Research for Pre-Med

[Student1222]

I just had a question about research. I am a pre-med student, that is in my junior year currently. I am currently doing research, but looking to move to a different department for research. I was wondering whether it would be good to do research under a professor in a medical school or do a research under a doctor in a famous hospital like Cleveland Clinic?

I am asking about this because I heard some people were rejected from a lot of the med school, but got into the med school that he/she did research for. Of course, you would have to do well, but would it be better to do research in a med school or a famous hospital like Cleveland Clinic?

Also, I do not have the highest GPA make a difference?

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[SpartanWolverine]

It would be best to do research where you will learn the most and be as productive as possible.

Not exactly sure what you're asking about GPA, but it is arguably the single most important factor of your application.

 

[GottaGetThatMD]

Don't focus on research if your GPA is lacking. Make sure your GPA is fine and you have a firm grip on your classes before you engage in any research even if this means you need to take a year off before applying to med school.

 

[Student1222]

Don't focus on research if your GPA is lacking. Make sure your GPA is fine and you have a firm grip on your classes before you engage in any research even if this means you need to take a year off before applying to med school.

Yea, my low GPA is mostly due to first year of college. I have done well since then and did some research while getting better grades. I just wanted to ask the question about which research opportunity would be better and would provide me better experience. I don't have any research experience from a hospital setting, so I wanted some input on that.

 

[GottaGetThatMD]

Do whatever research that interests you. But if you can do clinical research that involves direct patient contact that would be nice as well as you would hit two birds with one stone.

 

[Master Thinker]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if being a research assistant (making solutions, cleaning equipment, and basic sample scanning) count as research?

 

[hoihaie]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if being a research assistant (making solutions, cleaning equipment, and basic sample scanning) count as research?

not really

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if being a research assistant (making solutions, cleaning equipment, and basic sample scanning) count as research?

I would say yes. That's the kind of research experience the majority of undergrads will have.

 

[moisne]

Do research with a PI that has time for you.... Preferably in a field you are interested in.

No point in researching in a famous lab and you are supervised by some grad student and the PI doesn't even know you by name.

 

[moisne]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but does anyone know if being a research assistant (making solutions, cleaning equipment, and basic sample scanning) count as research?

No.... Lol. They ask you "so what did you do in the lab"
"I was basically their janitor and I occasionally made some buffers that any high school student can be trained to do."

 

[SpartanWolverine]

No.... Lol. They ask you "so what did you do in the lab"
"I was basically their janitor and I occasionally made some buffers that any high school student can be trained to do."

And what do you think a typical college student will have done? "I found a lab to take me, proposed an original study, wrote a proposal, acquired funding, got IRB approval, recruited subjects, tested, analyzed, wrote-up, presented, and published my data"?

Yeah, they are potentially not involved in the creative process of a study, but depending on the experience they're getting it might be sufficient. Of course it would be better if they were a part of a specific project and assisting it through the various phases. If you show a bit of initiative as a lab tech/manager/RA you can potentially get yourself in the middle of a bunch of good research... so I would advise them to try and get more involved. However, IMO it still fits under the research/lab AMCAS tab regardless.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Either research opportunity would be good - just make sure you're able to contribute in a meaningful way. Also, if your GPA is struggling, you should focus on that.

 

[moisne]

And what do you think a typical college student will have done? "I found a lab to take me, proposed an original study, wrote a proposal, acquired funding, got IRB approval, recruited subjects, tested, analyzed, wrote-up, presented, and published my data"?

Yeah, they are potentially not involved in the creative process of a study, but depending on the experience they're getting it might be sufficient. Of course it would be better if they were a part of a specific project and assisting it through the various phases. If you show a bit of initiative as a lab tech/manager/RA you can potentially get yourself in the middle of a bunch of good research... so I would advise them to try and get more involved. However, IMO it still fits under the research/lab AMCAS tab regardless.

Not stuff a high school student could do. I had my undergrad run experiments with them - the easy ones. She was published as second author.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Not stuff a high school student could do. I had my undergrad run experiments with them - the easy ones. She was published as second author.

I suppose this may depend on the field and lab. We never put undergrads (nonetheless high school interns) on papers as a rule in my last lab, and my current lab is also pretty reserved with what we allow undergrads to handle (pretty minimal data analysis and possibly a poster or two if they spend a few years in the lab).

 

[jih]

And what do you think a typical college student will have done? "I found a lab to take me, proposed an original study, wrote a proposal, acquired funding, got IRB approval, recruited subjects, tested, analyzed, wrote-up, presented, and published my data"?

Yeah, they are potentially not involved in the creative process of a study, but depending on the experience they're getting it might be sufficient. Of course it would be better if they were a part of a specific project and assisting it through the various phases. If you show a bit of initiative as a lab tech/manager/RA you can potentially get yourself in the middle of a bunch of good research... so I would advise them to try and get more involved. However, IMO it still fits under the research/lab AMCAS tab regardless.

You would be surprised. At U of WI (big research school) the undergrads do a lot of their own projects. Our weedout gen bio class includes this in the syllabus.

 

[HCHopeful]

I would disagree that most undergrads experience with research is simply doing clean-up duty in the lab.

In my opinion, to be considered research, you either have to come up with a project, run the tests and gather data, or have a part in statistical analysis. I guess my expectations may be too high, though.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

You would be surprised. At U of WI (big research school) the undergrads do a lot of their own projects. Our weedout gen bio class includes this in the syllabus.

Sure, I know there are places and fields where significant research can be done if the student has the time and interest. I'm just saying the typical med school applicant doesn't have this depth of exposure. I've done neuro/cog neuro research at four large schools and rarely if ever had an undergrad publishing (or even credited on a conference poster) with me or other students in the lab. Do they sometimes have small projects to present at University symposia? Sure.

 

[mw18]

If it were up to me, I would do research at the Cleveland Clinic because you will have the opportunity to do research at a med school the time that you're in med school. You may never get the chance to get back to the Cleveland Clinic.

Obviously, your gpa should be your priority. And the nature of the research matters a lot, too. If you did translational research or healthcare delivery research at the Cleveland Clinic - you would probably have a great conversation about it during an interview. That's really the key. You need to be able to speak about, and preferably, speak with passion about your research experience.