Importance of Research

[schnell8]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have seen enough posts now that say nothing about research so I am creating this post to make a lot of you guys more aware about doing research and it's importance with PT School...

Research is obviously not a requirement for PT school. It doesn't even show up anywhere as something that is 'recommended'. But guess what? It is one of those 'hidden' things that the admissions committees want to see on your application...It is something that WILL put you in front of several other applicants...

Research is something that (should) be available at any university obviously...Your department (should) have some sort of research group led by faculty members. For example, at Michigan State, the Kinesiology program has a research group called the Human Energy Research Lab (HERL - I know, I know..lol). These research groups (should) have either job openings for students or should accept volunteers.

Even if you volunteer a few times and collect data, you can then put on your application that you have research experience for this certain research group. A common misconception with volunteering for a research group is that "ugh..im gonna have even more homework to do??" but in reality, your merely just helping out with procedures of an experiment in someway such as jotting down height and weight of a subject for example or writing down the heart rate of a subject in a VO2 MAX test...The graduate students are the ones taking on the bulk of everything. If your employed by the research group you might have to do a bit more but I can't imagine much more - and you would get paid for it.

Either way, doing research is easy volunteer work...It will DRAMATICALLY help you with getting in to PT school. Saying that you did research will get the admissions committee to open their eyes on your application...No joke...During my interviews, as soon as I mentioned it, the professors opened their eyes and said "You did research?? Tell me about it!" It can get you a fantastic Letter of Recommendation from a more reputable professor as well (usually research labs are run by the most reputable professors - obviously).

I just wanted to make a post about this to let you guys know that if your weak in other areas and are worried about your application, I would STRONGLY advise you guys to get going on volunteering for research. Call up your advisor at your university and simply ask them, "How can I get involved in research?" and I can almost guarantee you that they will tell you who to contact..

This is one of those 'hidden' things that students don't seem to realize how important it is...I can't stress enough the importance of doing this...If you want to get into PT school bad enough, take the time and just do it. It will not hurt you in any way...RESEARCH GUYS!!!

 

[villacog]

Thanks for this advice! Very useful, I never considered research.

 

[NewTestament]

Another great post, schnell. Research is often overlooked in applications. We're so focused on numbers, grades, and LORs, that we rarely consider participating in some form of research.

The only problem is finding an opportunity to participate. I asked my AP professor, looked online, looked at bulletin boards, and asked other students, and I couldn't find anything. The hardest part is finding the opportunity. As a student you won't do anything too complicated because you don't have the skills. But like you said, being part of the team is enough to impress PT schools.

If you're applying for PT school, then definitely look into it and seek out those opportunities. If you can't find one, keep trying, but don't despair. Most students on this forum got accepted without research.

Kevin

 

[DesertPT]

Well this makes me feel better about the internship that I've been doing this semester and over the summer...I'm doing some cancer/genetics research at a big non-profit lab in Phoenix, and I pursued that before I really settled for sure on PT....now I've been thinking that that isn't really relevant to PT school but would at least be a good extracurricular to put on the applications...thanks for confirming what I was thinking!

Do you think doing research that is directly related to PT versus doing something else like molecular biology like I'm doing makes any difference? I kind of figure any research experience is good experience, but it some better than others? Luckily what I'm getting to do is pretty involved, doing actual for real experiments and not just cleaning glassware or something...

I would definitely encourage those at big universities or metropolitan areas with other research institutes to realize that if you personally contact these places with an internship-specific resume and a good letter of interest than you can do some actual for real research, not just being a "go-fer" for some grad student! My university has lots of programs in place for getting undergrads involved in serious research, I imagine a lot of other large schools would too.

 

[RunnerGirl30]

I think any type of research is good. I could not agree more with this post. When I went in for my interviews (I'm currently finishing my first year of PT school), the professors asked me about my research experience since it was on my application. All professors do research, and in general they are impressed if you have some experience. It shows that you are dedicated as a student and not just a bystander in your education process.

 

[schnell8]

Another great post, schnell. Research is often overlooked in applications. We're so focused on numbers, grades, and LORs, that we rarely consider participating in some form of research.

The only problem is finding an opportunity to participate. I asked my AP professor, looked online, looked at bulletin boards, and asked other students, and I couldn't find anything. The hardest part is finding the opportunity. As a student you won't do anything too complicated because you don't have the skills. But like you said, being part of the team is enough to impress PT schools.

If you're applying for PT school, then definitely look into it and seek out those opportunities. If you can't find one, keep trying, but don't despair. Most students on this forum got accepted without research.

Kevin

Thanks! Have you tried getting in touch with any of the advisors of your program? They could lead you to the direction of finding research opportunities...