"Research Isn't Necessary"

[502623]

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Last Friday, I spoke to an admissions representative from IUSM (Indiana University School of Medicine) regarding research. He basically told me that if I weren't going to medical school to get an MD/PhD, but just wanted to be a doctor, then research wasn't necessary for the application and I should just stick with volunteering, shadowing, etc. I found this to be fairly questionable advice. I feel like an appropriate response would've been that it isn't required for a traditional, non-PhD application but would certainly help to give an edge over other applicants. What do you all think about the advice I was given by the admissions rep?

 

[La Presse]

My STEM advisor who received his PhD from Clark Atlanta told me that research was absolutely necessary even for MD admissions; however, he said that clinical experience isn't elemental in what the admissions committee considers a standard application to medical school. I was all like.....😱

I think that having research on your AMCAS is an unwritten or unspoken requirement ultimately.

 

[Geebeejay]

Last Friday, I spoke to an admissions representative from IUSM (Indiana University School of Medicine) regarding research. He basically told me that if I weren't going to medical school to get an MD/PhD, but just wanted to be a doctor, then research wasn't necessary for the application and I should just stick with volunteering, shadowing, etc. I found this to be fairly questionable advice. I feel like an appropriate response would've been that it isn't required for a traditional, non-PhD application but would certainly help to give an edge over other applicants. What do you all think about the advice I was given by the admissions rep?

I dunno anything about IUSM, but there are many schools that don't really care about your interest in research (unless you are applying MD/Ph.D). Obviously if you are applying to research-intensive top20 schools, then yes, research is totally necessary.

 

[502623]

My STEM advisor who received his PhD from Clark Atlanta told me that research was absolutely necessary even for MD admissions; however, he said that clinical experience isn't elemental in what the admissions committee considers a standard application to medical school. I was all like.....😱

I think that having research on your AMCAS is an unwritten or unspoken requirement ultimately.

Wow, that is very surprising he said that clinical experience isn't elemental! I figured as much that research is at least kind of unspoken thing and would be very wise to do in undergraduate years.

Sorry I don't know this, but may I ask what STEM is?

 

[passionformed]

Wow, that is very surprising he said that clinical experience isn't elemental! I figured as much that research is at least kind of unspoken thing and would be very wise to do in undergraduate years.

Sorry I don't know this, but may I ask what STEM is?

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics

 

[La Presse]

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics

You beat me to it! It is mutually exclusive from the Title V grant and is mainly funded by the federal gov't for Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to increase minority enrollment in the sciences.

 

[MrBrightside167]

Personally I didn't have any research experience during undergrad and was fairly successful this application cycle. However, if you can find a research project that really interests you, go for it.

 

[pv515]

I dunno anything about IUSM, but there are many schools that don't really care about your interest in research (unless you are applying MD/Ph.D). Obviously if you are applying to research-intensive top20 schools, then yes, research is totally necessary.

I was admitted to two top 20 schools without having any substantive research, but it's advisable to have some major other ECs to make up for it. Like life changing ECs

 

[lobo.solo]

I was admitted to two top 20 schools without having any substantive research, but it's advisable to have some major other ECs to make up for it. Like life changing ECs

Can you elaborate on this.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

The MSAR lists % of matriculants with various activities. Research is one of them. It's usually >75%, which doesn't mean it's required, but it certainly implies it's more common than that admissions officer suggested.

 

[pv515]

Can you elaborate on this.

Sent you a PM, if anyone else would like I can elaborate to them as well!

 

[music2doc]

Last Friday, I spoke to an admissions representative from IUSM (Indiana University School of Medicine) regarding research. He basically told me that if I weren't going to medical school to get an MD/PhD, but just wanted to be a doctor, then research wasn't necessary for the application and I should just stick with volunteering, shadowing, etc. I found this to be fairly questionable advice. I feel like an appropriate response would've been that it isn't required for a traditional, non-PhD application but would certainly help to give an edge over other applicants. What do you all think about the advice I was given by the admissions rep?

Say this with me:

The Plural of Anecdotes Is Not Data.


What he said is nice and all but the reality is that students with research do better. It's a helpful EC to have. Not necessary but helpful. This is true of all the common ECs.

 

[CodeBlu]

My STEM advisor who received his PhD from Clark Atlanta told me that research was absolutely necessary even for MD admissions; however, he said that clinical experience isn't elemental in what the admissions committee considers a standard application to medical school. I was all like.....😱

I think that having research on your AMCAS is an unwritten or unspoken requirement ultimately.

