Quality vs. Quantity

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BoyGenius

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Hi

I was wondering if the quality of publications is more important to adcoms or the quantity. Some people on these forums seem to be very talented and gotten involved in research earyl and so have more to show for it. I am involved in biochem research now and will pursue it full time for one year, but because of the nature of the work I may be able to publish one paper over the next academic year. Will this hurt my application? Also, let's say my experiments flop and I do not have a chance to publish before I apply, will update letters be accepted?

Thank you friends.
 
In my experience, it seems like the quality of research is definitely taken into consideration. Almost all my interviewers have been interested in how much of the work I did was my own contribution. I felt like they were looking to see if I was just running protocols for a postdoc or grad student (not viewed very highly) or if I was the principal force behind my project and produced significant amount of independent work (viewed much more highly).

While I would have had a few pubs being an automaton for a postdoc, it seemed like most of my interviewers were relieved to hear that my project was mine (I have no pubs, but hopefully in a couple months that will change.)

Also, to note, my host at UPenn said only about 1/2 of his classmates had pubs before entering. My advice is to do a good amount of research and try to really make it your own. If pubs come from it great! If not, then you will still be able to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have an aptitude for all that research is, including the self-driven thinking that will be critical in a research career.
 
most places have told me they encourage update letters
 
Dr. Dr. is right on the money. Publications are nice to have, but are not necessary. Based on more years of experience in MD-PhD admissions than I care to admit to, I would say that maybe 10 percent of admitted applicants have first-author publications in good journals, and another 30-35 percent have co-authorship of any type. At least half of the individuals who get into MD-PhD programs do not have publications at the time they apply for admission. You will be better off having an independent project that produces no publications than being the butt boy for some grad student's project that garners you a fifth author publication. If you do the latter, it will quickly become apparent to your interviewers that you were not making a significant intellectual contribution to the project, and it will be difficult for them to assess your potential to develop into an independent biomedical researcher. This will decrease your chances of being admitted.
 
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