How Important is Research for These Schools?

[dentistry190]

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Hello,

I am planning on applying to schools such as Harvard, UCLA, UCSF, UNC, UMichigan and UPenn, schools that are traditionally seen as research-focused. Unfortunately however I do not have any research and will most likely be unable to due to time constraints. Would my lack of research be very detrimental to my chances of getting into these schools? Would a high GPA and DAT compensate for it?

 

[princeafrica]

I think for UCSF and Michigan you can make that up by having meaningful community service that you can speak about. I got into both w/ scholarship w/o research.

 

[at17]

I think they look at your application as a whole. Research would definitely help but I don't think they would reject you because you don't have it. I got into UPenn w/o research and they never asked me about it during interviews.

 

[Lane138]

I think they look at your application as a whole. Research would definitely help but I don't think they would reject you because you don't have it. I got into UPenn w/o research and they never asked me about it during interviews.

I absolutely agree with this statement. I went to HSDM and many of my classmates including myself did research. Research CAN help you stand out, especially if your research topic is 1) interesting and unique, 2) dental related, or 3) something you express passion about. If it's something that you were bored by, didn't learn anything from, have no intent of doing research in the future, maybe don't draw attention to it. If you don't have any research experience, nobody will hold it against you if you have other interesting things you spent your time on.

 

[DentTreadOnMe]

Hello,

I am planning on applying to schools such as Harvard, UCLA, UCSF, UNC, UMichigan and UPenn, schools that are traditionally seen as research-focused. Unfortunately however I do not have any research and will most likely be unable to due to time constraints. Would my lack of research be very detrimental to my chances of getting into these schools? Would a high GPA and DAT compensate for it?

I was accepted to UNC as an OOS with 0 research experience. Just a data point.

 

[deleted767916]

I can only speak for Michigan and the notion that research is critical to get accepted is just wrong. I have spoken to many students, alumni, and even faculty members at the umich dental school and student doesn't need research experience to get accepted. It's nice but other experiences are just as valuable. I think this misconception comes from the fact that once you're inside UMICH dental you're heavily incentivized to do research as a dental student. There's even a program where your curriculum is like tied to your project but im not home at the moment.

 

[WithLove]

I think for UCSF and Michigan you can make that up by having meaningful community service that you can speak about. I got into both w/ scholarship w/o research.

Can you expand on meaningful community service? Do you mean like a ton of hours volunteering?

 

[princeafrica]

Can you expand on meaningful community service? Do you mean like a ton of hours volunteering?

Community service that you can talk about and show genuine interest in instead of ones that you just did for hours. Some faculty members and students will touch on your community service a lot during interviews. My whole UCSF interview was just about my community service lol they didn't ask anything else. This is just my experience though.