Does it matter what kind of undergrad research you do?

[Dagrimsta1]

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I'm currently starting a new research project with my organic chem professor. Orgo is my favorite subject and I'm doing pretty well in it so i thought might as well go deeper into it. The only thing is this isn't exactly a medical type research experiment. We are experimenting with a specific molecule and using this molecule to build more complex structures including naturally occurring biological molecules in nature. We aren't experiment with HIV or cancer or drugs, or anything of the sort. Does it really matter? Thanks.

Also btw i have done a year of research in a neuro-biology lab where we did do something medically relevant but i left due to lack of time and wanting to improve my grades. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[Lysinee]

Any research is good research. Make sure you can explain it during your interviews.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Any research is good research. Make sure you can explain it during your interviews.

I just had my fifth interview today and I have yet to get a single interviewer who asked me to explain mine. Then again, my application makes it fairly obvious that my interest is much more clinical than research oriented.

 

[Lysinee]

I just had my fifth interview today and I have yet to get a single interviewer who asked me to explain mine. Then again, my application makes it fairly obvious that my interest is much more clinical than research oriented.

Not saying you will always be asked about the research. Better to be prepared than sorry.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Not saying you will always be asked about the research. Better to be prepared than sorry.

Oh, I wasn't disagreeing with you. Just expressing surprise!

 

[Overanxious]

I just had my fifth interview today and I have yet to get a single interviewer who asked me to explain mine. Then again, my application makes it fairly obvious that my interest is much more clinical than research oriented.

In my interview at Rush they asked me about EVERY research project i was a part of. I'm talking back to 2003 even! Including a project i was a part of for 2 months that happened over 10 years ago. Every interview i've had they've asked...most usually just what i'm currently doing.

To answer the OP it really shouldn't matter what type of research you do. What i've gathered from most schools (Rush excluded) is that they are just happy to see you are interested in something and diving more in depth not because you have to but because you want to!

 

[Dagrimsta1]

I actually LIKE the research I'm getting into. The material is well above my head but i feel like the fellow professors I'm working are approachable and not complete buttheads. Plus I got to use a 500k dollar NMR, so i feel pretty important. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Muvis]

I just had my fifth interview today and I have yet to get a single interviewer who asked me to explain mine. Then again, my application makes it fairly obvious that my interest is much more clinical than research oriented.

I have been on a similar number of interviews and have been asked about my research at every one, sometimes multiple times. I guess the moral of the story here is that your mileage may vary and that you should make sure you have the opportunity to learn about what is going on. It all seems very intimidating now, but the last thing you want is to find in a couple years that you don't really understand your project as well as you thought.