research experience

[laugh]

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I have the oppurtunity to work part-time in a cell biology lab at my university. How will dental schools view this experience? Is it a big plus, or just something that doesnt really stand out? It seems like getting into dental school is so competitive that any and every edge is necessary. Any thoughts?

 

[dayfu17]

Its by no means necessary, but at the same time it helps. It also depends on which school you are applying to. If you want to go to a school thats big on research (Harvard, Penn, Columbia, UCLA....etc) then it would be a great idea. I have been doing research for 2 years, and I think that it really helped get me into my top schools.

 

[Frederico Albin]

Even if you're not going to a research based school it still helps. The most extracurricular activities that you have in your application, the better the adcoms/schools will think of you. My opinion is to work on a research like the one that you are doing, but don't spend too much time on it. Try to spend most of your free time shadowing and getting exposure/experience on the field that you're going to be working with.
Good luck
Fred 😛

 

[Booboohuevos]

I think that research can be a great thing to add on your resume IF you actually engross yourself in it and use it to open up new opportunities. I did research with fruit flies for 3 years, and through my work I was awarded a fellowship along with a chance to work at NASA for a summer. If you are doing it just to boost your resume, it's probably not going to give you anything of any use. I thought it was a great experience-to see TRUE science at work and to actually apply your classwork.

 

[Frederico Albin]

booboohuevos, what are you talking about?
They are going to use that experience in their application in order to get to dental school...

 

[Danny0230]

i'd say definitely do it. looks good on an app, good thing to talk about during interviews, hell maybe youll even learn something. research was good for me because after getting a good taste of what it involved, i realized that i definitely want to be a dentist and could NEVER work in a lab for the rest of my life. i actually said that during a few interviews and they seemed to like it.

 

[Booboohuevos]

What I'm saying is that you shouldn't do research just to pad your resume. You won't enjoy it, and you won't get anything out of it. Do it because it's something you want to do, not something you think they'd want you to do. You don't just shadow because you have to, you shadow because you want to learn about the profession.

 

[blankguy]

Research looks good. The only way it would look bad is if you sold yourself as a research guy but don't have any.

 

[CaliGirl15]

I agree with the above posts on both accounts. Research is great, I did it for about 6months and learned a lot. It was really interesting and I am glad I have the experience. On the other hand if you don't like it don't just do it for the sake of doing it. But it definitely will not hurt your application, and it will help it. Just my opinion.

 

[laugh]

I am not wanting to work in a lab just to pad my application. I just wanted to know if anyone has had lab research experience and how the adcom viewed your experience. Thanks for your responses.

 

[USU24]

I think all adcoms view research as a good thing. I didn't really like the research I did, but I'm glad I did it.

 

[chumpe]

Weather you like it or not just do it! You still learn a lot and schools like it!

 

[Montserrat]

Definitely a positive - at the very least, it gave me and my interviewer something to touch base on. I can't say the research taught me much, but my research advisor was vague in everything he said, so it forced all of us lab goons to get the information on our own. Good learning opportunities if it you take them as such.

 

[Booboohuevos]

If it's something you're interested in, it can't look bad. I'm not sure how much it adds to your application, but if you have the opportunity and you're interested, I think it's something all science majors should do at some point.

 

[Frederico Albin]

With the applications so competitive these days, students are doing anything to get a little ahead. From all of the people that I've seen in SDN, about 99%(and ive seen alot trust me) of them have some laboratory experience, but the funny thing is this. "Do you think all of these students acutally like being in a lab?". The answer is of course "NO".
It is better if you do enjoy it like booboohuevos is saying, or if one day you want to have a ph.D or be a researcher of some sort, but the answer is that the competitiveness sometimes drives students to do something that they dont enjoy doing.