Getting into research

[ExSavior]

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What year do most people start to do research?

Should I be trying to get it in before the junior year so I can just study for the MCAT?

 

[Ponger]

What year do most people start to do research?

Should I be trying to get it in before the junior year so I can just study for the MCAT?

Oh boy... I suggest you don't try doing research until you can really commit time and interest in working in a lab, where that time is in your schedule I don't know. Now I'm not saying you have to work 40 hours a week, but if you don't actually have an interest in doing research or learning basic/clinical science then its going to be a bad experience for everyone.

I understand that doing research is something that is pretty much a necessity on a med school application now, but try to see it as something you get the chance to do rather than something you have to do.

I'm currently finishing up my masters in biology and just this past semester we had an undergrad leave the lab. She basically made it known she didn't have an interest in doing research and was only there to buff up her med school application. People like that tend to hurt the chances of all future undergrads who want to work in labs.

My advice is twofold: look critically at your own schedule to determine if/when you can devote time to working in a lab and also really take the time to pick a lab that you would enjoy working in.

 

[orrghead16]

I understand that doing research is something that is pretty much a necessity on a med school application now, but try to see it as something you get the chance to do rather than something you have to do.

I'm currently finishing up my masters in biology and just this past semester we had an undergrad leave the lab. She basically made it known she didn't have an interest in doing research and was only there to buff up her med school application. People like that tend to hurt the chances of all future undergrads who want to work in labs.

Why 90% of pre-meds interested in research get put on bitch duty.

It really does not take much for this to show through. It really is a completely night and day difference. Our PI rejects every pre-med that asks him because he knows the game.

 

[CyclistOK]

Oh boy... I suggest you don't try doing research until you can really commit time and interest in working in a lab, where that time is in your schedule I don't know. Now I'm not saying you have to work 40 hours a week, but if you don't actually have an interest in doing research or learning basic/clinical science then its going to be a bad experience for everyone.

+1
ONLY DO RESEARCH IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IT.

I work about 30hrs a week in the lab I do research in. If you don't have an interest in what you are doing for it's own sake, you will be absolutely miserable and it will be easy to see.

If you want to pursue research, find a good lab, with a focus you are interested in, and have some class background in, and ask the professor about it. It help a lot if you are a top student in one of their classes, so they know your competency level beforehand.

Understand that you will probably be asked about your research in interviews, and learn as much as you can while there.

 

[bquillera13]

I didn't do any research while in undergrad. Consequently I was a reapplicant this last year. I've been doing research for about a year now. Even though I don't think that I would be interested in pursuing it as part of my career, I think it's important for future physicians to know what the process of creating new knowledge encompasses. I'm really interested in what I've been working on the last year, so it hasn't been miserable at all.