Undergrad Research

[vickpick]

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Is Undergrad research experience a must to be accepted to a med school... I have above average GPA ~ 3.8-3.9, Okay EC's like volunteering Hospital and other non clinical spots.. - Physcian shadowing

Think abt me as having 33-36 range MCAT..

I don't really "digg" research - and I won't be applying to Research - Loaded Med schools

Should I suck it up and do some research anyways?

And If do some research, is it okay if its insect -field or plants oriented... like research on invasive african bees or something on algae..

 

[tallface]

Is Undergrad research experience a must to be accepted to a med school... I have above average GPA ~ 3.8-3.9, Okay EC's like volunteering Hospital and other non clinical spots.. - Physcian shadowing

Think abt me as having 33-36 range MCAT..

I don't really "digg" research - and I won't be applying to Research - Loaded Med schools

Should I suck it up and do some research anyways?

And If do some research, is it okay if its insect -field or plants oriented... like research on invasive african bees or something on algae..

Sure, it helps, but it is not necessary. I only did, like, a few months worth for only a few hours a week, and it was really watered down (almost to the point of embarrassment) and non-laboratory based, and I got in to several schools, one being a huge research-oriented one (WashU). Granted, I had nice numbers.

That being said, what's important is that you spend time that would be spent doing research on something else productive that schools can look at, like volunteering or music or political stuff or whatever. Just be sure that you get a lot out of it and can show how passionate you are about it at interviews, and you'll do great.

 

[vickpick]

Sure, it helps, but it is not necessary. I only did, like, a few months worth for only a few hours a week, and it was really watered down (almost to the point of embarrassment) and non-laboratory based, and I got in to several schools, one being a huge research-oriented one (WashU). Granted, I had nice numbers.

That being said, what's important is that you spend time that would be spent doing research on something else productive that schools can look at, like volunteering or music or political stuff or whatever. Just be sure that you get a lot out of it and can show how passionate you are about it at interviews, and you'll do great.

Okay, so productive as in start a political blog or something of that sort?

Just out of curiosity, what was ur MCAT score?

I am spending the rest of the time by trying to volunteer and keeping my grades up - by studying.

I guess, I'll have to find something more productive to do too. But I don't really have many hobbies other than gaming.

 

[Oxygen206]

Research is definitely not necessary, especially if it's not one of your interests! If you don't plan on pursuing research, or even applying to research intensive schools then why bother doing something you don't even like? Granted, if you work hard you'll likely get a nice LOR from the prof, but otherwise don't do it just because you think you should. A lot of pre-meds do undergrad research, so I don't think it will make your application stick out like one would hope.

I would suggest finding a part of healthcare/public health/medicine that you are passionate about the most, whether it be under served populations, the poor, the drug addicts - whatever - find an organization that works with them and get involved. You will most likely benefit more from doing something that you are passionate about and probably really makes a difference in others lives versus doing benchwork you're not interested in anyway....

 

[vickpick]

Research is definitely not necessary, especially if it's not one of your interests! If you don't plan on pursuing research, or even applying to research intensive schools then why bother doing something you don't even like? Granted, if you work hard you'll likely get a nice LOR from the prof, but otherwise don't do it just because you think you should. A lot of pre-meds do undergrad research, so I don't think it will make your application stick out like one would hope.

I would suggest finding a part of healthcare/public health/medicine that you are passionate about the most, whether it be under served populations, the poor, the drug addicts - whatever - find an organization that works with them and get involved. You will most likely benefit more from doing something that you are passionate about and probably really makes a difference in others lives versus doing benchwork you're not interested in anyway....

Makes sense..

Okay, that resolves one problem abt finding a researcher to work with...

Charlotte, NC is a big city, so I guess I can find an organization that works with the poor...

 

[135892]

Have you been involved in research before? If you have, then yeah, you can just say "I tried it, but it wasn't for me". If you haven't been involved in research though, how can you really say that you don't like it? You're basically saying that you just don't like the idea of doing research. But getting involved in research would mostly for your own benefit, as I don't think med schools, especially the non-research focused ones, will care too much if you haven't done any.

And no, it does not matter what field you do your research in.

 

[runie46]

I'm basically in the same situation. I have about 4 months of research experience, but I find it REALLY boring (I don't like being in a lab with nothing but test tubes). I was thinking of doing a summer research internship to try and give a last minute boost to my application because even though most people say it doesn't matter... I've heard a lot of people say that med schools really like to see at least a little bit of research.

Anyways, my question: Do you think 4 months of research is enough, or do you think admission committees will look down on that? Does more research experience necessarily help your application?

 

[kingofthehill]

Only do research if you like it and if you plan on applying to a school that places a high priority on research - go to school websites and look at their criteria of admission to find this out. Otherwise, doing research is a waste of time if you're just doing it to look good.

Anyways, my question: Do you think 4 months of research is enough, or do you think admission committees will look down on that? Does more research experience necessarily help your application?

I think it is always best to try to be published, unless you go into it and decide it's not for you, like I did. Longer commitments that end in publications are always preferred if you're doing research. If you did research they may ask you why you didn't get published if you just quit at the 4 month mark because you thought it was good enough.