This is false. Your STEM advisor doesn't know what he's talking about.

I have a class of between 150-200. Half of those people have never done research. I have 2 music majors in my class, 15+ engineers, 3 business majors... and a bunch of other random majors.

 

[La Presse]

This is false. Your STEM advisor doesn't know what he's talking about.

I have a class of between 150-200. Half of those people have never done research. I have 2 music majors in my class, 15+ engineers, 3 business majors... and a bunch of other random majors.

Tried to tell him......😳

 

[Hemorrage]

Research is only really "required" if you're applying to top-tier med schools. Most other schools will just look for the other interesting things you did before applying which count if not more than research

 

[mokhoras]

.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Do it for a semester and if you enjoy it then stick with it, if you don't then bow out gracefully.

 

[nysegop]

Clinical experience actually is essential. UVM and some other schools basically won't accept anyone who doesn't have clinical experience. Research experience is optional but of great benefit.

 

[Narmerguy]

I agree with a lot of the advice here. Few things are "required" besides the MCAT, prereqs, and a diploma. However, many things are expected, and if you fail to meet those expectations you'd better make up for them in a big way in other areas. I think the small investment of trying research for at least one or two semesters is not much to give.

 

[kami333]

Say this with me:

The Plural of Anecdotes Is Not Data.

Agreed.

OP: keep in mind that adcoms aren't uniform, schools will have differing criteria in what they are looking for in students. Likewise, adcom members aren't robots and will have their own criteria, while there are guidelines there's still a lot of room for subjective evaluation especially when it comes to ECs. I've known several adcom members personally and professionally (all from the same school), and even they didn't agree on how things like the importance of # and IF of pubs.

The common advice here is to apply broadly, I think an addition to that is to make your application appealing to a wide audience.

 

[CrimsonKing]

My STEM advisor who received his PhD from Clark Atlanta told me that research was absolutely necessary even for MD admissions; however, he said that clinical experience isn't elemental in what the admissions committee considers a standard application to medical school. I was all like.....😱

I think that having research on your AMCAS is an unwritten or unspoken requirement ultimately.

NEWSFLASH: A PhD says that you need research for med school admissions.

More on this story tonight at 8.

 

[nBeeDee]

Say this with me:

The Plural of Anecdotes Is Not Data.

Agreed, but just for fun I'm gonna share another one with the OP

I applied this cycle with a fairly substantial amount of basic science research under my belt, and I was asked to talk about my experience by almost every single interviewer I had. The PhD interviewers were especially curious and seemed to ask the most detailed questions. I think it truly helped my application as a whole.

That being said, its definitely not something required and it will not prevent you from getting into medical school (unless MD/PhD) if the rest of your application is competitive. If you want to try research, get involved in something you're interested in, regardless to its relation to medicine. If you end up hating it, then quit; don't do an activity just because you think it will look good for medical school. Research is something that can only benefit your application, especially if you are able to describe it well during interviews.

 

[neuro nephrons]

Wow, that is very surprising he said that clinical experience isn't elemental! I figured as much that research is at least kind of unspoken thing and would be very wise to do in undergraduate years.

Sorry I don't know this, but may I ask what STEM is?

ST eleveation myocardial - oh wait, sorry. 😛 My understanding is that research is helpful to an application but not absolutely necessary (unless first tier schools). It is certainly a cool thing to have and something that can be discussed during an interview, but obviously people have gotten into medical school without it.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

It really only seems to be upper tier schools that absolutely want research from students. Other schools, especially those in lower tiers, seem to care much more about clinical experience than research.

Also keep in mind that while 75% of pre-meds applying to med school may have research experience, I'd be willing to bet a large portion of those students' research experience is minimal. In my four years of biomed research I've noticed that the pre-med students tend to view research as no different from volunteering and don't realize that they've signed up for an unpaid job, not a volunteer gig (ie they come in only a handful of hours per week and don't really ever do anything impressive).

 

[Jazzy G]

It really only seems to be upper tier schools that absolutely want research from students. Other schools, especially those in lower tiers, seem to care much more about clinical experience

To be fair though some few other schools out there do too. The U. of Utah requires research, patient care, volunteering, leadership and shadowing.

 

[Sephiroth]

Sent you a PM, if anyone else would like I can elaborate to them as well!

yeah, I'm definitely curious, and it may be helpful to me should i have to apply again