant UG research will be plus in residency applications. Any publications, posters, or presentations, can be listed no matter when you did them. Obviously the more "prominent" any pub or poster is, the more weight it will have with a PD.

 

[DameJulie]

NIH Research as well as significant UG research will be plus in residency applications. Any publications, posters, or presentations, can be listed no matter when you did them. Obviously the more "prominent" any pub or poster is, the more weight it will have with a PD.

+1 on that. Your UG/gap year research products (i.e. publication) gets carry over to your residency application. However, your research during medical school will be considered more heavily.