Taking another gap year.. what to do? Where can I find research?

[MDWannabe90]

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Hi everyone!!! 🙂 some background info: I'm african american, philosophy major, recently decided to take another gap year and spend this year bringing up my low stats (3.4sGPA, 3.6cGPA) to more around 3.6sGPA and 3.7cGPA, aiming for a 35+ mcat which is totally doable because I have ~6months on top of the month I already studied for it, hopefully taking it in january. I was thinking of applying this cycle but I realized that I wanted to go to more research oriented schools because I want to get more into research and unfortunately the best research schools are the top schools (top 20) So I need to work my butt off to get that ~74/75 LizzyM and make myself stand out and apply early june 1st next application cycle. I have tons of extracurriculars (EMT, cpr instructor, vp of an org., RA for the dorms, tutor, coordinator, conduct panelist and I have won several community service awards at my college, did a summer program at a local med school and so much more!) I'm also thinking of joining the coast guard and I'm interested in hpsp for medical school.

My real issues are:
gpa---in the process of solving that
need to shadow doctors----definitely solvable
research--- I need more!... BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT????

The problem is that I want to do more research but I'm not a science major 🙁 I'm a philosophy major. I feel like its easier for biology/chemistry majors to find work because they can prove they have lots of experience already and they just simply have that respect. I feel like a lot of people doing research will look at my application like what the heckkkk is she doing here and I don't have a lot of research experience under my belt so it's going to be hard for me to find a position.

I also was wondering if there are any medical school programs or research programs that are a year long that I could apply for? I've been looking but I can't find anything, they seem like they are mostly just for the summer and I want something longer than that.

Thanks so much in advance!!! 😀

 

[MDWannabe90]

And I am sorry that this is so long 🙁 I'm just bugging out a little bit!

 

[Ruhroh]

If you don't have previous research experience, then there isa 90% chance you are not going to get a job the traditional way through job applications.

My advice is to emai researchers at your local hospital or universiry, explain your story you want to apply to medical school whenever, you are a philosophy major and it's hard but you are a diligent worker etc etc. Just spam this email to about 50 people, and you might get lucky and get a few invites. This is assuming you are living in a city close to a research hospital.

 

[Pomeshnue]

As a former clinical research coordinator for the past 2 years at a major ivy league hospital system, you are not going to get into research with a degree in Philosophy. If you are really tenacious you could just email some professors at your undergrad institution and see if there are any projects that you could help out with.

 

[impervious0ne]

Most research programs want you to have scientific background for research. You might need to do basic scutwork - cleaning dishes and etc before you can do more interesting stuff.

In my case, I worked in the organic chemistry lab cleaning dishes and doing preps before doing actual research... which is alot of reading and not whole alot of doing....

 

[sinombre]

you are not going to get into research with a degree in Philosophy.

There's some truth to this. You aren't going to get into research with only a degree in philosophy. I was in your position a couple of years ago (I also majored in philosophy), and I decided to add a minor in entomology. That was basically my foot in the door. I worked in a lab for a year, found a research internship in an emergency room for a year, and eventually found a job as a clinical research coordinator at an academic medical center.

Basically, you just need to network. I'm assuming you've already completed your prerequisites, so you at least have some sort of scientific foundation. Just make sure to emphasize that when you reach out to whoever you reach out to. Also bear in mind that you're almost definitely going to have to do some grunt work before any extraordinary research opportunities come your way.

 

[MaenadsDance]

It is not entirely true that you can't get a research position with a degree in philosophy. I have a friend who graduated from St John's College (which you may have heard of, if you're a philosophy major) and is now working at the NIH while taking pre-med pre-reqs. On the other hand, she had gotten research experience while an undergrad through the school's internship programs, one of which is specifically designed to get great books students into science internships.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Seriously, the best route if you don't know anyone..go volunteer at a hospital and meet people. After a few months of getting to know people ask some of the residents/fellows if there are any research opportunities. Likely, they are involved in some sort of project and you just hop on. It's what I did 🙂

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Washington University in St. Louis. They have so many labs its scary. I spent my gap year doing research there and it was great. I got hired with a mediocre GPA and 0 lab experience when I started. Just go to the faculty directory or look up individual research areas like Immunology or Gastro, etc and find PIs that are researching MDs. I know this sounds weird but researching MDs don't get nearly as many inquiries from students looking for research positions so your chances are a lot better. Plus you have all the shadowing connections in the world if your PI is a researching MD. Just send out a bunch of emails and Im sure someone will bite. I sent emails to 20 PIs and got replies form maybe 8 and interviews to a couple.

