How much weight does non-STEM research have?

[moop]

My research is in finance and inequality (regulation, austerity, that sort of thing). I've RAed for professors/research groups on various topics in related fields over the years, and my thesis will focus on this stuff as well. Doubtful I'll be getting a pub anytime soon in a journal, but a report/blog post from my summer internship on my work will be done.

As a quant junkie I have done health services research as well with a paper (not first author) that's been under review for a while now, but a good 60% of my "research experience" will be in non-medicine.

I get that I'll contribute "intellectual diversity" to the top research schools I'm looking to apply to, but does this kind of research hold much else weight in admissions? I'm targeting places that have strong econ/finance departments and policy schools (Harvard, Chicago, NYU, Duke, Penn, UMich) in hopes that this'll appeal to them more, but will also be doing the other top schools that aren't so driven in this respect (Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, JHU).

I don't want this interest to detract from the "why MD" piece; it's just another academic interest.

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[Ace-Co-A]

...but a good 60% of my "research experience" will be in non-medicine.

I don't think anyone will give you a hard time about this. You also can draw attention away from the fact that it wasn't in medicine by presenting it in a way that deemphasizes this aspect in favor of a more positive theme. That's my recommendation, at least.

Good luck.

 

[Oso]

I don't think anyone will give you a hard time about this. You also can draw attention away from the fact that it wasn't in medicine by presenting it in a way that deemphasizes this aspect in favor of a more positive theme. That's my recommendation, at least.

Good luck.

+ 1.

Oso thoughts:

Moop, your research sounds interesting to me and as long as it was meaningful, shouldn't be looked down upon by schools. You just need to present it in a positive way (ie. not apologize for the fact that it's non-medical). If it's not as impressive as other people's work, I think it would be in terms of productivity (posters, papers, etc) and not the actual subject matter.

Like any other research, just make sure you can explain it well to someone unfamiliar with the topic. I personally don't think it will have more or less of an effect on schools with/without stronger Econ departments, unless (maybe) this research was somehow connected to future work you want to do in med school (take Econ classes , do Econ/social science related research, MBA, etc.). Then they may think you're a better fit/ are more interested in the school (maybe).

TL;DR: your research sounds cool, don't worry too much.

 

[Mad Jack]

Your 60% non-medical research beats out my 0% research by a long shot, and I got in. Research isn't a de facto requirement for medical school, so any that you have will certainly provide you with a bonus to your application come admission time.

 

[moop]

Thanks guys. I guess I framed this the wrong way. I'm asking if this kind of research will be viewed positively for top schools that place an emphasis on research even though it's not bench work or the typical med stuff. I get that it won't detract, but will it help? @LizzyM @gyngyn

 

[Lucca]

Thanks guys. I guess I framed this the wrong way. I'm asking if this kind of research will be viewed positively for top schools that place an emphasis on research even though it's not bench work or the typical med stuff. I get that it won't detract, but will it help? @LizzyM @gyngyn

Since this research is outside of the sciences I assume the PhDs, MD/PhDs on the board will not weigh it as heavily as science research. However, it will probably be a very strong extra-curricular. Your research gives you an economic insight (I saw you mentioned austerity and inequality so ++ there for medicine) that can bring a diverse perspective into the class. Others have something to learn from you. If 60% of your research is non-science and 40% is science I would say you are absolutely fine for top schools. Duke/Harvard/Penn/Yale/Stanford will probably look at this the most favorably since they have such strong Econ/Clinical Economics depts. Take a look at Wharton/Perelman's clinical econ. faculty and the work they are doing. If you can find a way to tie everything together under the umbrella of "I want to be a doctor and I am not trying to use an MD as a stepping stone into something else" (Admittedly, your Princeton degree probably says that already since you could roll to Wall St. with your finance exp. faster than an HF quant algorithm can process a trade) then I imagine the conversation will go very positively for you.

Medicine needs more Econ folks and I think it'll be a +.

 

[music2doc]

My research is in finance and inequality (regulation, austerity, that sort of thing). I've RAed for professors/research groups on various topics in related fields over the years, and my thesis will focus on this stuff as well. Doubtful I'll be getting a pub anytime soon in a journal, but a report/blog post from my summer internship on my work will be done.

As a quant junkie I have done health services research as well with a paper (not first author) that's been under review for a while now, but a good 60% of my "research experience" will be in non-medicine.

I get that I'll contribute "intellectual diversity" to the top research schools I'm looking to apply to, but does this kind of research hold much else weight in admissions? I'm targeting places that have strong econ/finance departments and policy schools (Harvard, Chicago, NYU, Duke, Penn, UMich) in hopes that this'll appeal to them more, but will also be doing the other top schools that aren't so driven in this respect (Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, JHU).

