UMich: No Research, don't bother?

[informatique]

My stats are average, my extracurriculars are average, I have held a job since freshmen year, but I have no research experience whatsoever. I've been looking through UMich's website and searching for information on SDN and it seem like they're really focused on research.

I'm going to an interview in September, but I figure my chances of acceptance will be slim since lots of applicants seem to have some sort of undergraduate research experience. It'll probably come up during interviews as to why I have no research under my belt.

Does anyone have any knowledge as to whether this will put me at a major disadvantage at UMich?

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[sjk343]

i got in and i havent had any research

 

[Hysteria24]

It'll probably come up during interviews as to why I have no research under my belt.

Actually it probably won't. I know this doesn't answer your intended question, but UMich has a different interview format. ~10 different stations/people to talk with, each with a distinctive ethical type topic. With 10 min at each station, and only one station asking the normal "interview" type questions in a closed file format, it is very unlikely that this will be an issue.

The issue however may be whether you get an interview or not. I'm not sure how much research they want their applicants to have (I had ~1 year), but I do know once I got there and started talking with faculty and students, they just went on and on about how much research the d-school does and how their d-students become excellent researchers.

 

[Jim Halpert]

Hey I was wondering when you found out about your interview and how? (mail, email, aadsas?)

 

[REH]

Hysteria24,

With regards to Michigan's MMIs, do you progress through each station individually, or as a member of your assigned group? I find this format to be a little confusing. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
REH.

 

[informatique]

Hey I was wondering when you found out about your interview and how? (mail, email, aadsas?)

Email. I like the idea of the whole station interview format although I'm not really sure what the questions at each station will entail.

 

[somethinpositiv]

I have 5 research experiences (the max) and I got an interview at UMich for the first interview day. I think it helps to have it, but doesn't hurt to not have research. I honestly don't think there are enough applicants with significant research experience and reasonable stats for them to pick a class out of just them, so don't worry about it since your stats are decent (about identical to my stats actually). Too late to add research now, right? so no need to dwell on it, just focus on your strengths. Good luck!

 

[Hysteria24]

Hysteria24,

With regards to Michigan's MMIs, do you progress through each station individually, or as a member of your assigned group? I find this format to be a little confusing. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
REH.

So think of it this way:

27 students, divided into 3 groups of 9. (Or however many students there are just divided into groups of 9.)

Each group of 9 students then goes to an area of the room where there are 9 individual stations. At each station there is a Faculty member or first year student (weird cause they have only been d-students for a couple months). At each station you will have 10 min to read a couple paragraphs on a laminated piece of paper and respond to the topic (look over the interview feedback section here on SDN because I had some direct repeat topics). Within the 10 min you will express how you feel and they will ask some follow up questions on what you said. That normally did not fill up the entire 10 min, with the last 2 min just chitchatting. At the end of the 10 min, a person over a loud speaker will tell you to rotate, and the 9 students within your subgroup all rotate to the next station within your area.

There is one station within the 9 which is a person from the admission committee. You will stay there two rotations for a total of 20 min and they will ask all the typical interview questions ("why dentistry", "describe yourself", etc.)

 

[informatique]

^
I guess the 20 min admissions committee station is open file? I've been looking through interview feedback and some people have down open file, whereas others have closed.

 

[ryanaj]

If research only counts toward getting the interview then you can feel a little better cuz I got an interview without any.