How important are publications?

[Starling314]

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How important are research and publications? Do papers submitted for publication still count?

 

[JustAPhD]

Research generally becomes more important the higher up you go in terms of school rankings. Publications are nice, but they're just the icing on the research cake. Submitted publications do not count as publications.

 

[aldol16]

If you've submitted a paper for publication, then that is a research accomplishment, although you still need to get through the hurdle of review. Depending on the field, this could take a few weeks to a few months as you put on the finishing touches.

In terms of admissions, it's really only really significant for MD/PhD applications. Whether or not you get a publication as an undergrad depends on many factors that are independent of how good you are as a researcher.