Research without publication

Started by bobeflay
BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
B

bobeflay

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Hey Ya'll,

I've been involved in an independent research project for the past 3 years, and I'm currently completing a senior thesis based on that research. I've presented 2 posters at university-wide research conferences and plan to give an oral presentation later this year. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that my work will be published, as my PI intends to use my data in his own upcoming manuscript which is far from complete.

My question is, how will admissions committees view the fact that I've spent 3 years on a project without a publication? I'm specifically interested in whether it hurts my chances at some of the more research focused schools. Thanks for your input!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
You'll still probably get an interview without one, to be honest.

Edit: actually, I just finished reading your entire post. Research based schools will probably care lol.
 
You'll be fine. Publications are just the icing on the cake; they're not the entire cake.

Edit: to expand in a non-cake-related-way, just be sure to be able to intelligently talk about your research during an interview. This ranges from being able to talk about technical stuff in a way that any lay-person would be able to understand, to fielding questions from someone who's familiar with that particular subject.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Agree with posts above. Personally, I had spent >2 years on some projects in a lab without any publication, poster, etc. Maybe some of the research-heavy schools do care about it, but I had interviews at multiple of them. So I don't think it hurts a lot.
Also, talk about your research (in primary, secondaries, and interviews) by focusing on what you have achieved and the significance of it.
 
Nobody expects a publication from an undergraduate - even research-heavy schools (unless you're going into a research-intensive track, like MSTP, but even then it's not expected because many factors go into whether you get a publication). What's important is that you are able to articulate your research, its context, its significance, what you did, and why you did it. If you spent 3 years in a lab, it is reasonable to expect you to have substantial knowledge about your work and the subfield in which your work is situated.
 
Everyone one has given good points and I just wanted to point out that even for MD/PhD programs (e.g. MSTP), publications are not required (I got all my interviews+acceptances before my publication from my masters was even accepted). In fact the only program that tends to have that sort of unspoken rule is the MD/PhD w/ the NIH-OxCam.
 
Publication highly depends on how lucky you are and how willing your PI wants to include you in on the project. I spent two years on one project just to get a chance to publish but just one summer on another project and I'm already working on an article with my PI together. TBH I feel publishing is great but definitely not necessary to demonstrate research credentials.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.