Hi all! I'm currently a pre med and I do research at my university as well as over the summer. The problem is that I don't really like the field I'm in at school, which is microbiology (I'm more interested in molecular). But on the flip side, I don't want to leave because the lab members are great mentors. I haven't started any independent research at my university, (mostly training) so I don't have any current projects I'm working on. Is it more important to do research you like, but possibly not have as much support in your work or is it better to stick it through as see what my current position has to offer?
Research Interests and Guidance
- Thread starter Xigua
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My advice to you would be to participate in research that would:
1) Get your name on a publication (first and foremost) research isn't really looked upon as serious to committee members if there is no publication produced (from what I've seen/heard)
2) Participate in research that you can speak very well about. If asked about your research project, would you be able to explain in detail what the overall objective of the research was? Could you explain the science behind the methods you used to arrive at your consensus? Would you be able to write about it?
1) Get your name on a publication (first and foremost) research isn't really looked upon as serious to committee members if there is no publication produced (from what I've seen/heard)
2) Participate in research that you can speak very well about. If asked about your research project, would you be able to explain in detail what the overall objective of the research was? Could you explain the science behind the methods you used to arrive at your consensus? Would you be able to write about it?
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I have done 4 years of research with 2 projects. The first one was at the university done from Freshman to Senior year with a thesis, but no publications. The second project was at a medical school in my state, with no publications. I interviewed at Johns Hopkins and Stanford and was put on the waitlist for both (top 30 for Stanford, top 100 for JH). You don't need a publication to make research meaningful. And if you put yourself as an author on a publication when all you did was clean test tubes, then that publication will be detrimental. If you show commitment to adcoms then it will make you look all more impressive.
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Also OP, you only go through college once. If you like option A over B, then you'll do great and meet people that will give you a LOR that has meaning. Also, don't do anything JUST for a LOR.
