How important is research to DO schools?

[Uafl112]

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How much does having experience in a research gig matter as far as getting accepted into a DO school?

 

[Uafl112]

Maybe someone can help me out here, but I really HATE my research gig. I dont know what it is, I just cant stand it. Me and my research professor are not seeing eye to eye. I asked him if he and I could sit down and discuss what our lab really does so I could get motivated. Instead he denied me that, saying that I should further learn the techniques. Then stated how disappointed he was in my lackluster performance last semester. However, my "poor performance" was not due to laziness. I would come in after 12 at night to get work done (only time I could come in, but he wouldnt see me come in). Even when I could come in during the day, the stuff we did has a lot of room for error so it was really easy to mess up. Since I didnt get the work down perfectly, he didnt assign me a project and gave me busy work. When I stopped doing that, he just assumed that I was lazy.

My first day back this semester, my alarm didnt go off and so I was late. That didnt end well. Now he and I are both upset with eachother and I am considering leaving the lab because I am not getting anything out of it. He doesnt like me so the chances of getting a strong letter are basically diminished. He wont tell me what the lab is about so its really hard to motivate myself to run 8 hour experiments without knowing what im doing.

However, I am applying this summer and so idk if I will be able to catch another research gig. My GPA is gonna better (3.7 iA) and im hoping to score well on my MCAT (iA). So.....what should I do about research and just how important is research in admissions to DO schools?

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Depends on the school. Which schools are you aiming for?

 

[Dr. Zombie]

Maybe someone can help me out here, but I really HATE my research gig. I dont know what it is, I just cant stand it. Me and my research professor are not seeing eye to eye. I asked him if he and I could sit down and discuss what our lab really does so I could get motivated. Instead he denied me that, saying that I should further learn the techniques. Then stated how disappointed he was in my lackluster performance last semester. However, my "poor performance" was not due to laziness. I would come in after 12 at night to get work done (only time I could come in, but he wouldnt see me come in). Even when I could come in during the day, the stuff we did has a lot of room for error so it was really easy to mess up. Since I didnt get the work down perfectly, he didnt assign me a project and gave me busy work. When I stopped doing that, he just assumed that I was lazy.

My first day back this semester, my alarm didnt go off and so I was late. That didnt end well. Now he and I are both upset with eachother and I am considering leaving the lab because I am not getting anything out of it. He doesnt like me so the chances of getting a strong letter are basically diminished. He wont tell me what the lab is about so its really hard to motivate myself to run 8 hour experiments without knowing what im doing.

However, I am applying this summer and so idk if I will be able to catch another research gig. My GPA is gonna better (3.7 iA) and im hoping to score well on my MCAT (iA). So.....what should I do about research and just how important is research in admissions to DO schools?

Run while you can. The chances of getting a good letter is zero. If you don't know what you are doing, then you can't explain it to admissions, which they love to ask about your research.

Unfortunately, some professors are really good at science and are really bad at teaching. Find a better productive learning environment during this summer.

Research is a bonus but not important if you have good GPA and a 27+ MCAT and other extracurriculars and clinical experience to compensate.

 

[Elevencents]

Was never brought up at any of my interviews.

 

[bionerd89]

I think it depends if you are aiming for the more competitive DO schools. I would suggest that you find another lab to work in because if you don't know what your lab really does then its really pointless. I think my research really helped my app since I was asked about it at all my interviews and I also had a LOR from my PI. I agree with Dr.Zombie that having research is not as a important if you have a good MCAT.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

As someone with extensive research experience having taken **** from people above for some time, your scenario is bad enough that if it were me, I'd quit.

 

[abolt18]

Had zero research, applied to 9 schools, 5 interview invites, attended 4 and was accepted to all 4 (kcom, kcumb, nsucom, and soma. Cancelled dmu interview). So it's definitely NOT essential.

 

[ph7]

I believe for the more competitive schools the research part of your app is a bit important. On my interviews, we spoke about what I do extensively and it really goes a long way if you know what your talking about. Not to mention you are hopefully learning massive amounts that can be used later on...