How do I get research experience?

[startingover84]

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My top choice school requires research experience.

"Research is defined as involvement in a scholarly or scientific hypothesis investigation that is supervised by an individual with verifiable research credentials."
Minimum: Four hours per week for two months or the equivalent of 32 hours.
Average: Four hours per week for three months or the equivalent of 48 hours.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get this research experience? I am willing to volunteer my time. The University nearby appears to only have research opportunities for full-time undergraduate students seeking a degree. (I already have my degree and will be taking classes part-time.)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MedPR]

My top choice school requires research experience.

"Research is defined as involvement in a scholarly or scientific hypothesis investigation that is supervised by an individual with verifiable research credentials."
Minimum: Four hours per week for two months or the equivalent of 32 hours.
Average: Four hours per week for three months or the equivalent of 48 hours.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get this research experience? I am willing to volunteer my time. The University nearby appears to only have research opportunities for full-time undergraduate students seeking a degree. (I already have my degree and will be taking classes part-time.)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Email or call every single person that does research at that university. I did this and got to volunteer in a lab.

Dr. Doe,

My name is MedPR and I am a 2010 school alumn. I am very interested in insert_their_topic and am looking for an opportunity to gain some research exposure by volunteering my time in a lab. Please let me know if you have any openings.

Thank you,

MedPR
phone number
email

I literally copy and pasted that email to more than two dozen people and heard back from a couple.

 

[startingover84]

Email or call every single person that does research at that university. I did this and got to volunteer in a lab.

Dr. Doe,

My name is MedPR and I am a 2010 school alumn. I am very interested in insert_their_topic and am looking for an opportunity to gain some research exposure by volunteering my time in a lab. Please let me know if you have any openings.

Thank you,

MedPR
phone number
email

Thank you. I just sent an e-mail like this to someone at the nearby cancer institute. I will keep on trucking and if there are any other ideas I am open to them.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I'd consider messaging a few post-docs too since they might need an extra hand. The PI's might be too busy PIing and stuff.

 

[NonTraditional3]

My top choice school requires research experience.

"Research is defined as involvement in a scholarly or scientific hypothesis investigation that is supervised by an individual with verifiable research credentials."
Minimum: Four hours per week for two months or the equivalent of 32 hours.
Average: Four hours per week for three months or the equivalent of 48 hours.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get this research experience? I am willing to volunteer my time. The University nearby appears to only have research opportunities for full-time undergraduate students seeking a degree. (I already have my degree and will be taking classes part-time.)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

What school is this? Just curious..

 

[startingover84]

What school is this? Just curious..

Utah. They have a whole slew of requirements. My favorite is their secondary wherein they request you write an additional personal statement.

From their website:

The personal statement is in addition to the personal comments provided on the AMCAS application. The personal comments from your AMCAS application will not be acceptable as your personal statement, although you may expand on an idea expressed in your personal comments. The personal statement should not be used to list your accomplishments and activities since they are noted elsewhere in your application.

The personal statement is an opportunity for you to present yourself and your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine to the Admissions Committee. Topics for the personal statement may include activities or individuals that have influenced the applicant's life and shaped his or her decision to study medicine. The statement should be specific, succinct, straightforward, and sincere. It should also tell the committee what motivates the applicant and what the experiences described taught him/ her. The committee is interested in the applicant's goals in life and in medicine.

 

[NonTraditional3]

Ugh. It's one thing if they want to be so stringent about their requirements - but they don't even admit out of state, and Utah isn't exactly the most densely populated to begin with....I am sure the number of applicants greatly exceeds the number of students they can accomodate, but it seems like they are superfluously limiting their pool of candidates....what if you've never left Utah? It's not like BYU is generating a dime of publications a dozen....Provo certainly isn't a research powerhouse.....it would make more sense if they required a "Utah-centric" personal essay...but that's absurd, what they have as requirements.

 

[startingover84]

Ugh. It's one thing if they want to be so stringent about their requirements - but they don't even admit out of state, and Utah isn't exactly the most densely populated to begin with....I am sure the number of applicants greatly exceeds the number of students they can accomodate, but it seems like they are superfluously limiting their pool of candidates....what if you've never left Utah? It's not like BYU is generating a dime of publications a dozen....Provo certainly isn't a research powerhouse.....it would make more sense if they required a "Utah-centric" personal essay...but that's absurd, what they have as requirements.

