Is it acceptable to do research in a field completely unrelated to my majors in terms of med school applications? Specifically, I’m thinking of applying to a certain marine biology research position in the summer, but I’m majoring in Math and Classics. Would med school admissions officers think I’m crazy and look down upon this completely unrelated research?
The idea of working closely with marine environments and species excites me. I always imagined having the opportunity of doing something like that since HS, so this is more like a fun experience.
What is the research about?
One of the possible projects is about tracking a certain sea slug’s behavior and brain activity under certain conditions. Another is researching the effects of pesticide on seagrass and the marine ecology in the Pacific NW.
How would you tie this back to a medical school app?
Both projects focus on the detrimental effects of water pollution in different ways, and the second project would also entail preventative and curative measures. Sound familiar to an MD’s duty to the human body?
If you’re talking about my personal reasons for doing the research, it’s because it sounded fun and incredibly exciting. Plain and simple.
Your personal reasons are totally irrelevant to medical school apps. In the end it is all about what have you done to help your app.
Whether you can justify the relevancy of your research to med schools does matter. I am not sure this research does but those who made the cut already into med school may have a better idea.
I’m going to disagree with this - particularly based on advice from a family friend who is next in line to become dean of the medical school he’s at (not the one I attend). Your reasons are probably more important than the what you have done.
Your application is a story of who you are and why that person should be trained as a physician. If you can’t spin something towards that it loses a lot of value. So research in biology but outside the biomedical sciences is still research experience. It’s still learning to generate hypotheses, design experiments, analyze and evaluate data etc. Those are valuable skills for future physicians, particularly ones who want to do research.
An example of the opposite idea is someone who shadows a million hours and still can’t explain what a doctor does/why they want to do it. The fact that the shadowing is there means nothing without the explanation of how it’s contributed to your development.
Ultimately, would this be a waste of time? While I also want to do biomedical research, this sort of research has been on my bucket list for quite a while and I just want to cross it off. I’m sure I can put a spin on it for med school apps, but I don’t b** see this as my “defining moment” of why med school.
I don’t think the first one would be waste
In my mind that can be obviously related to neuroscience/neurology/psychiatry. Aplysia slugs are a major neuro model (even generated a nobel prize in medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_sea_hare#Laboratory_use) so it’s not like research in marine animals has no bearing on medicine. Maybe the 2nd one would be a waste since you’re studying plants unless you’re studying something related to some compound it produces that is biologically active in other cell types e.g. something that, in the distant future, could become an antibiotic or other pharmaceutical (http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa061403a.htm). But I don’t know enough about your situation as a whole to be sure. Why is this research on your bucket list to begin with especially since you’re a math/classics double major and not a marine bio major? Or maybe the better question is: why aren’t you a marine bio major? What is the prof’s reputation as a research mentor? Is he/she a good mentor who’s going to teach you a lot about the scientific process and allow you to really be involved? A bad mentor who just lets you wash dishes in a cancer biology lab is not a better experience than studying slug behavior with a great mentor who is going to sit down with you and teach you what being a scientist is about.
You don’t need one defining moment. You need a narrative. In fact having just one defining moment would be bad. There should be continued dedication and passion for the pursuit of clinical medicine and/or application of it in some way (e.g. public health, social justice, basic science research, clinical research etc). If you’re a math/classics double major interested in marine biology, why are you interested in medicine at all? How will you demonstrate your decision to apply to medical school was not based on a whim? How will you demonstrate that you should be chosen among the many other applicants?
Maybe you don’t know the answer and that’s ok too. There’s nothing wrong with following your passions and seeing where it takes you. Maybe med school isn’t right for you anyway? Maybe a PhD in (marine) biology or animal behavior that you translate into a career working at the boundary between animal and human physiology and/or pathology is what’s best for you? Contrary to many on this board, I’m not big on the philosophy “I want to be A. What do I need to do to be A?” I’m more "I like X,Y, and Z. Who does that kind of stuff?