 

[kpcrew]

Try cold emailing. Email professors in your area and you will probably get something. The easiest way is through a faculty directory like this http://www.med.cornell.edu/faculty/index.html At the very least, you could start out as a volunteer and move your way up to more responsibility and pay.

 

[LizzyM]

Agree with the above. I personally know an applicant with philosophy degree who worked in top 20 med school lab for a few years before being admitted to another top 20 school this cycle. You've taken enough science classes with labs to know the difference between a plate and a pipette so don't be intimidated. This requires on-the-job training and a willingness to learn indepenently but if you have the med school pre-reqs, confidence and humility, you can do it.

 

[thesauce]

Try NIH. Lots of labs with a lot of variety.

 

[qwerty2012]

It is hard to find research now.I don't know why. But it is hard.

cold emailing usually just leads to spam folder.

Why don't you ask the professors you are taking classes with if they can take you?
A lot of professors won't take students as interns if you go for the regular route..if you don't have significant research experiences. The main problem is that they don't want to train someone from the start, they want you to know the basics before you even come in.
I think professors from undergrad or someone you have studied under are kinder.

Do shadowing first, I think the top schools are much kinder for URM on the research experience. usually a good gpa like urs plus a mcat around 33+ should do it.

boredom sucks but keep at it.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

It's not impossible to find work as a lab tech with a non-science degree. There was a tech who worked in one of my labs back in undergrad whose degree was in history. The only reason he was even working in the lab was because his girlfriend was a grad student (forget which department) and he needed to work nearby to pay the bills. That situation is hardly unheard of. The reality about a lot of lab work is that you don't need to know much to do it well.

That said, it won't be easy for you to find work. A lot of labs want people with science backgrounds. I graduated from a top 20 university with high honors, a 3.8 GPA, a thesis, a first author publication in the works, and four years of research experience and it took me seven months to find a research job despite having a network of contacts at my disposal. That's the kind of job climate you're heading into.

 

[MDWannabe90]

Thanks everyone so much for the honest advice!!!!! I am definitely going to look into the Labs at Washington St. Louis and see if I can get anything there, I know that is a great school! I would ask professors at my school that I have taken classes with but unfortunately they are required to take students in their major that need research credit before they take anyone else and those seats tend to fill up fast.

I'll try cold emailing some of the medical schools near me and I will be working at a hospital this fall so hopefully that will help me build some connections!

And I will look into this NIH thing, I've never heard about it before, is it hard to get into?

I probably should have mentioned that I have done research in two separate areas of herpetology where I presented a poster and wrote a formal research paper, and I also presented a poster at the medical summer program I did. The reason I didn't mention it is because both have absolutely nothing to do with research in medicine or doing research in a lab, they were more outdoor things where we would go to the new jersey school of conservation and collect data every week and test samples. So I didn't mention it because I felt like medical school is looking for LAB research but I think that when I email researchers asking if I can help, this may be able to show that I'm at least not completely incompetent about research and that I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm doing. I've taken several science classes in addition to my pre-req's, especially ones in chemistry so hopefully that helps.

Thanks again for all the replies

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks everyone so much for the honest advice!!!!! I am definitely going to look into the Labs at Washington St. Louis and see if I can get anything there, I know that is a great school! I would ask professors at my school that I have taken classes with but unfortunately they are required to take students in their major that need research credit before they take anyone else and those seats tend to fill up fast.

I'll try cold emailing some of the medical schools near me and I will be working at a hospital this fall so hopefully that will help me build some connections!

And I will look into this NIH thing, I've never heard about it before, is it hard to get into?

I probably should have mentioned that I have done research in two separate areas of herpetology where I presented a poster and wrote a formal research paper, and I also presented a poster at the medical summer program I did. The reason I didn't mention it is because both have absolutely nothing to do with research in medicine or doing research in a lab, they were more outdoor things where we would go to the new jersey school of conservation and collect data every week and test samples. So I didn't mention it because I felt like medical school is looking for LAB research but I think that when I email researchers asking if I can help, this may be able to show that I'm at least not completely incompetent about research and that I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm doing. I've taken several science classes in addition to my pre-req's, especially ones in chemistry so hopefully that helps.

Thanks again for all the replies

Scientific research is scientific research regardless of where it takes place. You are making standardized observations to develop new knowledge in a field of inquiry. Don't be ashamed. Be sure to mention it!

 

[MDWannabe90]

That's true! I never thought of it that way.. Thanks!!