What exactly do you need for ECs?

[grindtime1]

- 100-200 hours of hospital volunteering
- 1 year of research in school
- 200+ hours of physician shadowing
- volunteering outside of hospital

(I haven't done any of this yet, just asking)


Assuming your GPA and MCAT are solid to outstanding (let's say 3.6-3.8 GPA and 32-38 MCAT), what are the chances of getting into a top 30 medical school if those are your only ECs?

Do ECs really matter that much?

Do you think they'll be offended if I only do 1 year of research because it just doesn't interest me (of course I won't mention that)?

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[Mobius1985]

The highly-selective schools also tend to be research-oriented institutions (getting lots of funding to help support them), and won't be very impressed with folks having one year of research when they have other applicants with 2-4 years and maybe publications, as well. They won't be "offended", but they are unlikely to want to further their acquaintance with you. They might rarely take an applicant anyway if they have mind-blowing community service or leadership (often both).

The essential ECs, in order to appeal to the widest range of schools would be clinical experience (150 hours over 1.5 years seems average), community service (the same, and more than one form of it helps you look good), and shadowing some docs (8-40 hours each for 2-3 specialties, so 200+ hours is way overkill).

I'd put leadership, research, and teaching as the most important after those, but not essential.

 

[muhali3]

At a top 30, I don't think that is enough. Almost every applicants' app has those ECs and stats.

 

[NotAsking4Much]

- 100-200 hours of hospital volunteering
- 1 year of research in school
- 200+ hours of physician shadowing
- volunteering outside of hospital

(I haven't done any of this yet, just asking)


Assuming your GPA and MCAT are solid to outstanding (let's say 3.6-3.8 GPA and 32-38 MCAT), what are the chances of getting into a top 30 medical school if those are your only ECs?

Do ECs really matter that much?

Do you think they'll be offended if I only do 1 year of research because it just doesn't interest me (of course I won't mention that)?

ECs are really what make you stand out or crazy personal experiences (but that's out of your control...)

At top schools with so many 3.7/35+, ECs are what make or break your app.

Btw - my honest advice. Just do what feels most natural to you. If you do ECs simply because you "need to," it'll show.

 

[grindtime1]

Thanks for the input. How do I do research?

Do I just ask my advisor or go to the professor? Do I need a certain grade in the class to be able to do research?

Also, is would 1 year of research mean 1 semester or 2 full semesters? For example, 3 months over summer break would count as 1 year, right?

 

[Stratego]

Three months over summer break would be a semester of research. A year of research could be either two semesters (an academic year) or fall, spring, and summer semesters (a calendar year).

Your advisor may be aware of labs looking for help, so start there first. But many people approach professors directly and ask for a place. Don't limit yourself to profs whose classes you've been in. Go on-line, read abstracts about the most recent research in various departments on campus, see what interests you, e-mail the PIs (principal investigators) with a copy of your CV and unofficial transcript, asking for an appointment to discuss their research. See if they'll let you help, either as a volunteer, in a paid position, or for class credit.

 

[grindtime1]

Three months over summer break would be a semester of research. A year of research could be either two semesters (an academic year) or fall, spring, and summer semesters (a calendar year).

Your advisor may be aware of labs looking for help, so start there first. But many people approach professors directly and ask for a place. Don't limit yourself to profs whose classes you've been in. Go on-line, read abstracts about the most recent research in various departments on campus, see what interests you, e-mail the PIs (principal investigators) with a copy of your CV and unofficial transcript, asking for an appointment to discuss their research. See if they'll let you help, either as a volunteer, in a paid position, or for class credit.

Appreciate the help. What do you normally do for this stuff?

Is it at all challenging and/or time consuming?

Basically, are there any grades for research or do you just get feedback from the professor?

 

[Stratego]

You only get a grade if you take a research class for credit. Regardless of why you do it, your PI will provide you with one of you letters of recommendation (pretty much expected if you do any research). You and the PI agree on the terms of the research activity, like hours put in each week, flexibility if you have tests to study for, what hours you show up, etc. Hours can vary from 3 to 20 during the school year and could be over 40 in the summer when you have no other commitments. Some of the work is challenging, some is grunt work; it depends on the lab. Talking with others working in a lab you are interested in is a good idea, to get an idea of whether it's a toxic environment, or student-friendly.

 

[grindtime1]

You only get a grade if you take a research class for credit. Regardless of why you do it, your PI will provide you with one of you letters of recommendation (pretty much expected if you do any research). You and the PI agree on the terms of the research activity, like hours put in each week, flexibility if you have tests to study for, what hours you show up, etc. Hours can vary from 3 to 20 during the school year and could be over 40 in the summer when you have no other commitments. Some of the work is challenging, some is grunt work; it depends on the lab. Talking with others working in a lab you are interested in is a good idea, to get an idea of whether it's a toxic environment, or student-friendly.

So let's say someone has done no research through his first 2 years as undergrad.

That means he can do a maximum of 3 years research if he wants to graduate in 4 years?

How I'm getting this:

1st semester junior year (half year research) + 2nd semester junior year (half year research) + summer break (half year research) + 1st semester senior year (half year research) + 2nd semester senior year (half year research) + summer (half year research).

Is that correct?

 

[Stratego]

No.

If some one did research every week for all of 24 months, he would say he did research for two years. This means two calender years.

If someone did research for four semesters: fall, spring, fall, spring, but not for summers, he would still say he did two years of research, even though it was really only 8 months in total (unless he did more research during the one month winter break, then 9 months). And this is correct, as he means two academic years.

Yes, it's screwy, and no one will ask what kind of year he means. Since you have to put the starting and end date of your research on the application, there is no way you can claim to have done three years of research in two calender years.

 

[grindtime1]

No.

If some one did research every week for all of 24 months, he would say he did research for two years. This means two calender years.

If someone did research for four semesters: fall, spring, fall, spring, but not for summers, he would still say he did two years of research, even though it was really only 8 months in total (unless he did more research during the one month winter break, then 9 months). And this is correct, as he means two academic years.

Yes, it's screwy, and no one will ask what kind of year he means. Since you have to put the starting and end date of your research on the application, there is no way you can claim to have done three years of research in two calender years.

I'm sure this question gets asked all the time, but is it a bad idea to do research while preparing for the MCAT (let's say during the summer)?

Even though most people have 2-4 years research, would you say it's still possible to get into a top 20-25 school with only 1-1.5 years of research?

 

[Stratego]

1) It depends on the expectation of the PI. If he/she is flexible and/or expects you to be there about ten hours a week, or three hours a day, I'd say studying for the MCAT at the same time is doable. Having something that takes your mind off the MCAT is good for awhile. If you're expected to be in the lab for 20-40 hours a week, I don't think it would work out, unless you're just sitting at a desk waiting for tests to run and could study at the same time.

2) Possible?: yes. Likely?: not so much. And those getting in without a strong research experience compensate with superlative Leadership or Community service, or both. Most people applying to US allo med schools do not have 2-4 years. Average seems to be about a year, but the spread includes those who do none to three month's, and those with PhDs who did seven-year's worth.