Research? My 2 cents

[trolollol]

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With research being very much the norm right now for pre-med students, I have a couple pieces of advice about successfully getting into a lab and publishing work:

1. Be vague about your career plans at first. Many professors won't take kindly to pre-meds since we have a high attrition rate and feel as though many are in it only for the rec letter.

2. Avoids labs with no undergrads and too many undergrads (>10 imo). In the former you will likely be overworked and in the latter you will likely not get much done (chances of publications are very slim)

3. Start early! it took a full year for me to get published and may take even longer depending on the exact details on data collection. Joining during your freshman and sophomore years is a huge advantage.

4. Ask about getting credit. Many schools have the option for undergraduates to get credit for research. As long as you show up and do what you're told it should be an easy A.

Thoughts and comments?

 

[Ismet]

Just wanted to clarify that getting publications is very much not the norm for pre-meds. Abstracts and poster presentations, sure, but don't think you're a research failure if you're applying to med school without your name somewhere on a published paper.

That said, publishing helps, so if you have the opportunity, then take it.