Pre-dental Research Question

[LVKE]

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Hi SDN,

I am a junior at Indiana University that will be applying here in June 2016. I'm currently researching for a biomimetics laboratory for class credit. What do dental schools think about students who didn't enjoy researching? Thus far this semester I've done nothing but struggle with it, spending countless hours in the lab and not making much progress. I'm contemplating doing it through the summer to see where it goes but I'm afraid they're going to look for some sort of significant milestone, i.e. A publication. I might not even have enough time to get work published by time schools are rolling out interview offers.

Thanks for the help!

Lvke

 

[Advance]

Hi SDN,

I am a junior at Indiana University that will be applying here in June 2016. I'm currently researching for a biomimetics laboratory for class credit. What do dental schools think about students who didn't enjoy researching? Thus far this semester I've done nothing but struggle with it, spending countless hours in the lab and not making much progress. I'm contemplating doing it through the summer to see where it goes but I'm afraid they're going to look for some sort of significant milestone, i.e. A publication. I might not even have enough time to get work published by time schools are rolling out interview offers.

Thanks for the help!

Lvke

You don't have to like research to be a dentist. Considering most applicants don't have any research experience it can only strengthen your app even if you don't have any publications.

 

[LVKE]

You don't have to like research to be a dentist. Considering most applicants don't have any research experience it can only strengthen your app even if you don't have any publications.

And then if they ask me during an interview to tell them about my experience, would it look bad on myself if I told them I actually didn't enjoy it that much?

 

[Advance]

And then if they ask me during an interview to tell them about my experience, would it look bad on myself if I told them I actually didn't enjoy it that much?

Not at all.

 

[Accordion]

Hi SDN,

I am a junior at Indiana University that will be applying here in June 2016. I'm currently researching for a biomimetics laboratory for class credit. What do dental schools think about students who didn't enjoy researching? Thus far this semester I've done nothing but struggle with it, spending countless hours in the lab and not making much progress. I'm contemplating doing it through the summer to see where it goes but I'm afraid they're going to look for some sort of significant milestone, i.e. A publication. I might not even have enough time to get work published by time schools are rolling out interview offers.

Thanks for the help!

Lvke

Publicans are transient. Experiences aren't.

 

[shaken not stirred]

I think sharing with ADCOMS what you learned from your research experience and what aspects of it that you liked would help you make a better impression than simply saying that you did not like it, even though that may be true. Also, having a publication during undergrad is rather rare so ADCOMS don't just expect everyone who did research to have a publication. The fact that you did do some research is a plus, of course.

 

[LVKE]

I think sharing with ADCOMS what you learned from your research experience and what aspects of it that you liked would help you make a better impression than simply saying that you did not like it, even though that may be true. Also, having a publication during undergrad is rather rare so ADCOMS don't just expect everyone who did research to have a publication. The fact that you did do some research is a plus, of course.

I definitely have a newfound respect for the people that do this type of work (drug delivery / vaccine type research). I'm also taking biochem right now and a lot of it parellels with what we're learning in class, which helps with the application parts of biochem. I can think of several positives, obviously, it's just definitely a different type of experience. So much time input for a little line on the resume (since I ended up not enjoying it all that much).

 

[shaken not stirred]

You can also say that you familiarized yourself with the process of experiment design, troubleshooting and optimizing, results analyses, etc; also that you acquired critical thinking abilities that are involved in each of these steps. A lot of dental specialty programs would require you to engage in some type of research, so these are good skills to mention that you have.

While they may seem insignificant, your resume would look rather empty and uninteresting if you have none of those little lines!

 

[JLT223]

They'd rather hear you say you disliked it and learned XYZ rather than the blanket statement of how amazing it was blah blah. Just be honest, that's all anyone expects from you.