How important is research?

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iqe2010

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In order to graduate on time I'm going to have to take summer classes the rest of my college career. This occupies any free time I might have to do a summer research program. My school has SURP, but participants aren't allowed to take summer classes. Unless I'm super lucky and can land a non-school affiliated research program I'm screwed with that part of the application.

So how negatively does no research affect my chances of getting into medical school? Most likely I'll graduate with something inbetween a 3.4 and 3.5. I haven't taken the MCAT yet. I plan on volunteering in as much clinical areas as possible ( I go to school near Texas Medical Center). I'm also volunteering at a homeless shelter. I have joined a few clubs. So nothing really special about me. I'm African American, which I guess could make things easier for me in a sense. But I'm not a first generation college student, both parents went to college (even grad school).

How detrimental is research to my application?
 
research IS important for MD schools - and more so for state schools. Your GPA is more on par with DO school admission but you are not completely out of the woods for MD schools. I dont think it would hurt you to apply next year, but you may want to consider taking an extra year to do research and to work on your GPA. Also consider graduating and then taking grad courses. Many schools will hold this GPA separate so good grades here will have a greater impact.
 
iqe2010 said:
In order to graduate on time I'm going to have to take summer classes the rest of my college career. This occupies any free time I might have to do a summer research program. My school has SURP, but participants aren't allowed to take summer classes. Unless I'm super lucky and can land a non-school affiliated research program I'm screwed with that part of the application.

So how negatively does no research affect my chances of getting into medical school? Most likely I'll graduate with something inbetween a 3.4 and 3.5. I haven't taken the MCAT yet. I plan on volunteering in as much clinical areas as possible ( I go to school near Texas Medical Center). I'm also volunteering at a homeless shelter. I have joined a few clubs. So nothing really special about me. I'm African American, which I guess could make things easier for me in a sense. But I'm not a first generation college student, both parents went to college (even grad school).

How detrimental is research to my application?
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Not one bit...unless applying to MD/Phd,DO/Phd of course. Ace the mcat and do what you stated.
 
circulus vitios said:
Or a school that is traditionally heavy on research.
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This too of course. These will most likely be top schools. OP research is basically icing on the cake. You do not need it at all and, as I have learned the hard way, it is like a full time job. If you are working already this may affect your grades.
 
In 2010, 70% of MD applicants reported some sort of research experience and 77% of those accepted had research. I would suggest getting some, especially if you are focused on MD schools considering your lower-than-average GPA
 
Thanks guys. I had a feeling it was important. I hope and pray a slot for my chem lab opens up. :scared:

I just might be able to avoid summer school next year.

I'm a sophomore going on junior btw. I'll be doing a gap year, hopefully graduating in the Spring (maybe Summer) of 2014 and applying right after.
 
You have a couple of options:

1) Go with the no research thing, if you feel like you aren't interested in research enough to allocate time in order to pursue it. Make sure you have a pretty good reason for not having any research and make sure your application is really strong in other areas.

2) Try your best to amp up your time management skills. It's possible to research during the school year as a full time student. In fact, a large majority of students do research during the school year.

3) Take a gap year. You don't HAVE to apply to med school right away. You can take a year off after undergraduate to do research, rack up more clinical/volunteer experience, and perhaps study for the MCAT during this year, as it will be a lot less stressful for you.
 
SpecterGT260 said:
or any school connected to an academic hospital 🙄
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Research isn't a requirement, even for schools associated with academic hospitals. I got into a top 25 program without research.

tima said:
Many schools advise or have a requirement for a LOR from your research mentor.
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If you do research, you should have an LOR from your PI. However, if you don't do research, you don't need a research LOR. Pretty simple.

OP, research is done by a large majority of applicants. However, if your application is strong in other areas, you don't need to do research, especially if you aren't interested in it and can't find the time to do it. Since you're in Texas, it might be worth e-mailing the admissions offices of the Texas medical schools to see how many of their students did research prior to matriculation. Most schools have that number on record somewhere.

So focus on bringing up your GPA as much as you can, continue volunteering, and maybe do something 'unique'.

You could also contact the medical center near you and see if they have any clinical research projects that you could get involved with. Might be more difficult to land a spot as an undergrad, but it wouldn't hurt trying since you can't go through your school's program right now.
 
nobody said it couldnt be done. but the statement "it does not matter" is also untrue

did you even read? "if your app is strong in other areas".... he projects graduating with a 3.4-3.5. I say it is not unreasonable to attempt a first authorship to counteract that GPA a little
 
you mean washing dishes because that's what most undergraduates do 🙂
 
I didn't have any research and my GPA was comparable to yours.

