Trouble deciding on research...

[medbound13]

So looking at MSAR and looking at California medical schools, it's pretty hard not to notice that almost every school has 90%+ matriculants with research. My goal is to stay and California, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not it's worth it to research just to get accepted into the UC system. I'm really not interested in research and I feel like I shouldn't do it for that reason but, in order to stay in Cali, and getting into some top-tier schools, would you guys recommend just "sucking it up" and doing a semester or two of research to show something for that part of the application?

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[weezynation]

So looking at MSAR and looking at California medical schools, it's pretty hard not to notice that almost every school has 90%+ matriculants with research. My goal is to stay and California, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not it's worth it to research just to get accepted into the UC system. I'm really not interested in research and I feel like I shouldn't do it for that reason but, in order to stay in Cali, and getting into some top-tier schools, would you guys recommend just "sucking it up" and doing a semester or two of research to show something for that part of the application?

Research is not just a Cali school thing. Every school likes to see research...obviously some more than others (med school research rankings). The majority of us just want to be physicians, but research can actually be interesting if you enjoy what you are researching. I did not think I would like research, but I embraced the opportunity, worked hard, and loved it. Will I ever do research again? Prolly not. Choose something that will genuinely interest you and if that research opportunity is not available, just suck it up and do some other type of research. I am normally not the type of person who does things solely to build my resume, but the thing is, you want to make your application as strong as possible. All these pre-med requirements, mcat, research, etc. are all hoops you need to jump through in order to get accepted. None of that stuff is gonna help you in medical school. So make sure you're in the best postition to jump through that hoop. There may be something lacking in your app that can be negated by some great research experience or publication. Put yourself in the best position to get accepted...and considering most people do research, you prolly should too.

 

[tn4596]

just do it.
really. i have seen people done a lot of things they prolly dont like to look good on paper. I knew a girl who volunteer to clean up the oil spil last year and had to spend her own money to live and stay in an army camp while working to clean up that mess for 2 months.

 

[ash914]

It's also worth noting that there's a lot of variety in research, and you don't have to spend it doing traditional bench research (though you can if you want to). I work in a psych lab doing mostly fMRI studies. I have a friend who does clinical research where he interviews patients and review charts. The concensus is that the type of research is not that important when thinking of just MD admissions, but the underlying scientific skills that are needed to design and conduct meaningful research are very important. Find a topic you like and a relevant lab, read up on some of their pubs, and you might find something worth your time. Just coasting through a semester or two of research is not what they're looking for.

That said, there are people who get in without any research, but at least give it a try. You'd be putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don't, especially at the "top" schools.

 

[Dr Love]

The whole process is about jumping through hoops, so yes jump through the research hoop.

If it bothers you to do a semester of "research" (undergrad research is worthless anyway), then forget about med school right now.

 

[Local Native]

Yo dawg, I heard you like research, so I did some research on your research and found that there's actually a wide variety of things you can do. I know when you think of "research" you think of a bench with beakers, but you can actually try something like retrospective hospital studies, clinical drug trials, etc. Schools just want to see that you're contributing to a larger body of work and to see what you got out of the experience. So suck it up and put in the effort to try and find something meaningful.

 

[deleted393595]

Yo dawg, I heard you like research, so I did some research on your research and found that there's actually a wide variety of things you can do. I know when you think of "research" you think of a bench with beakers....

This totally made my day.

 

[Local Native]

This totally made my day.

Phallic llamas aim to please.

 

[weezynation]

I almost spit out my water when I saw this.

Phallic llamas aim to please.