Too much research?

[panvard92]

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I realize that med school adcoms probably look at a variety of things when admitting an applicant, but I also know that research can be a very valuable experience to talk about. But, I have a friend who is not only doing research year around in college (part time, I think), but also during the summers.
Is it possible to go overboard with research? Because while it's important, there are many other aspects of being a doctor (so, I would think that a better option would be to volunteer/shadow/etc. during the summers). Or does it really not matter?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Electronegative]

I never heard that too much research can hurt your, on the contrary it shows your friend is devoted to what he does, plus he might be working on a big project which requires him year round.


EN

 

[DrYoda]

Yes, you can go overboard. But you're only going overboard if it's to the detriment of another portion of your application. Year-round research isn't an odd case at all, the longer you work somewhere (assuming it's the same lab) the more you know what your doing, which makes you more likely to have made a meaningful contribution (=possible publication which is huge).

Clinical volunteering and all that does matter but can be easily done at the same time as research and other activities. I would even venture as far as to say that for a large portion of people the shadow/volunteering is a complete checkbox move and not a main selling point of their application.

 

[Ischemic]

it becomes overboard when you start doing bad in classes because you spend too much time doing research.

 

[GoronMD]

I agree with Dryoda.

I had this question pop up on me during my med school interview.
"Well, I see you did research. If you liked it so much why don't you pursue a PhD instead of the MD?"

So yea. It doesn't matter if you discovered the alcoholic binding domain of adenylyl cyclase if you have no clinical experience. If you can't talk to a patient, much less the admissions committee, then there is no way they want you.

I did one summer of research and my med school admissions committee loved it, but thats all they wanted. They just wanted to see if I did it to say that i had ruled it out.

Hope this helps.
-Goron MD

 

[88pich14]

If you want to go to a research heavy medical school (most of the top 20 schools) then the more research experience the better - especially if you can manage a pub or two. It shows that you want to be a "future leader in medicine," which is what many of those schools are looking for. I spent a good chunk of most of my interviews talking about my research.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

 

[familyaerospace]

I will have 9 years of research and several pubs by the time I apply. I will also have several years of volunteering and other things they want.

The real question is, is your friend doing everything else they want as well? The adcomms would like to see a balanced application including volunteering, shadowing, leadership, etc combined with good grades and good MCAT.

 

[panvard92]

Uh...I think she's volunteering at the hospital near her college. And she does yoga 😛 But I'm not too sure about shadowing and stuff.

Actually, that's the exact question that popped into my head...with all that research she'd need a reeeeally good reason to go for a MD, instead of an PhD. I'm not quite sure how she's going to steer away from the "Why not a PhD" question with the intense research...though she tells me that she wants to deal with people more, but that just makes it sound like PhDs hide from society or something heh.

 

[Neuronix]

Is it possible to go overboard with research? Because while it's important, there are many other aspects of being a doctor (so, I would think that a better option would be to volunteer/shadow/etc. during the summers). Or does it really not matter?

Your friend sounds like they would make an outstanding MD/PhD applicant assuming high GPA and MCAT. Even as an MD applicant, as long as they have some minimum volunteer/shadow experiences, they have a great shot at research-oriented medical schools assuming the GPA and MCAT is there.

The key in undergrad is to meet requirements to get into medical school. Take the courses, get the GPA, get the MCAT score, do the volunteering. Above that do what YOU enjoy. One or two very in-depth experiences are an excellent way to prepare for medical school. Don't just rack up a ton of superficial experiences to fill up your application, as this will not help you.

That being said, if you'd prefer to do something other than research, it certainly isn't required to get into medical school. Again, do what YOU enjoy.

I frequently ask research-oriented applicants to medical school why they aren't applying for MD/PhD. There are many acceptable answers to this question, including you don't need a PhD to be an academic physician, you aren't 100% sure you want to dedicate yourself to basic science research at this time, etc...