Value of non-science research

[technocrat626]

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I'm a pre-med student majoring in political science. I know that one of the best things you can do to make your med school applications look good is to participate in undergraduate research. If the research is done in a social science rather than a physical science, are the adcoms going to care? Also, how important is research to adcoms at osteopathic schools?

 

[DocMan22]

In general research matters at major research schools and not so much at schools that arnt research focused (DO schools are not research focused)

I would assume social science research would be as much of a plus as other research. Med Schools accept all majors so they would expect to see you doing research in your major.

 

[PSiloveU2013]

I have a similar question, even though it seems to have been answered. I am a Psychology major and am a Research Assistant in a Psych lab focused on cognition, temperament and what not. It's not just intelligence tests and such, but we also use EEG, MRI and fMRI. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is an experience that will be seen positively by med schools? fyi -- the university I go to is a huge research institution.

 

[SpecterGT260]

There are lots of different things that make you look good. While clinicians are the primary goal of schools, it is also desirable to produce people who are well rounded and can impact the field of medicine from many different angles. PoliSci, public health, ect..... are soft sciences, but still useful to medicine in general. Different schools may like someone with bench work more, but listing research you have in any field is always going to be better than listing nothing - although I cannot speak on the degree to which it is.

 

[aslan]

I have a friend who was a biology major and did research in economics. He got into a research heavy school. I think they just want to know that you know how research works. No matter the subject. And as for DO programs, they are still medical programs so research is always a plus. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Iliketoytles]

I have a friend who was a biology major and did research in economics. He got into a research heavy school. I think they just want to know that you know how research works. No matter the subject. And as for DO programs, they are still medical programs so research is always a plus. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah. There's a certain type of thinking that research requires (not trying to sound like an arrogant punk). It requires organization, initiative, and creativity. Research isn't necessarily required for DO, but it's a nice "cherry on top" thing to have, especially if your stats are on the lower side. Behavioral science research would be just as good to have as biological science research, I would think.

 

[AnthroDocFL]

Research is a plus for any medical school, whether they are research-heavy or not. As for DO adcoms, I was only asked about my research at one school that happened to be impressed with my first-author publication and my role in clinical studies. Unfortunately, the school is not too involved with research. The other DO school that I interviewed at is more involved with research, but didn't ask about it at all. I brought it up anyway just to make a point of it and to cover all bases (my uGPA wasn't stellar).

So if I were you, I would definitely consider your research to be an important aspect of your application and one in which you should feel proud to discuss. I also think it makes you well-rounded. As evidenced by the fact that applicants often have non-medical volunteer work/activities, not everything has to be medically relevant.

Good luck! Don't forget to "sell yourself" during your interviews. Be proud, not cocky!!

 

[msmitra]

Research in science is much better. However, some research somewhere is better than none at all. You can always spin your non-science research to be indirectly ultimately fostering a scientific and inquisitive mind, where you used the scientific method to explore research topics.

 

[DrMediterranean]

DO schools are not heavy on research. Having said that, I did my research in social psychology and was accepted at both DO & MD schools. Adcoms aren't expecting you to come into the application process with amazing research as an undergrad imo. And if you go in very overconfident pretending that your research is so amazing I'm pretty sure you will get a few laughs. I think what is more important is that you are able to actually apply the scientific method and understand it from that perspective.
I really enjoyed my research, this is what is important. I felt the same way about it though during interviews because my research was not in the natural sciences, but surprisingly schools were very receptive to it whenever it came up.