I wouldn’t think this is a waste of time. There are pre-meds who are involved in long term research projects and have their names on publications, but in all honesty, many summer research programs that pre-meds do aren’t that earth shattering, leading to important discoveries. What students gain from these are the skills that IWBB mentioned - formulating hypotheses, analyzing data, solving problems. Often you get to hear presentations from other researchers, giving you the opportunity to learn cool new things. You get to make connections, some which may be helpful to you down the road. D spent 2 summers in research programs, both at prestigious institutions. She learned a lot about research, practiced skills she learned in college Bio classes and learned some new ones. But she wasn’t part of a published paper, nor did she continue the projects after the summer. Both were in the medical realm, one more theoretical, one more real world application, but I think any type of research experience can be “spun” on your med school application and interviews to show that the skills you gained are beneficial to being a physician.
oh lord, I spent so much time editing/adding things that @dheldreth posted in between initially submitting and finishing my post.
IWBB - I am not sure stating that marine biology is incredibly exciting is helping someone applying to medical schools.
OTOH, what you are doing to link it back to neurology makes a lot more narrative sense in an app. This is why I think people need to leave the personal out and focus on finding a link back to medical app. If your personal reason said “I am incredibly excited researching slugs because they provide a window into neurology” is something I can buy in a narrative as opposed to, “I think marine biology is fun” which evokes the gut reaction, “then go be a marine biologist”.
Selling is important.
@iwannabe_Brown
My school doesn’t offer marine biology. As to why it’s on the bucket list even though it has nothing to do with my majors, it’s something I do want to at least try ever since I took AP Biology. It has nothing to do with my career goals (yet), but I’ve always been intrigued by the “zoology/ecology/etc.” part of Bio. I just want to experience it once and enjoy it (hence why I used the term “bucket list”).
And you’re right; I don’t know the answers. I have MANY interests I want to try, including this marine biology research. But if I still decide I still want to apply to med school, I also want to make sure that what I’m doing wasn’t in vain and that it counts towards at least SOMETHING. Maybe I could say that I was very interested in marine biology and always wanted to go on a boat and work up close with marine flora and fauna, but that ultimately it wasn’t my calling, and the research project lead me to that conclusion – all the while strengthening my resolve to ultimately choose med school.
As to actually doing the projects, the descriptions say I get to work up close with the slugs and plants, so I’m not simply a lab rat.
I imagine that you still would do Medical Research.
You can do whatever you wish in a summer, including flipping hamburgers or going abroad or sleep in until 2pm (my D. did a lot of those, thank goodness, she does not have many chances any more). Why Med. School should be concerned?
If it’s a meaningful experience in some way, it won’t be in vain pretty much regardless of what it is.
It is though. “Marine biology is incredibly exciting” just is a bad description of someone’s personal reasons but that doesn’t mean that personal reasons don’t help.
There is no reason to always go for the “meaningful experience” in UG. UG is time when you have chances to “explore”, including “exploring” your own self. Go for it!!! Later you may discover that it actually was the most “meaningful experience” of them all, you cannot tell right now.
OP hasn’t sold me so far that he actually cares about medical school with his description of personal reasons and I am not an adcom.
I see it is a trade off for op. There is nothing wrong with Marin biology research. However, if the target is med school, the unrelated research takes away the time for med related ECs.
" However, if the target is med school, the unrelated research takes away the time for med related ECs. "
-It does not have to be this way. OP can do both. D’s volunteering had nothing to do with medicine, she was the only pre-med there. It was one of the most valuable experiences during her UG, one where she learned a lot in a area that would not be covered by any clinical volunteering, she got invaluable training in how to talk to people in great distress.
She participated in this volunteering for 3 years for one reason - she was personally very interested. However, she had clinical volunteering during summers (not as much, but still accumulated some hours).
Unless OP is planning doing Marine Bio Research for all years whiile in UG without break, why not? If it is a great personal passion, go for it! OP should still pursue Medical Research though.