Is having no research experience lethal?

[Medical Bear]

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Hello, I'm a rising senior and was wondering if not having any research experience is a big deal? I will have plenty of non-clinical, clinical, and shadowing experience however. I'm looking at applying to both MD and DO.
Thanks!

 

[LavarBall]

Only at top schools whose mission is research. Definitely not necessary outside the top 25

 

[candbgirl]

Research is really only important at the Reasearch Pwerhouses. There is even a survey somewhere on here that lists what is important to ADCOMS and research isn’t really near the top in importance.

 

[Oso]

Agree with the above. Research is very important for the top 25-ish schools (who are ranked highly largely based on research funding), but outside of those schools you can have a competitive application w/ minimal research if your stats and EC's are strong. I can't speak for DO, but imagine that if you have good stats and EC's then you will have a good shot.

FWIW, I go to a top 20 and know a few people in my class who had minimal/no research experience in undergrad (though I assume they had other impressive things on their applications).

Would be a good idea to look at the MSAR where I believe you can find what % of their students had research experiences before matriculation.

P.S. Nice user name!

 

[Medical Bear]

Thank you guys!

 

[theKingLT]

Agree with the above. Research is very important for the top 25-ish schools (who are ranked highly largely based on research funding), but outside of those schools you can have a competitive application w/ minimal research if your stats and EC's are strong. I can't speak for DO, but imagine that if you have good stats and EC's then you will have a good shot.

FWIW, I go to a top 20 and know a few people in my class who had minimal/no research experience in undergrad (though I assume they had other impressive things on their applications).

Would be a good idea to look at the MSAR where I believe you can find what % of their students had research experiences before matriculation.

P.S. Nice user name!

The thing is though the MSAR only tells you the percentage of acceptances with reported research experience. It doesn't tell you the percentage of applicants so it's hard to say how valued it is to schools just based on that. If 95% of acceptances have research but 93% of applicants had research than it doesn't really tell you much about how much it's prioritized. Now with that said I would guess you are definitely at a significant disadvantage for any school with 90%+ reported research or one that reports research as a primary mission

 

[chemdoctor]

If you want a research powerhouse then yes. But for the average MD, not at all. Service>>> Research.

Do it if you are interested in it. If not, use your time elsewhere unless you're trying for top 25 med schools

 

[buckoh24]

On the opposite note, would a focus on research be lethal for schools not in the top 25? Ive been a research assistant in my gap year and while I did clinical/community volunteering over the year, my research has been the main focus of the year.

 

[theKingLT]

On the opposite note, would a focus on research be lethal for schools not in the top 25? Ive been a research assistant in my gap year and while I did clinical/community volunteering over the year, my research has been the main focus of the year.

No, as long as you did a significant amount of volunteering previously, cutting back for research is fine. It might not have been quite as valuable a use of time as lots of service/clinical oriented hours, but it's not going to be a detriment by any means

 

[Goro]

Hello, I'm a rising senior and was wondering if not having any research experience is a big deal? I will have plenty of non-clinical, clinical, and shadowing experience however. I'm looking at applying to both MD and DO.
Thanks!

Probably lethal at the research powerhouses, but it's need is overrated for a lot of schools, especially one's state schools.