I don't want this interest to detract from the "why MD" piece; it's just another academic interest.

Play it right and it will have more weight. Play it wrong and it will sink you. (PS that's pretty much a straight up truism, no matter the app issue asked about.)

Research outside bio/chem/biomed can be quite good, esp. if it can be linked back to some aspect of healthcare. Keep in mind as well that most physicians who do research aren't exactly doing bench research. The translational stuff is what really matters to a clinician. Nobody but the media cares if you can make a rat live 40% longer by restricting its diet (unless/until you find a way to activate that particular gene in human beings and find similar results).

 

[moop]

(Admittedly, your Princeton degree probably says that already since you could roll to Wall St. with your finance exp. faster than an HF quant algorithm can process a trade)

Dem HF algos are measured in microseconds doe so thanks for the ego boost
Required reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/magazine/flash-boys-michael-lewis.html (and the actual book as well)

Research outside bio/chem/biomed can be quite good, esp. if it can be linked back to some aspect of healthcare.

Yeah, the bolded is what I'm trying to work on. Honestly I didn't plan on doing it since my interest in it has very little to do with medicine, and I don't want to force some BS and have it some dumb. I was planning on just playing up the "we need more docs who know this kind of stuff" card..

 

[Patros]

Thanks guys. I guess I framed this the wrong way. I'm asking if this kind of research will be viewed positively for top schools that place an emphasis on research even though it's not bench work or the typical med stuff. I get that it won't detract, but will it help? @LizzyM @gyngyn

I really think SDN overemphasizes the necessity of bench work for regular MD admissions. It will only help you to have some lab research under your belt, but if you have an otherwise spectacular resume, you won't be automatically screened out or anything. I have met lots of med students with nil research expertise, some of whom were in USNWR-top20 schools. Admittedly, it does get rarer in the hyper-competitive schools though, so you should probably try to do some summer research programs somewhere.

As for non-biomedical research, I think it can be an excellent way to diversify your extracurriculars list and may serve as a talking point, depending on your interviewer. I did a few semesters of work on medical ethics for my additional philosophy degree, and it made a good discussion in one interview. At the same time, be prepared for it to make no difference at all too. Ask yourself: if you look back 20 years from now, will you be proud of yourself for having done this, regardless of medical school admissions? Will you regret not having done it? If the answer is yes to both, then go for it.

Oh, and if apply for MD/MBA, you bet it'll help in places like UPenn.

 

[Lucca]

If you don't otherwise have an obvious topic for a diversity essay then you could write about economics as a skill as a factor of your diversity. I know a student from the last cycle who approached the diversity essay in this angle and is now at Stanford (wrote about graphic design, was otherwise a very good candidate so conflation, etc.)

 

[LizzyM]

It will not hurt nor will it help more than traditional research except if you luck out and get reviewed by a health services researcher who may look most kindly on your application. Fingers crossed for you, OP.

 

[moop]

It will not hurt nor will it help more than traditional research except if you luck out and get reviewed by a health services researcher who may look most kindly on your application. Fingers crossed for you, OP.

Ah, I see. I'll just pray for it, then! In any case, having it count just as much as any regular research is good enough for me.

 

[bakedbeans18]

Your 60% non-medical research beats out my 0% research by a long shot, and I got in. Research isn't a de facto requirement for medical school, so any that you have will certainly provide you with a bonus to your application come admission time.

Did you mean de jure? I feel like it is becoming a de facto requirement these days....because if you don't do research, there will be 17 people that did do research AND whatever you did in place of not-research.

 

[DR MOM]

Stanford was really hyping up their MD/MBA at second look!

My research was in student learning (with no science-y research) and lots of interviewers asked me about it. I found ways to connect the skills I used in the research to doctoring. So for example, I did a lot of sensitive interviewing with study participants, which is very much what doctors do with their patients, so I made sure to talk about that connection. As long as the rest of your app is strong, I think it helps to just have something in the research column on your app.

Good luck!

 

[moop]

P.S. Would a publication in like an economic/history journal help? Are committees so medically focused that any non-STEM pub wouldn't matter?

 

[LizzyM]

P.S. Would a publication in like an economic/history journal help? Are committees so medically focused that any non-STEM pub wouldn't matter?

It might help more if the subject is at least closely related to public health or medicine rather than something completely unrelated such as the economic impact of trade relations between China and Persia in the 17th century.