Although I was being sarcastic in my last post, I am glad that they have so many specific requirements. Their admissions office is very friendly, as well. The more specific they are, the more easily I can make sure I am doing what they want me to be doing.

That being said, I live in Utah. I moved here two years ago from California. I actually own a home not fifteen minutes from the door of the school of medicine. I plan to stay in this state through medical school and residency if I'm lucky enough.

I'm surprised how much OOS interest there seems to be on SDN for Utah. I only moved to this state out of necessity and a sense of adventure. Now that I'm here, I love it.

 

[NonTraditional3]

Although I was being sarcastic in my last post, I am glad that they have so many specific requirements. Their admissions office is very friendly, as well. The more specific they are, the more easily I can make sure I am doing what they want me to be doing.

That being said, I live in Utah. I moved here two years ago from California. I actually own a home not fifteen minutes from the door of the school of medicine. I plan to stay in this state through medical school and residency if I'm lucky enough.

I'm surprised how much OOS interest there seems to be on SDN for Utah. I only moved to this state out of necessity and a sense of adventure. Now that I'm here, I love it.

SLC is awesome.

 

[startingover84]

slc is awesome.

qft 🙂

 

[NonTraditional3]

qft 🙂

qft?

 

[startingover84]

qft?

Oh gee, I think I've been on the Internet too long.

QFT = "quoted for truth"

 

[qwerty2012]

Contact professors whose projects you are interested in and see if their labs can accommodate you. It will be a pain in the ass a lot of times. And many students don't even get the opportunity to work on their own projects.

If you get lucky you might find a good Professor who is willing to guide you through the process and even get to publish.

 

[MedPR]

Utah. They have a whole slew of requirements. My favorite is their secondary wherein they request you write an additional personal statement.

From their website:

Although I was being sarcastic in my last post, I am glad that they have so many specific requirements. Their admissions office is very friendly, as well. The more specific they are, the more easily I can make sure I am doing what they want me to be doing.

That being said, I live in Utah. I moved here two years ago from California. I actually own a home not fifteen minutes from the door of the school of medicine. I plan to stay in this state through medical school and residency if I'm lucky enough.

I'm surprised how much OOS interest there seems to be on SDN for Utah. I only moved to this state out of necessity and a sense of adventure. Now that I'm here, I love it.

I was going to apply to Utah as well since they are apparently very URM friendly. Then I realized they require 6 LORs and require them to be from very specific individuals like research and volunteer supervisors. I have research, but no LOR. Lots of volunteering, but again, no LOR. Sadly, I had to remove Utah from my AMCAS.

Best of luck to you though!

Contact professors whose projects can pretend to be interestedd in and see if their labs can accommodate you. It will be a pain in the ass a lot of times. And many students don't even get the opportunity to work on their own projects.

If you get lucky you might find a good Professor who is willing to guide you through the process and even get to publish.

Fixed it for you. Research is a hoop. If you need it, you can't be picky about where you get it.

 

[startingover84]

I was going to apply to Utah as well since they are apparently very URM friendly. Then I realized they require 6 LORs and require them to be from very specific individuals like research and volunteer supervisors. I have research, but no LOR. Lots of volunteering, but again, no LOR. Sadly, I had to remove Utah from my AMCAS.

Best of luck to you though!



Fixed it for you. Research is a hoop. If you need it, you can't be picky about where you get it.

Yes, the LOR requirement is what is causing me to delay applying until 2014. I am looking at it positively: my app will be stronger for all those LORs, you know?

Is there no way to get the LORs from your PI or volunteer supervisor? Sad! I would love for you to come here and we could be besties. 🙂

 

[NonTraditional3]

I was going to apply to Utah as well since they are apparently very URM friendly. Then I realized they require 6 LORs and require them to be from very specific individuals like research and volunteer supervisors. I have research, but no LOR. Lots of volunteering, but again, no LOR. Sadly, I had to remove Utah from my AMCAS.

Best of luck to you though!



Fixed it for you. Research is a hoop. If you need it, you can't be picky about where you get it.

I have 16 offers for LOR. I can only upload 10 into amcas. You can have some of my LOR..