Doing research at a small liberal arts college?

[nysegop]

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I hear many of the small liberal arts colleges actually have good track records of MD school acceptance rates. How do students at these schools do research? Many of the smaller lib arts colleges don't even have research programs.

 

[Arijos0222]

I hear many of the small liberal arts colleges actually have good track records of MD school acceptance rates. How do students at these schools do research? Many of the smaller lib arts colleges don't even have research programs.

At outside institutions like research hospitals or other facilities.

 

[Tolbert]

At outside institutions like research hospitals or other facilities.

👍 this. Also, for some that don't have it, the students probably apply to the summer programs

 

[nysegop]

Does anybody have some online resources for these by any chance? Where would you apply?

 

[Tolbert]

well there's a thread where they talk about it, i don't know too much about them; i just know of them haha

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=947447

 

[nysegop]

well there's a thread where they talk about it, i don't know too much about them; i just know of them haha

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=947447

Thanks.

 

[as1212559]

SURFs and stuff. Just go to a state school or bigger D1 private if you ask me.

 

[HSUReddie]

I don't know how or why I wondered over into hSDN...

I went to a small public liberal arts college. We still had several professors in my biology department who were doing research. They just weren't pressured to or required to by the university. I personally did research on coral reefs with my advisor and a few friends. We did a couple of poster presentations. Not published or anything like that. I also had friends working under the same prof that got chosen to go to Washington DC for their research.

There's also summer programs like SURF... things at Wash U, Vanderbilt, Baylor, etc.

 

[McNCheese]

Small colleges can actually be a great place to do research. I found a position in a biochem lab the summer after my freshman year, and it was a great experience working in a small lab. I got a lot of one on one time with my PI, and I was able to have a greater role in designing our experiments. I worked there for three years, completed my thesis in the lab, and presented posters at a couple conferences. My med school interviewers definitely appreciated the depth to which I understood my research.

For people that don't want to research at their school or can't find a position, there are SURFs and summer programs at other colleges.

 

[NEcorner]

The sad truth is that you can actually get better research experience at the smaller/less prestigious universities because you actually end up doing real research whereas at the places with a lot of funding they use grad students and postdocs to do the research and the undergrads might end up in a support role doing menial tasks.