How important is research for DO schools?

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Generally unimportant, but it varies from school to school. Some schools are trying to expand their research divisions, so research experience may appeal to them. At the end of the day, it can always serve as an interesting topic to talk about during an interview.
 
Do you know which schools prioritize/like to see it more than others?
 
The schools that seem to have the most emphasis on research are the state DO schools — Rowan, MSUCOM, TCOM, etc. Also, there’s some noteworthy investment into research initiatives at DMU, KCU, PCOM, NSU, CCOM, and AZCOM. Finally, based on what I’ve heard, Touro-NY goes out of its way to extensively discuss applicants’ research experiences at their interviews.
 
For what it’s worth, at my school (KCU), their website explicitly lists research as a recommendation to increase the competitiveness of your application. So they do care about it, but not like schools receiving large sums of funding for research. All of my interviewers at DO schools asked about my research experience and gave us a solid 5-10 minutes of conversation. In other words, it certainly can’t hurt you!
 
It helps sure, but at a DO school it isn't what is going to catch their eye. My research did come up in every interview though, as it is an easy thing for them to ask about.
 
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