<p>I just completed my first week of freshman year at college and also my first day of work study working at a lab. The problem is, the job at the lab feels like an actual college course in of itself. There are presentations and research papers to read at home, and I know that if I continue it, I will have no semblance of a social life. I kind of need the work study money but I think I could get another, easier job closer to my dorm that wasn't research-oriented. I know that most pre-meds need research experience to get into med school but I'm already in a guaranteed admission program. So, my overall question is, should I still do research even though I have a spot waiting for me at a med school? What other benefit is there for undergraduate research besides to pad your resume? </p>
<p>You learn to problem solve, design logical and reasonable experiments, analyze data, read research papers critically. These things are important aspects of being a doctor.</p>
<p>There’s a guaranteed admissions program at my school too, though I’m not a part of it. Many of my friends are, and a good number of them elected not to do the “traditional” premed stuff because they already had spots waiting for them. Consequently, now they’re questioning whether medicine’s for them at all, since they haven’t done anything to further their desires for medicine (seems like their interest almost stagnated after high school). </p>
<p>You are in a wonderful position with a spot waiting for you, and you will be quite grateful for it as time progresses. But I would HIGHLY caution against using it as a crutch or an excuse to be lazy, because it seems to be common for those who get lazy to seriously question their initial commitment. </p>
<p>Not to say that changing your work-study would automatically lead to you becoming lazy and thus not fully exploring the field you’re committed to. I just wanted to point out what can happen if you choose to slack off and take it easy, so that perhaps you will choose to still do things like research, shadow, volunteer, get involved, and take on leadership positions. Not only do they reinforce your desires to go into medicine, but they make college so much fun! </p>