If research doesn't interest you, it's not a requirement. Of course having some would be beneficial to your application, and if you decide to take a gap year you could use it to try out some research.

If you don't do research, you should still be involved in activities that do interest you.

How detrimental a lack of research is for your application depends on the school, obviously. I am certain it was detrimental to me at some of the schools to which I applied (including my state school). My MDapps has a little more information. Oh, and of course your MCAT score will have a lot to do with the success of your app, so it's hard to gauge your chances without that.
 
iqe2010 said:
In order to graduate on time I'm going to have to take summer classes the rest of my college career. This occupies any free time I might have to do a summer research program. My school has SURP, but participants aren't allowed to take summer classes. Unless I'm super lucky and can land a non-school affiliated research program I'm screwed with that part of the application.

So how negatively does no research affect my chances of getting into medical school? Most likely I'll graduate with something inbetween a 3.4 and 3.5. I haven't taken the MCAT yet. I plan on volunteering in as much clinical areas as possible ( I go to school near Texas Medical Center). I'm also volunteering at a homeless shelter. I have joined a few clubs. So nothing really special about me. I'm African American, which I guess could make things easier for me in a sense. But I'm not a first generation college student, both parents went to college (even grad school).

How detrimental is research to my application?
Click to expand...

No detrimental at all. I was extremely heavy on research and no-one gave 2 cents.

Keys:

1) Maintain green and make sure you don't graduate with a lower GPA

2) FOCUS 100% OF YOUR ATTENTION ON RED. I highly suggest that you stop everything else for the time being and focus on red. Red is your lifeline, it can take care of EVERYTHING. It means so very much.

3) Blue with help out a lot. Considering blue you can shoot for a 27-28 and you will get into a mid tier medical school.

Best wishes and best of luck.
 
Knocked Up said:
No detrimental at all. I was extremely heavy on research and no-one gave 2 cents.

Keys:

1) Maintain green and make sure you don't graduate with a lower GPA

2) FOCUS 100% OF YOUR ATTENTION ON RED. I highly suggest that you stop everything else for the time being and focus on red. Red is your lifeline, it can take care of EVERYTHING. It means so very much.

3) Blue with help out a lot. Considering blue you can shoot for a 27-28 and you will get into a mid tier medical school.

Best wishes and best of luck.
Click to expand...
Why do I feel as if all of your posts are trolling.
 
SpecterGT260 said:
to be read: What do you mean, "blue people!?!"
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1244301599432.jpg
 
notbobtrustme said:
you mean washing dishes because that's what most undergraduates do 🙂
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Hey now, I don't just wash dishes. I develop and standardize sanitation protocols in addition to preparing buffered solutions to sterilize my work area and maintain proper cleanliness.

On second thought, I guess I do just wash dishes.

-__-

Anyways, I think research is really important. As long as it is something meaningful.
 
Shalashaska said:
Hey now, I don't just wash dishes. I develop and standardize sanitation protocols in addition to preparing buffered solutions to sterilize my work area and maintain proper cleanliness.

On second thought, I guess I do just wash dishes.

-__-

Anyways, I think research is really important. As long as it is something meaningful.
Click to expand...

Perfect description. Stealing that...
 
I have not participated in any prior research but will have the opportunity to volunteer in a research lab over the summer and possibly into next fall. Just wanted to know, is there a certain amount of time in hours that would be ideal to have in applying for medical school or do medical schools take into account any research experience, regardless in length of time?
 
Violagirl said:
I have not participated in any prior research but will have the opportunity to volunteer in a research lab over the summer and possibly into next fall. Just wanted to know, is there a certain amount of time in hours that would be ideal to have in applying for medical school or do medical schools take into account any research experience, regardless in length of time?
Click to expand...
The statistics of 77% "having research experience" means everyone who designated one of their activities on their application as "research" no matter how long-term or meaningful that experience was. How much weight adcoms give to the research experience an individual applicant has is extremely variable. If you have enough experience in the lab to intelligently discuss the research being done, where it will lead, what the implications of the experiments are, etc. I would say that is minimum to safely claim research experience without the adcoms thinking you are adding meaningless fluff to your application. If you have a presentation at a conference, are listed as an author on a publication, design your own experiments, etc. that is all bonus, (though may be expected at the biggest research schools or for MD/PhD programs).

Time spent is a bad criteria, as some projects may earn a student a publication within a summer of work while others might work in a lab for years without ever contributing meaningfully.
 
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