<p>I just finished my junior year of college (for the prestige-whores, I go to a Ivy League university), and I am about to embark on the dim-lit journey that is medical school admissions.</p>
<p>In short, after meeting with advisers, I'm VERY nervous about which med schools I should apply to, given the fact that I have absolutely NO research experience to date - I decided to focus more on clinical exposure I found exciting (e.g. shadowing many different types of physicians, working as an HIV/AIDS clinic test counselor, volunteering at a local ER, etc) and other extracurriculars I'm passionate about (e-board member of my sorority, TA, pres. of an a capella group, etc).</p>
<p>My GPA and MCAT are all "above par." I have a 3.92 "pre-med" GPA and, amazingly, scored a 40R on my January '08 MCAT (14 VR, 14 BS, 12 PS). My GPA/MCAT both point towards a top 10 medical school -- but those are all quite research-savvy institutions. Will my lack-of-research translate to post-secondary rejections I otherwise would not receive? Should I even bother applying to these "research-savvy" schools?</p>
<p>You should apply, but I wouldn't be optimistic. The top ten research schools have their EC proportions listed in the MSAR. My 2006 MSAR lists: UCSF is 91%, Hopkins is 92%, HMS is 94%, WUSTL is 90%, Duke is 86%, etc.</p>
<p>So you're fighting for that last 10% of spots or so -- and while a 40 is very desirable, a lot of those spots are going to be spent on specialized admissions scenarios (race). I think you've got enough of a shot to be worth the application fees, but I do think it's going to be a tough road. The way to make up for lack of research is with another stunning EC, which at this point your resume is lacking.</p>
<p>But, like I said: it's definitely not such slim odds that you shouldn't bother applying. You should. You have a very real chance at these places. (Although, if you're utterly uninterested in research, there is good reason to ask why you want to go to them.) But I think it'll be an uphill road.</p>
<p>sounds to me like you are the prestige-whore. why would you want to go to a research intensive school when you aren't interested in research? Why not apply to the top clinical schools instead?</p>
<p>I remember seeing somewhere that a 3.92 GPA is a little bit above 95 percentile at a typical Ivy school (at one of HYP):</p>
<p>"The cutoff GPAs to receive honors at graduation were reported to members of the Class of 2006 by their residential college deans. Last year, the cutoff for summa cum laude, which goes to the top 5 percent of the class, was 3.91. The cutoff for magna cum laude, which is awarded to the next 10 percent, was 3.82, while the cutoff for cum laude honors was 3.72."</p>
<p>Just curious, what is the percentile for a 40 MCAT?</p>
<p>99.8 in 2004; I believe it's been dropping lately; now 99.5-ish? But remember, 75-80% of the students who take the MCAT don't ever go to medical school. So 99.5 is really more like 98th -- still an excellent score by any measure, of course, but if the OP is fighting for one of ~100 spots in the high-powered-research-school-for-kids-who-don't-do-research, that's pretty stiff competition there.</p>
<p>statement: if no research, [then] no top research med school.
inverse: if reseaerch, [then] top research med school.</p>
<p>okay then lets ask the inverse: what about an applicant with lower MCAT scores, lower GPA, lower volunteer/shadowing experience, but published research...how would the chances of that applicant be compared to that of "castleinthesky"? (to the top research-oriented med schools)</p>
<p>Obviously it depends on how much lower. But a I'd give a 3.7/37 with good-but-not-great research a better shot at the top ten.</p>
<p>In any case, you're probably looking for the contrapositive. Which, in this case, is: "If a student is at a top research med school, they did research as an undergrad." Which, the MSAR tells us, is true with about 10% exceptions.</p>
<p>The responses to this post left me wayy nervous, so I frantically began looking for research internships still open for the summer. I was accepted last-minute to assist in clinical research in NYC with a team of neurologists. 40 hours/week, full time, in the heart of Manhattan. I'll also volunteer at another HIV/AIDS hospice and hopefully have time for fun in the sun. VERY excited! ...& just in time for AMCAS. I start June 9th.</p>
<p>Curm - yes, I have name envy, so what? Like you don't?</p>
<p>The concern isn't the name envy per se. The concern is that these are considered the top "Research" schools for a reason. If you're not interested in research, going to one of these schools will be... well, kind of annoying.</p>
<p>But who knows -- maybe you'll like your work this summer. It sounds like it should be a lot of fun. What's the specific project?</p>
<p>bluedevilmike - I'm not saying I don't like research, I just never had the TIME to fully delve into it. I took a plethora of science classes together the first 2 years and then studied for the MCAT so that I could spend spring semester abroad in London (amazing and I don't regret going in the least). Between SO much science, MCAT prep, contributing to an on-campus science magazine, being a higher-up member of my sorority's e-board, an a capella group, volunteering at the local ER / HIV/AIDS clinic (my passion for clinical stems from these experiences), being a TA for a biology class, a psychology class, AND a chemistry class - I simply did not have time for anything, let alone 10 hours a week in a laboratory. I'd spread myself way too thin. So then, all of a sudden, I'm at the end of my junior year, home from Europe, and about to apply to medical school with absolutely no research experience.</p>
<p>The research this summer deals with neurophysiology and motor controls. I'm approaching the project with an open mind and an open heart. Who knows if I'll love it or hate it?</p>
<p>I also had a question about my research experience. I only have about 4 - 5 months and it was not a great experience. Just when I was finally beginning to get something out of the experience, our diffractor broke and the grad student I was assisting soon quit the lab to go work at a hospital. My only option was to switch to the other completely different field of research that I was not interested in, so I quit the lab (perhaps not the best decision, but done). Needless to say, I got not papers out of this and only began to appreciate the whole research process. Is an experience like this even worth putting down on my application? If I do not get a scholarship abroad in my year off I will most likely be engaging in some sort of research to bolster my application, but I am curious as to what you think.</p>
<p>my apologies. I did not indend to state that it is the same. I was simply giving another ranking that classifies not by strictly research, just giving another perspective to potentially better fit their non-research background</p>