Limited research a reason to delay applying?

[ServiceFirst]

I am a 3rd year graduating CA resident with a degree in biology and minor in public health (GPA: 3.75/MCAT: projected 513 average). I have a good amount of EC's both clinical (hospital intern) and non-clinical (mentor for high school students, camp counselor for fostered youth program, global service in Ukraine).

I'm hoping to apply for medical school this June. I'm being very active in looking into research opportunities for my last quarter as an undergraduate. However, even given I do get a research opportunity for spring quarter, will the limited time spent in research be a strong enough reason to postpone applying this June?

It's my first post on SDN, so feel free to teach me etiquette, norms and all that jazz. Thanks for your input!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[cactusman]

No, private med schools ranked research as "medium" importance on average and public med schools ranked it as "low." If you'd prefer a highly-ranked, research heavy institution and you can't get any research maybe it would be worth delaying, but other than that I wouldn't do it.

 

[PreMedStudent55555]

Depends on whether you want to go to a very research-focused school or just any school to be honest. While you still can get into a very research-focused school without research, if this is your desire, you might want to consider trying to get a bit more research. However, you're fine as is, depending on what you get on your MCAT.

 

[ServiceFirst]

Thanks for the feedback all! It's good to have some differing opinions to help make a better decision.

How would you go about labeling schools as heavy-research focused schools? I'm hoping on applying to the in-states (UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Riverside) as well as the "traditionally OOS-friendly" schools.

 

[cactusman]

Thanks for the feedback all! It's good to have some differing opinions to help make a better decision.

How would you go about labeling schools as heavy-research focused schools? I'm hoping on applying to the in-states (UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Riverside) as well as the "traditionally OOS-friendly" schools.

Many of them will mention research in their mission statements. Highly-ranked schools tend to prioritize research because the primary ranking factor is research activity and funding.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The importance of research is overstated by premeds. @gonnif likes to point out that med schools value many things well above research, even at private schools. I'm sure even research-heavy schools fall into this category and that having some research experience to show you know what it entails is good enough if you meet those other metrics.

 

[numbersloth]

The importance of research is overstated by premeds. @gonnif likes to point out that med schools value many things well above research, even at private schools. I'm sure even research-heavy schools fall into this category and that having some research experience to show you know what it entails is good enough if you meet those other metrics.

Can you give examples of the types of things private med schools (even those who are designated as "research-heavy") value more? Would a summer or two spent doing research full time be enough for most schools given strong stats in other areas? Do "research classes" that involve a research project count toward research?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Can you give examples of the types of things private med schools (even those who are designated as "research-heavy" value more? Would a summer or two spent doing research full time be enough for most schools given strong stats in other areas? Do "research classes" that involve a research project count toward research?

Do a search on this forum. This question has been asked dozens of times, and gonnif has a pretty standard answer that he gives using the AAMC survey.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Here, I found it for you.

Accepted Applicants to Medical School

 

[efle]

With a 3.75/32-33 you are likely not a strong candidate for most of the research powerhouses anyways, that tend to sit ~4-6 LizzyM points higher. I wouldn't do a gap year just for research, it's not going to matter enough to your target schools. If everything else is in order about your app, make a list of potential schools and post in the What Are My Chances forum with your full app description and tentative list!

 

[Lawpy]

With a 3.75/32-33 you are likely not a strong candidate for most of the research powerhouses anyways, that tend to sit ~4-6 LizzyM points higher. I wouldn't do a gap year just for research, it's not going to matter enough to your target schools. If everything else is in order about your app, make a list of potential schools and post in the What Are My Chances forum with your full app description and tentative list!

I am a 3rd year graduating CA resident with a degree in biology and minor in public health (GPA: 3.75/MCAT: projected 513 average).

The MCAT is projected. OP come back once you have your actual MCAT score. If you end up doing significantly better than expected and breaking 519-520+, taking a year off for more research may be helpful. But it may not be necessary if you have something compelling and unique in your application that compensates for minimal research.

This is for top schools/research powerhouses.

 

[ServiceFirst]

Thank you all for your feedback, it certainly helps immensely and does alleviate quite a bit of nerves on my end in terms of not having a crazy amount of research completed by the time I submit my application.