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Hi,
I'm new here and I've been going through the threads here for the past few weeks and it's been quite informative. I'm preparing for my MCAT right now and going to be entering my third year right now at UC Irvine and am hoping to apply by next June.
As of right now, I have done two quarters of "research" at the Medical Center near my school. I have gotten credits and grades for it, which has helped boost my GPA tremendously. However, my actual project/contribution has been very minimal as I have made several mistakes in the lab in terms of technique. In spite of its location at the medical center, it is very little clinical work and is just basically what I would do in a molecular biology lab (i.e. working with tumor cells, changing the medium, and tedious work). I really feel like I have gotten very little out of it in spite of the A I got for it. I don't enjoy it at all and I think it might be a detriment to put it on my application and not be enthusiastic about the experience if asked about it. I may get my name on a publication just for the sheer fact that I came to the lab for a significant number of hours each week for about 7 months(2 nonconsecutive academic quarters). I have the invitation to come back next quarter, but I think that I would still dislike it as much as I do now.
I originally joined the lab thinking that I would get a decent amount of exposure to clinical research in the orthopedics department. However, that was not the case. There is an opportunity for me to do research with a Pediatrics institution near UCI, but it seems like a lot of people at my school are doing it and it may not appear unique.
On the other hand, my actual volunteering experience is very little, too little to apply. Which is why I'm planning on joining a hospital program next year (Clinical Care Extender Program at HOAG). However, I was wondering, if the volunteering done at my parent's offices would be of any help? I did it mainly to lend a helping hand a I do not have job at the moment and felt guilty about living with them rent free. However, I did gain a lot of experience about working in primary care and it helped me tremendously in that regard. My father's office is associated with a nearby hospital as well and he gets volunteers at times. But would this be considered nepotism and would it hurt me rather than help me? I did actual work (both administrative and interaction with patients) and its not like I got preferential treatment. I was also able to interact with low-income/underserved patients which is the type of care I want to deal with when I practice.
I've read the previous threads and it seems as though people say that you should have a bit of everything and excel at one area. However, I'm afraid I may not have enough research to excel in or talk about.
Thanks in advance for any help and I'm really sorry about the long message!
Sincerely,
Adrian
I'm new here and I've been going through the threads here for the past few weeks and it's been quite informative. I'm preparing for my MCAT right now and going to be entering my third year right now at UC Irvine and am hoping to apply by next June.
As of right now, I have done two quarters of "research" at the Medical Center near my school. I have gotten credits and grades for it, which has helped boost my GPA tremendously. However, my actual project/contribution has been very minimal as I have made several mistakes in the lab in terms of technique. In spite of its location at the medical center, it is very little clinical work and is just basically what I would do in a molecular biology lab (i.e. working with tumor cells, changing the medium, and tedious work). I really feel like I have gotten very little out of it in spite of the A I got for it. I don't enjoy it at all and I think it might be a detriment to put it on my application and not be enthusiastic about the experience if asked about it. I may get my name on a publication just for the sheer fact that I came to the lab for a significant number of hours each week for about 7 months(2 nonconsecutive academic quarters). I have the invitation to come back next quarter, but I think that I would still dislike it as much as I do now.
I originally joined the lab thinking that I would get a decent amount of exposure to clinical research in the orthopedics department. However, that was not the case. There is an opportunity for me to do research with a Pediatrics institution near UCI, but it seems like a lot of people at my school are doing it and it may not appear unique.
On the other hand, my actual volunteering experience is very little, too little to apply. Which is why I'm planning on joining a hospital program next year (Clinical Care Extender Program at HOAG). However, I was wondering, if the volunteering done at my parent's offices would be of any help? I did it mainly to lend a helping hand a I do not have job at the moment and felt guilty about living with them rent free. However, I did gain a lot of experience about working in primary care and it helped me tremendously in that regard. My father's office is associated with a nearby hospital as well and he gets volunteers at times. But would this be considered nepotism and would it hurt me rather than help me? I did actual work (both administrative and interaction with patients) and its not like I got preferential treatment. I was also able to interact with low-income/underserved patients which is the type of care I want to deal with when I practice.
I've read the previous threads and it seems as though people say that you should have a bit of everything and excel at one area. However, I'm afraid I may not have enough research to excel in or talk about.
Thanks in advance for any help and I'm really sorry about the long message!
Sincerely,
Adrian